Danchang

01 · Historical Records

The artistic roots of tan chang can be traced back to zhugongdiao, a quyi form created by Kong Sanzhuang of the Song dynasty; it later developed into its present shape under the influence of Yuan zaju plays and Ming- and Qing-dynasty fiction. From the beginning of the 20th century through the 1950s and 1960s it absorbed musical elements and performance techniques from daoqing opera, folk songs, erroutai and yangge, and reached its height.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Tan chang is a quyi performing form circulating in the Lishi District of Lvliang City, Shanxi Province, and in Zhongyang County, Fangshan County, Liulin County and other places; in performance two or more people each hold a coloured fan and accompany the singing with it, dancing as they sing, while an ensemble provides accompaniment. Tan chang accompanies the singing with the fan, is sung mainly in antiphonal pairs with spoken narration interspersed, and is performed in the way of "da yuanchang", filling the pauses to sustain the show. The accompanying ensemble generally consists of seven to twenty people, of whom the instrumental section numbers five to thirteen and the singers (changshou) two to ten, the figures varying. In performance there may be a dozen or more people, or as few as two or three, holding coloured fans and dancing as they sing. The sung text is generally improvised, in sections of four lines; seven-syllable lines are the best, though five-, nine- and ten-syllable lines also occur, and every line is required to rhyme. The content reflects real life in every case, natural and plain, concise and clear and lively. The accompanying instruments are chiefly the Shanxi erhu, the sanxian, the guan zi and the flute, joined by the bangzi clappers, the sihu, the dihu (lower-pitched erhu), the shouban percussion, the hand gong, the war drum, the erhu, the nao cymbals, the small cymbals and the like. In performance the key is first set by the Shanxi erhu and the flute, and the ban drum acts as the general conductor. Its tune patterns include the four great scenes (si da jing), the eight little scenes (ba xiao jing), the seventy-two nao wugeng and the nine bends and eighteen tunes (jiuwan shibadiao). As a rule the pingdiao (level tune) is used by day and the yuediao (moon tune) by night. The order of performance is: first the maozi (that is, the prelude), then the taoqu (suite, which shifts the mode according to the tan chang piece), next the guomen qu (linking tune between the upper and lower sections), and finally the quwei (closing strain). It combines narrative performance in which speaking and singing alternate with the supporting emphasis of dance movements. Venues are flexible and varied: it can be performed in the streets, in courtyards, on stages, in squares and at temple fairs, and it is an indispensable form of entertainment for the local people. Its representative pieces include Shen Lu (Interrogating the Records), Fangniu (Herding Cattle), Huan Meizi (Calling the Younger Sister) and Gua Yegui (Scratching Away the Wild Ghost).

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Tan chang reflects the changing course of local society in every historical period; the large body of improvised sung text is concise, lively, vigorous and fresh, and truly expresses the joy, anger, sorrow and happiness of the working people in different periods, embodying the people's plain aesthetic outlook and view of life, so that it has relatively high historical, aesthetic and social-cultural value.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Tan chang has long served temple fairs, shehuo communal celebrations, birthday feasts and both festive and funeral occasions, and a single programme is often formed by the singers and the ensemble getting together on the spot; the pingdiao of the daytime is used mostly at markets and gathering occasions, and the yuediao of the night is used for sitting sessions in a courtyard, hence the local saying that there is the pingdiao by day and the yuediao at night. Its tune patterns are built on the four great scenes, the eight little scenes, the seventy-two nao wugeng and the nine bends and eighteen tunes, and the order of playing follows the maozi first, then the taoqu, then the linking tune, and finally the closing strain. After the 1950s the cultural department of the Lishi District organized tan chang artists to take part in joint performances and to collate the tune patterns, and for a time new sung passages reflecting agricultural cooperativization and water-conservancy construction were created. At present the artists able to sing the traditional suites complete are concentrated in the Lishi urban area and the surrounding villages and townships, and the Lishi District Tan Chang Protection Association of Lvliang City is responsible for the survey, recording and transmission of the art; many younger and middle-aged singers also perform folk songs and erroutai, so the independent character of tan chang has weakened to some extent.

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Danchang (Lvliangshilishi, Shanxi) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