Shandong Dagu Drum Balladry
01 · Historical Records
Shandong dagu is the earliest surviving drum-narrative and drum-tune form of quyi in northern China; according to legend it took shape at the end of the Ming dynasty and already has a history of three or four hundred years. It first arose in the villages of northwestern Shandong and later spread to Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, the Northeast and even to such places in the south as Shanghai, Nanjing and Chongqing.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Because it is accompanied on a half-moon-shaped ploughshare blade, it is also called "lihua dagu" (ploughshare dagu) and similar names. The Shandong dagu transmitted in southern Hebei Province is called "lihua dagu" (pear-blossom dagu); it circulates chiefly in Jize County of Handan, Wei County of Xingtai and other places. In performance it is mostly a single person standing and singing, and there is also a form in which two people sing antiphonally. The performer strikes the drum with a drumstick in the right hand and taps a steel plate with the left hand while singing, and the accompanist supports the singing on a sanxian. The singing style of pear-blossom dagu is plain and unaffected and rich in expression, the tunes are lofty, singing and spoken narration are combined in one, and narrative and lyric feeling are fused together. Its vocal style belongs to the banqiang system, made up mainly of ban forms such as manban (head ban), erban (flowing ban) and kuaiban; these are rich and varied, and it is long said that there are "many tunes and few words, seventy-two hums". Its sentence forms are divided into shiziyun (ten-character rhymes), qiziyun (seven-character rhymes) and the like. The vocal style of Shandong dagu is centred on the lihaicang (pear-blossom style) of the banqiang system, whose principal ban forms are manban, erxingban, kuaiban, sanban and yunban. Its main accompanying instruments are the yueyaban (half-moon plate, also called the "lihua pian"), the sanxian, the tongban (bronze plates) and the jinggu (Beijing drum). After the 1970s the sihu, erhu, yangqin and other instruments were added to strengthen its expressive power, greatly enhancing the effect of the performance. Its principal traditional song-books include Yang Jinhua Duo Yin (Yang Jinhua Seizes the Seal), Liu Dage Quan Laopo (Brother Liu Persuades His Wife), Sirong Ji (The Satin Brocade) and others. The three principal schools of southern Hebei each have their own character. The "laobeikou" school has a rugged and unrestrained vocal style: slow tempo, long held final notes, the ban marking both the start and the end of each phrase, biting articulation, clear enunciation, weighty landing notes, dense words in a hurried voice, and skilled use of staccato, popularly called "the old ox throwing the rein". The "xiaobeikou" school is clever and pretty rather, indirect and delicate, and is skilled in performing "documentary" pieces with narration inserted into the singing. The "nankou" school is supple and ringing, with few words and many melodic turns and an unhurried rhythm that tells the story by easy degrees; it also introduces some qupai-style vocal forms into its singing, divided into fast and slow, which makes the performance all the more rich and varied. Shandong dagu has a long history, distinctive vocal styles, abundant song-books and a strong local flavour, and it possesses high historical and cultural value.
Three southern Hebei schools
The old north-mouth, small north-mouth and south-mouth branches, ranging from the rugged and slow to the delicate and lingering.
Crescent plates and drum
The crescent plates, sanxian, bronze plates and drum, later joined by sihu, erhu and yangqin to strengthen the accompaniment.
Many notes, few words
A saying about the tune's many notes to few words; the vocal music is a metrical system of slow, second and fast boards.
Main local repertoire
The principal traditional titles of the southern Hebei line, performed at temple fairs, household gatherings and markets.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Pear-blossom dagu spread through southern Hebei with Handan and Xingtai as its two centres. Jize County lies in the north of Handan, and its artists kept up close contact with those of Wei County of Xingtai and its neighbourhood, so that the three branches — "laobeikou", "xiaobeikou" and "nankou" — each formed its own circle of activity. Singing around Jize was mostly done at temple fairs, market fairs and wedding and funeral gatherings, where a single table and stool were enough to open the show; the song-books most often performed were middle-length and short pieces such as Yang Jinhua Duo Yin, Liu Dage Quan Laopo and Sirong Ji. The Jize County Cultural Centre is the protecting unit for the project and is responsible for organising performances, collecting song-books and training young performers.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Shandong Dagu Drum Balladry · Shandong Dagu Drum Balladry.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Shandong dagu is a form in which one performer takes many roles; it is simple in form, needing only a table and a stool to perform, and it appears mostly at temple fairs, private gatherings and market fairs, where it is warmly welcomed by the broad masses. At present a number of old artists who carried on the performing skills of dagu have died one after another, and much precious material has not been preserved in time; measures need to be taken at once and active rescue and protection work carried out.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zuo Yuhua 02-0713
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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