Ping Cuoyujie

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Ping Cuoyujie, Male, Unspecified, from Tibet, is a third-batch national representative bearer of Gaer (Ⅲ-85). The tradition is documented in Tibet. Within the regional tradition and school record of Gaer in Tibet: Gar is transmitted mainly in Lhasa, Shigatse and Ngari, and the monasteries and folk performance troupes of each place keep their own transmission; in the Ngari area it is collectively called “gar xuan” together with xuan dance, and it is further divided into bogar and mogar, the former being men’s song and dance and the latter women’s song and dance, though in fact both are performed by men and only the names differ. Gar first emerged from the song-and-dance performances of folk artists at festivals; later it was taken up by the monasteries of various places and by professional music-and-dance troupes, becoming an indispensable ritual observance in the large-scale religious activities of monasteries, and it has been carried on at grand ceremonies and on occasions when senior lamas are welcomed and escorted.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

In 1941 he was selected for a professional arts ensemble, and in 1957 he transferred to the court music and dance troupe. He can dance the gar, nangma and duixie with graceful postures, and he also commands the playing techniques, music theory and notation of the instruments used specifically in gar, including the yangqin (hammered dulcimer), zhanian, dizi (bamboo flute), jinghu (two-stringed fiddle), changdi (transverse flute) and suona (shawm). For many years he performed at grand celebrations and on occasions such as the reception and farewell of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, and as he grew older his position in the ensemble changed from garzhuba (dancer) to garben (master). Within the documented technical tradition of Gaer in Tibet: “Gar” means song and dance, or music and dance, in Tibetan; it is a ceremonial song-and-dance of the Tibetan people. At first it was song and dance performed by folk artists at festivals; later it gradually entered the great monasteries of various places and became a programme that had to be performed at the large-scale religious activities of monasteries. Gar has beautiful dance movements and a distinctive musical style; it is now performed mainly at grand ceremonies and at important occasions such as welcoming and escorting the Panchen Lama. In the Ngari area, Gar dance and xuan dance are collectively called “gar xuan”. The dance music of Gar is free, broad and drawn out; the dance is strongly sculptural in its shaping, the movements of the dancers are highly standardised, intense and wide in range, and the formations change in many ways. All the performers are male, and are divided into gar zhuba, garba and garben. Gar zhuba are boy singers and dancers, garba are singers and dancers, and garben are the artistic director and administrative head. Gar dance is divided into two types, gar and garlu; garlu is an art form of unison singing in children’s voices, and in performance it is accompanied by instruments such as the six-string lute “zhai nian”, the bamboo flute “lingu”, the yangqin, the dulcimer, the genka and the aiga. Gar is further divided into bogar and mogar; bogar is men’s song and dance and mogar is women’s song and dance; in fact both song-and-dance forms are performed by men, and only the names differ. Gar performance is technically difficult and highly standardised; under the impact of modern economic and cultural life it faces an ageing talent base and a steadily shrinking scale of performance, and is in urgent need of rescue and protection. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The three ranks of performers": All performers are male and divided into the boy dancers, the dancers and the director, dancers moving between ranks with age and experience. "The male and female styles": Ghar divides into the male and female styles, though in practice both are performed by men, only the names differing. "Ghar-lu, sung by boys in unison": Alongside the dance there is ghar-lu, sung in unison by boys' voices and accompanied by zhanian, linggu flute, dulcimer, iron zither, genka and the ega. "The ghar orchestra": Its ensemble includes the zhanian, the linggu bamboo flute, dulcimer, iron zither, genka and ega; the music is free, broad and drawn out and the movement highly standardised.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

Male, of Tibetan ethnicity, born in October 1927 and deceased in August 2018, a native of Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region. National representative bearer of Gaer, 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. Ping Cuoyujie · National Representative Bearer Archive