Yang Zhiguang

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Yang Zhiguang, Male, Unspecified, from Tongdaodongzuzizhi, Hunan, is a third-batch national representative bearer of Lusheng Music (Ⅱ-129). The tradition is documented in Tongdaodongzuzizhi, Hunan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Lusheng Music in Tongdaodongzuzizhi, Hunan: In the Dong country of Tongdao the lusheng activity is organised into societies by village. Members of a lusheng band are mostly adult men, the band is led by the leader's lusheng acting as conductor, and it proceeds through the tune patterns Ji He Qu, Jin Tang Qu, Cai Tang Qu, Shang Lu Qu, Zou Qu, Yuan Quan Qu and others; the players blow as they jump, making large swaying movements and the like. The Dong lusheng is current within Tongdao Dong Autonomous County, Hunan Province. It developed out of an ancient reed-pipe instrument, has a history of more than two thousand years, and is indispensable at village gatherings, sacrifices and exchanges between villages; every Dong village in Tongdao County keeps a lusheng band.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

In 1973 he studied lusheng making under elders of his own family, and from 1977 he worked independently as a maker of Dong lusheng; he is a "Dong lusheng craftsman" and "lusheng player" renowned throughout the Dong areas of Hunan, Guangxi and Guizhou. His lusheng are of fine quality and powerful tone, and enjoy a high reputation throughout the Dong countryside. Over several decades, building on the lusheng-making techniques handed down in his family, he further improved and innovated them, and he is able to make lusheng with twenty-one sounding pipes. His lusheng performance skills are equally outstanding, and he has frequently won awards at lusheng competitions held in the Dong areas of Hunan, Guangxi and Guizhou. He now has nearly ten disciples, including Yang Hanjie. Within the documented technical tradition of Lusheng Music in Tongdaodongzuzizhi, Hunan: The lusheng is a multi-pipe reed instrument played by the Miao, Dong, Shui, Gelao, Yao, Zhuang, Yi and other peoples of southwest China. It consists of reeded pipes, a wind chamber, a blowpipe and a resonator; in playing, both hands clasp the body of the instrument, the thumb, index and middle fingers lightly cover the finger-holes of the two rows of pipes, the blowpipe is held in the mouth, and blowing and drawing breath sets the reeds vibrating to produce the sound. The lusheng has distinctive pitches and can produce octaves, fifths, sixths, chords of a fourth and triad effects. The Dong lusheng is a traditional folk instrument of the ethnic groups widely current within Tongdao Dong Autonomous County, Hunan Province; it developed out of an ancient reed-pipe instrument and has a history of more than two thousand years. According to the form of blowing and the manner of performance, the lusheng is divided into six kinds: the ditong (ground pipe), the extra-large lusheng, the large, the medium, the small and the smallest lusheng; the traditional lusheng has three pitches and twelve modes. The Dong lusheng has twelve tune patterns in all, mainly including Ji He Qu, Jin Tang Qu, Cai Tang Qu, Shang Lu Qu, Zou Qu, Yuan Quan Qu and others. The lusheng has three kinds of notation symbols: transcription in Chinese phonetic notation, modern numbered notation and the Dong script. In Dong lusheng performance one lusheng that can sound the highest note is normally used as the leader and conductor, accompanied by two high-pitch lusheng, three mid-pitch, ten slightly lower mid-pitch, two low-pitch, one double-bass lusheng and one ditong, making up a lusheng band. According to the particular circumstances the band may also have other forms of instrumentation. The traditional Dong lusheng dance has several performing forms: playing while dancing, the player dancing alone, and the dancer playing as well. The players often blow as they jump, making large swaying movements to left and right; in solo dancing and antiphonal playing they have to spin at one moment and crouch and leap at the next. Winning by means of rapid trembling notes and highly difficult dance movements is the greatest characteristic of Dong lusheng performance. Dong lusheng performance has a strong local character and has been carried on among the people without interruption for a long time. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Ji He Qu": One of the twelve tune patterns of the Dong lusheng, used to assemble the band. "Jin Tang Qu": One of the twelve tune patterns of the Dong lusheng, used to enter the drum tower hall or the caitang ground. "Cai Tang Qu": One of the twelve tune patterns of the Dong lusheng, played to accompany the step-dance of the caitang. "Shang Lu and Zou tunes": The marching-type tune patterns among the twelve tune patterns of the Dong lusheng.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

Male, Dong ethnicity, born in April 1954, died in September 2021, a native of Tongdao Dong Autonomous County, Hunan Province. A national representative bearer of Lusheng Music (Dong Lusheng), a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.

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. Yang Zhiguang · National Representative Bearer Archive