Hubei Dagu Drum Balladry
01 · Historical Records
Hubei dagu was formerly called “gushu” (drum book), “dagu shuoshu” (drum-beat storytelling), “dagu jingqiang” (drum-beat Jingqiang) and “shuanshan shu” and the like; it took shape during the Daoguang reign period of the Qing dynasty and has a history of more than two hundred years up to the present.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Hubei dagu is accompanied by a drum and clappers, is equally strong in speech and song, and is witty and humorous. Its sung texts consist mainly of seven-syllable and ten-syllable lines, with some five-syllable lines interspersed among them. The main vocal style used in singing is called the “Siping diao”; its manner is steady and plain, and it carries the marked colouring of the folk music of northeastern Hubei. It can both narrate and express feeling, and according to what has to be expressed it can be varied into more than ten vocal styles of different metric forms and different emotions, such as “fast Siping”, “slow Siping”, “Siping bei peng”, “Siping shuban”, “fast Siping liushui ban”, “huixie qiang” and “tight-ban urgent style”. Besides this, colourful and varied named drum patterns frequently appear between the sung sections, striking the audience as fresh and novel. In the past Hubei dagu was sung by a single performer who beat the drum and clappers himself; from 1958 onwards, when short pieces were sung, accompaniment by instruments such as the erhu and the sanxian was added and the singing carried the main emphasis. When medium-length and long works were performed, no stringed instruments were used, speech and song were given equal weight, and the performance was assisted by gestures, glance, body and steps. In the course of its transmission Hubei dagu gave rise to three schools: the northern route, the southern route and the north-south route. The northern route is high-pitched and rugged and is at its best in works about plain swords and cudgels, with pieces such as “The Flower Monk” and “Luo Cheng Substitutes for the Bride”; the southern route is delicate and lingering and is at its best in works on family cases and disputes, with pieces such as “Marriage Sworn in Blood” and “Wandering Henan”; the north-south route combines the strengths of the northern and southern routes alike, has a very large repertoire, and is especially skilled in historical romance works such as “Revolt against the Tang”, “Expedition East”, “Nanjing” and “Beijing”. Through long development and transmission, performing artists such as Wang Mingle, Chen Qianwen and Zhang Mingzhi appeared in the field of Hubei dagu, bringing this quyi form to further maturity.
The Flower Monk
The northern route is high-pitched and rugged and is at its best in works about plain swords and cudgels, with pieces such as “The Flower Monk” and “Luo Cheng Substitutes for the Bride”; the southern route is delicate and lingering and is at its best in works on family cases and disputes, with pieces such as “Marriage Sworn in Blood” and “Wandering Henan”; the north-south route combines the strengths of the northern and southern routes alike, has a very large repertoire, and is especially skilled in historical romance works such as “Revolt against the Tang”, “Expedition East”, “Nanjing” and “Beijing”.
Luo Cheng Substitutes for the Bride
The northern route is high-pitched and rugged and is at its best in works about plain swords and cudgels, with pieces such as “The Flower Monk” and “Luo Cheng Substitutes for the Bride”; the southern route is delicate and lingering and is at its best in works on family cases and disputes, with pieces such as “Marriage Sworn in Blood” and “Wandering Henan”; the north-south route combines the strengths of the northern and southern routes alike, has a very large repertoire, and is especially skilled in historical romance works such as “Revolt against the Tang”, “Expedition East”, “Nanjing” and “Beijing”.
Marriage Sworn in Blood
The northern route is high-pitched and rugged and is at its best in works about plain swords and cudgels, with pieces such as “The Flower Monk” and “Luo Cheng Substitutes for the Bride”; the southern route is delicate and lingering and is at its best in works on family cases and disputes, with pieces such as “Marriage Sworn in Blood” and “Wandering Henan”; the north-south route combines the strengths of the northern and southern routes alike, has a very large repertoire, and is especially skilled in historical romance works such as “Revolt against the Tang”, “Expedition East”, “Nanjing” and “Beijing”.
