Leting Dagu Drum Balladry
01 · Historical Records
According to tradition, Leting Dagu originated around 1845 in Leting and Luanzhou of Hebei Province. After being handed down and developed through several generations of artists, drawing broadly on the strengths of various traditional storytelling and singing arts and absorbing local folk songs and operatic vocal styles, it formed its own distinctive vocal style and ban patterns, and has a history of some 200-odd years to the present. In the 1920s the Leting Dagu artist Jin Wenran took in the strengths of a hundred schools, broke through the traditional singing rule that every phrase must begin and end on a clapper beat, and ingeniously applied new, flexible singing methods such as the manban and the qiangban. Boldly absorbing the nourishment of sister arts, he realized a major innovation from the joined-tune system to the banqiang system, forming a complete Jin-school system of Leting Dagu art with strong independence and distinctive regional character.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Leting Dagu is a long-established and comparatively representative quyi form of northern China, widely circulated in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and the northeast; together with shadow puppetry and Pingju opera it is known as one of the “three flowers of eastern Hebei”. Leting Dagu is sung in the local accent. In performance one person stands and narrates and sings, striking the drum clappers by himself, while others, each taking an instrument, accompany on the sanxian, the iron (copper) clappers, the drum and the like. It can narrate long narrative works as well as sing compact set pieces; it can perform traditional classical pieces as well as works of the present day. Its content is rich, it excels in both narration and lyric expression, and it combines tenderness with boldness, so that it is deeply welcomed by the people. Its singing is not bound by old formulas: the melodic line of the vocal style is strong, the tunes are soft, fine and moving, and it expresses both feeling and sound. It presents the characteristics of manifold tune sources, flexible conversion between ban patterns, a vocal style that is at once independent and blending, and a marked regional flavour. Its representative long works include the traditional titles Hong Feng Chuan and Hu Jia Jiang as well as the newly composed Tong Bai Ying Xiong and Ping Yuan Qiang Sheng; its representative compact set pieces include the traditional short pieces Shuang Suo Shan and Da Nao Tian Gong as well as the newly composed Bi Hai Dan Xin and Po Xi Qing Shen.
Jin Wenran's reform
In the 1920s Jin Wenran broke with the fixed board pattern and moved the genre from linked-tune to metrical-variation form.
Loose lineage practice
Transmission is by master to disciple and word of mouth, with many pupils per master and little sectarian feeling, now in its fifth generation.
Red Wind and new works
Its representative long works range from the traditional Red Wind Tale and Hu Family Generals to the modern Tongbai Heroes.
Short showcase pieces
Showcase short pieces both traditional, like Double Lock Mountain, and newly composed, like A Loyal Heart.
Sanxian, iron plates and drum
One singer stands striking drum and clappers while others play sanxian, iron plates and drum.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Luannan County lies in the lower reaches of the Luan River and borders Leting, and it is an important area of circulation for Jin-school Leting Dagu. In former times local artists were trained mainly by master-and-disciple succession and oral teaching, producing a pattern in which one person had several masters and one master had several pupils; the sense of school membership was weak, and the line of transmission has now reached the fifth generation. The Jin school broke through the traditional rule that every phrase must begin and end on a clapper beat, applied flexible and varied devices such as the manban and the qiangban, and realized the innovation from the joined-tune system to the banqiang system, forming a complete system with strong independence and distinctive regional character. Its long works include Hong Feng Chuan and Hu Jia Jiang together with the newly composed Tong Bai Ying Xiong and Ping Yuan Qiang Sheng, and its compact set pieces include Shuang Suo Shan and Da Nao Tian Gong together with the newly composed Bi Hai Dan Xin and Po Xi Qing Shen; in performance one person stands and narrates and sings, striking the drum clappers by himself, while others accompany on the sanxian, the iron clappers and the drum.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Leting Dagu Drum Balladry.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Jin-school Leting Dagu is transmitted chiefly by master-and-disciple succession and oral teaching, producing a pattern in which one person has several masters and one master has several pupils; the sense of school membership is weak, and the style is highly distinctive. The line of transmission of Jin-school Leting Dagu is clear and unbroken, and it has now reached the fifth generation of inheritors. Jin-school Leting Dagu occupies an important position in the world of Chinese quyi, and has significant historical value for the study of the development of folk narrative and singing art and of quyi as a whole; it carries a rich regional cultural colour and possesses substantial aesthetic value; it is plain and easy to understand, dear to the people, and of important significance for meeting the cultural needs of the people, promoting social civilization and progress, and driving the development of traditional culture.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- He Jianchun 02-0719
- Zhang Jinping 02-0720
- Wang Liyan 03-1159
- Jia Youran 04-1703
- Jia Changfu
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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