Yongkang Guci
01 · Historical Records
In the 1950s there were still more than one hundred performers; by the 1980s only a little over sixty remained; and since the beginning of the 21st century the number has fallen below twenty, so that the art is on the verge of being lost and urgently needs protection and support.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Yongkang Guci (Yongkang drum ballad) is a form of quyi that circulates in Yongkang and its neighbouring Wuyi, Jinyun and Pan'an areas under Jinhua, Zhejiang Province. Because the performers in former times were mostly blind, it is also called gu ci or blind ci; because the performance is predominantly sung with spoken passages interspersed, it is also popularly known in folk usage as “chang ci” or “chang gongshi”. Yongkang drum ballad is performed in the Yongkang local accent, normally with a single performer striking the drum clappers and accompanying his own singing and narration. The subject matter of traditional programmes is mostly the punishing of the violent and the protection of the innocent, the vindication of justice, the love between men and women, and the doing of good deeds and the giving of charity. Its vocal styles and tunes are rich, and according to their function are divided into four kinds: the lament style (beidiao), the angry style (nudiao), the joyful style (xidiao) and the level style (pingshuidiao) suited to narration, dialogue and the expression of feeling. Narrative singing stresses modulation and measured pacing; the accompanying drum patterns attend to gradations of depth and lightness and to quickness and slowness. Programmes stress teaching through entertainment and are warmly received by the local people. In recent decades the number of performers has fallen sharply and the art as a whole is shrinking.
The four functional tunes
Its tunes divide by function into lamenting, angry, joyful and the level tune used for narrative, dialogue and lyric passages.
The blind men's songs
Three bynames: the blind men's songs from its performers, and the "sung matter" from its sung-with-speech manner.
One man, drum and clappers
One singer strikes his own drum and clappers without a band, controlling dynamics through the tempo and weight of the drum.
From a hundred singers to fewer than twenty
The number of singers fell from over a hundred in the 1950s to sixty in the 1980s and fewer than twenty today, leaving the genre on the verge of loss.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Yongkang drum ballad circulates in Yongkang and its neighbouring Wuyi, Jinyun and Pan'an areas under Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, and the protecting unit is the Yongkang Municipal Folk Art Performance Association. The performers of former times were mainly blind, hence the names “gu ci” and “blind ci”; because the performance is predominantly sung with spoken passages interspersed, it is also popularly known in folk usage as “chang ci” or “chang gongshi”. Performances are delivered in the Yongkang local accent, normally with a single performer striking the drum clappers and accompanying his own singing and narration; the subject matter of the repertoire is mostly the punishing of the violent and the protection of the innocent, the vindication of justice, the love between men and women, and the giving of charity. The singing stresses modulation and measured pacing, while the drum patterns attend to gradations of depth and lightness and to quickness and slowness. Drum-ballad performers in Yongkang keep close contact with those in neighbouring counties such as Wuyi and Jinyun; their vocal styles and repertoires are broadly shared, and the differences lie mainly in local accent and customary drum patterns.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The vocal styles of Yongkang drum ballad are divided by function into four kinds — the lament style, the angry style, the joyful style and the level style suited to narration, dialogue and the expression of feeling; the programmes stress teaching through entertainment and are warmly received by the local people. In the 1950s there were still more than one hundred performers, by the 1980s only a little over sixty remained, and since the beginning of the 21st century the number has fallen below twenty, so that the art is on the verge of being lost. In recent years the local cultural departments and the Folk Art Performance Association have carried out rescue protection by running training classes and recording the oral accounts and drum patterns of old performers; support still needs to be continued in the collation of repertoire and the training of young performers.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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