Caijiawawuyin Dagu Drum Balladry
01 · Historical Records
Its predecessor, “Wuyin Dagu”, had already appeared by the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty; at first it was sung and spoken for self-amusement in the form of a “Qingyin society” inside the Chengde travelling palace, and later it flowed into the folk and was transmitted to southern Beijing, Tianjin and to the Xinglong and Anci areas of Hebei (now Langfang). Of these, the branch transmitted to Anci varied and gave birth to “Beijing qinshu”. The process of its formation is of some significance for the study of the exchange and evolution among the genres of quyi in North China and even in Northeast China, and of the relationship between court art and folk art in the Qing dynasty. The name Wuyin Dagu derives from the fact that its accompaniment consists of five instruments answering one another: the sanxian, the sihu, the daqin (yangqin), the waqin and the drum clappers. In the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty it was sung and spoken for self-amusement in the Qingyin society inside the Chengde travelling palace; afterwards it flowed into the folk in two branches, one being transmitted to southern Beijing, Tianjin and Xinglong in Hebei, and the other to Anci (now Langfang), where it varied in accent and in tune and gave birth to the later Beijing qinshu. The Xinglong branch, after passing through several hands, came to Miyun, where it combined with the local accent and in the end took shape as Caijiawa Wuyin Dagu.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Caijiawa Wuyin Dagu is a form of quyi current in Caijiawa Village of Juggezhuang Town, Miyun District, Beijing, and in the surrounding area. The performing form of Caijiawa Wuyin Dagu is that one performer holds the drum and clapper, beats the time standing, and alternates speech and song, using the local Miyun accent; in addition, four people share out the sanxian, the sihu, the daqin (yangqin) and the waqin for accompaniment. The libretto genre is a mixture of prose and verse; the lyrics take mainly the form of seven-syllable couplet lines; and the vocal tunes have five basic melodies, the Siping diao, the Feng diao, the Liuziban, the Erxingban and the Mankou Meihua, forming a linked suite of tune patterns. Traditional items include long, medium and short pieces, and display rich cultural content and deep artistic reserves. One of its accompanying instruments, the waqin, is very rare among comparable forms of quyi and is of research value for the history of quyi music and for quyi accompaniment performance. The vocal style of Caijiawa Wuyin Dagu is linked together from five basic melodies — the Siping diao, the Feng diao, the Liuziban, the Erxingban and the Mankou Meihua — and belongs to the linked tune-pattern type; the lyrics take mainly the form of seven-syllable couplet lines, and the libretto genre is a mixture of prose and verse. In performance one performer holds the drum and clapper, beats the time standing and speaks and sings in the local Miyun accent, while four others share out the sanxian, the sihu, the daqin and the waqin for accompaniment, among which the waqin is very rare in comparable kinds of quyi and is of reference value for the study of the history of quyi accompanying instruments; traditional items are complete in long, medium and short pieces alike.
The waqin and four accompanists
Four musicians play sanxian, sihu, yangqin and the rare waqin, a combination of note in the history of quyi accompaniment.
The five basic tunes
Its five basic melodies form a linked-tune structure over prose-and-verse texts in seven-character couplets.
The Qingyin society and the Chengde palace
The ancestor form arose about the Qianlong reign, sung for amusement as a pure-tone society in the Chengde palace before spreading to the people.
Kin to Beijing qinshu
The Anci branch mutated into Beijing qinshu, a case of interest for court-to-folk transmission and genre interaction in north China.
Six generations
Its traceable lineage runs six generations, passed down within families and between masters and pupils.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The branch transmitted to the Xinglong area of Hebei, after passing through several hands and flowing into Miyun, combined with the local accent and gradually developed into Caijiawa Wuyin Dagu. Caijiawa Village lies in Juggezhuang Town of Miyun District, on hilly ground between the Chao River and the Bai River, and the quyi activity in the village is linked to the temple fair and flower festival traditions of the Beijing outskirts. The artists of the Xinglong branch transmitted to Miyun moved about from village to village giving performances, and once combined with the local accent they took root, forming a pattern of transmission organised on a village basis; Caijiawa Wuyin Dagu is current in that village and its surrounding area.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The traceable lineage of transmission of Caijiawa Wuyin Dagu covers six generations. Caijiawa Wuyin Dagu has certain artistic, historical, academic and cultural value. The traceable lineage of transmission of Caijiawa Wuyin Dagu covers six generations, and its artists for the most part take the form over through families and from master to apprentice, erecting a stage in the village or singing from household to household at festival times. As the older artists grow old and the young people go out to work, troupes able independently to handle all five melodies together with the four accompanying instruments are becoming increasingly scarce. The Caijiawa Shareholders' Economic Cooperative of Juggezhuang Town, Miyun District, Beijing serves as the protecting unit of the project; it organises the recording of old vocal styles, collates the libretti, and promotes performances in the villages together with transmission and training.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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