Shihuiguang

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Shihuiguang, Male, Han, from Wutai, Shanxi, is a third-batch national representative bearer of Wutaishanfule (Ⅱ-66). The tradition is documented in Wutai, Shanxi. Within the regional tradition and school record of Wutaishanfule in Wutai, Shanxi: It is regarded as the representative of northern Buddhist music and, apart from the region to which Wutai Mountain belongs, exerts considerable influence throughout the north of the country and nationwide. Wutai Mountain lies in the north-east of Shanxi Province and is the only Buddhist sacred place in the country that combines Han Buddhism (called the "green monasteries") with Tibetan Buddhism (called the "yellow monasteries"). Buddhist music came to Wutai Mountain together with Buddhism, and over nearly two thousand years of development it has not only consistently used the forms that entered China with Buddhism, such as "ge zan", "zhuan du" and "chang dao", but has also preserved songs and instrumental pieces popular in various periods since the Tang and Song dynasties.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

He is a man of the Han ethnic group, born in January 1966 in Fanshi County, Shanxi Province. At the age of 26 he entered Nanshan Temple on Mount Wutai and took Shi Wanfu as his master, practising meditation and the veneration of the Buddha while learning the melodic models for chanting scriptures and the technique of playing the guanzi. In the course of this he began the work of recovering and organizing the notation for recitation, liturgical chant and instrumental performance. Through decades of practice he has become thoroughly proficient in the whole repertory of the Yogacara Flaming Mouth rite, the daily recitations of the Chan school, the miscellaneous liturgical pieces and the three-day liturgy, including such pieces as Hua Yan Hui (Assembly of the Avatamsaka), Cui Huang Hua, Wu Fang Jie Guo, Ling Gan Zhen Yan, Fang Bian Ji, Jin Lan Fang, Da Cheng Jing, Mi Mo Yan and Ku Ling Tang. Within the documented technical tradition of Wutaishanfule in Wutai, Shanxi: Wutai Mountain lies in the north-east of Shanxi Province and belongs to the Taihang range; it takes its name from its five peaks whose summits resemble a platform, and is the only Buddhist sacred place in the country that combines Han Buddhism (called the "green monasteries") with Tibetan Buddhism (called the "yellow monasteries"). Wutai Mountain Buddhist music comprises two parts, the vocal music and the instrumental music. The "vocal music" is the singing of various sutra texts in Dharma assemblies, mainly in four forms: "he nian", "ling diao", "yin song" and "zhi shu". The "instrumental music" forms a band from a number of musical instruments and ritual implements, accompanying some of the tunes in the chanting of sutra texts or performing on its own as instrumental music. The pieces played as instrumental music are called "xiao qu" (little tunes). The monks of Wutai Mountain have their own technical means and tuning methods for tuning the sheng. Over nearly two thousand years of development, Wutai Mountain Buddhist music has not only consistently used the forms that entered China with Buddhism, such as "ge zan", "zhuan du" and "chang dao", but has also preserved songs and instrumental pieces popular in various periods since the Tang and Song dynasties. Common morning-chant pieces include Lengyan Zhou (Sutra of the Supreme Array), Dabei Zhou (Great Compassion Mantra) and the Ten Little Mantras, and evening-chant pieces include the Mituo Jing (Sutra of Amitabha), the Chan Hui Wen (Text of Repentance) and the Mengshan Wen (Mengshan Text). Wutai Mountain Buddhist music is the product of the combination of musical art and religion, a special cultural phenomenon in social development, and also an important component of Wutai Mountain Buddhist culture. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Lengyan Zhou": Common morning-chant pieces include Lengyan Zhou (Sutra of the Supreme Array), Dabei Zhou (Great Compassion Mantra) and the Ten Little Mantras, and evening-chant pieces include the Mituo Jing (Sutra of Amitabha), the Chan Hui Wen (Text of Repentance) and the Mengshan Wen (Mengshan Text). "Da Bei Zhou": Common morning-chant pieces include Lengyan Zhou (Sutra of the Supreme Array), Dabei Zhou (Great Compassion Mantra) and the Ten Little Mantras, and evening-chant pieces include the Mituo Jing (Sutra of Amitabha), the Chan Hui Wen (Text of Repentance) and the Mengshan Wen (Mengshan Text). "Shi Xiao Zhou": Common morning-chant pieces include Lengyan Zhou (Sutra of the Supreme Array), Dabei Zhou (Great Compassion Mantra) and the Ten Little Mantras, and evening-chant pieces include the Mituo Jing (Sutra of Amitabha), the Chan Hui Wen (Text of Repentance) and the Mengshan Wen (Mengshan Text). "Mi Tuo Jing": Common morning-chant pieces include Lengyan Zhou (Sutra of the Supreme Array), Dabei Zhou (Great Compassion Mantra) and the Ten Little Mantras, and evening-chant pieces include the Mituo Jing (Sutra of Amitabha), the Chan Hui Wen (Text of Repentance) and the Mengshan Wen (Mengshan Text).

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of Wutaishanfule, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. While honing his technique he has attached great importance to the continuity of Buddhist music; in 1986 a training class in Chan liturgical music was formally inaugurated at Nanshan Temple, and by expanding the ranks of Buddhist musicians and concentrating on the training of monk-musicians in that class he has brought up one cohort after another of young monks engaged in Buddhist music.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Shihuiguang · National Representative Bearer Archive