Wandering Henan
The northern route is high-pitched and rugged and is at its best in works about plain swords and cudgels, with pieces such as “The Flower Monk” and “Luo Cheng Substitutes for the Bride”; the southern route is delicate and lingering and is at its best in works on family cases and disputes, with pieces such as “Marriage Sworn in Blood” and “Wandering Henan”; the north-south route combines the strengths of the northern and southern routes alike, has a very large repertoire, and is especially skilled in historical romance works such as “Revolt against the Tang”, “Expedition East”, “Nanjing” and “Beijing”.
Revolt against the Tang
The northern route is high-pitched and rugged and is at its best in works about plain swords and cudgels, with pieces such as “The Flower Monk” and “Luo Cheng Substitutes for the Bride”; the southern route is delicate and lingering and is at its best in works on family cases and disputes, with pieces such as “Marriage Sworn in Blood” and “Wandering Henan”; the north-south route combines the strengths of the northern and southern routes alike, has a very large repertoire, and is especially skilled in historical romance works such as “Revolt against the Tang”, “Expedition East”, “Nanjing” and “Beijing”.
Expedition East
The northern route is high-pitched and rugged and is at its best in works about plain swords and cudgels, with pieces such as “The Flower Monk” and “Luo Cheng Substitutes for the Bride”; the southern route is delicate and lingering and is at its best in works on family cases and disputes, with pieces such as “Marriage Sworn in Blood” and “Wandering Henan”; the north-south route combines the strengths of the northern and southern routes alike, has a very large repertoire, and is especially skilled in historical romance works such as “Revolt against the Tang”, “Expedition East”, “Nanjing” and “Beijing”.
Nanjing
The northern route is high-pitched and rugged and is at its best in works about plain swords and cudgels, with pieces such as “The Flower Monk” and “Luo Cheng Substitutes for the Bride”; the southern route is delicate and lingering and is at its best in works on family cases and disputes, with pieces such as “Marriage Sworn in Blood” and “Wandering Henan”; the north-south route combines the strengths of the northern and southern routes alike, has a very large repertoire, and is especially skilled in historical romance works such as “Revolt against the Tang”, “Expedition East”, “Nanjing” and “Beijing”.
Beijing
The northern route is high-pitched and rugged and is at its best in works about plain swords and cudgels, with pieces such as “The Flower Monk” and “Luo Cheng Substitutes for the Bride”; the southern route is delicate and lingering and is at its best in works on family cases and disputes, with pieces such as “Marriage Sworn in Blood” and “Wandering Henan”; the north-south route combines the strengths of the northern and southern routes alike, has a very large repertoire, and is especially skilled in historical romance works such as “Revolt against the Tang”, “Expedition East”, “Nanjing” and “Beijing”.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Tuanfeng County lies in eastern Hubei under Huanggang and is an important area for the transmission and singing of Hubei dagu; locally it is the “southern route” that is relied upon, with a delicate and lingering vocal style that is skilled in family cases and disputes. In the past, Hubei dagu in eastern Hubei was also called “gushu”, “dagu shuoshu” and “shuanshan shu”; together with daoqing and other folk narrative-singing genres it was performed in the teahouses of market towns and on the threshing floors at the head of villages, and at New Year festivals, weddings and birthday celebrations it was often invited to recite medium-length and long works, one programme being performed for several months on end. In the Tuanfeng area the lineage has long been carried on through master-disciple teaching and oral transmission from heart to heart; after the 1950s it was gradually brought into the performances of quyi troupes organised by the county cultural department. Fu Qungang is a native of Tuanfeng County: in 1975 he was specially recruited to the Yingcheng County Revolutionary Cultural Work Troupe, where he formally took the stage to sing Hubei dagu, and he later became a disciple of Chen Qianwen to learn traditional medium-length and long dagu works. The protecting unit is the Tuanfeng County Cultural Centre (Tuanfeng County Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Centre).
Other submitting regions for the same item: Hubei Dagu Drum Balladry.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In the past it was popular in Wuhan, Xiaogan, Huanggang and other places; after long development it is now popular throughout Hubei Province. Hubei dagu is a platform for displaying the folk culture, local dialect, everyday customs and social character of Hubei, and it has high research value in sociology, folklore, art, history and culture. At present, however, this excellent folk art lacks successors, is on the decline, and urgently needs rescue and protection.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zhang Mingzhi 03-1178
- Fuqungang 05-2509
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。