Subei Dagu Drum Balladry
01 · Historical Records
It evolved out of the yugu (fishing drum) tradition, and took shape around 1796, in the middle period of the Qing dynasty, in the area of Suqian and of Suiyang in Xuzhou. Northern Jiangsu great drum, also called chang dashu (singing the great book), evolved out of the yugu (fishing drum) tradition and took shape around the first year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty (1796) in the area of Suqian and of Suiyang in Xuzhou. It then spread rapidly to the adjoining areas of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui, and by the Tongzhi period it had become a genre widely popular in those regions. Suchucheng District of Suqian City is the main area of transmission at present, and the documented line of transmission has already run through nine generations; transmission proceeds by apprenticeship and by family inheritance in equal measure, family inheritance being colloquially called "father-and-son legs".
02 · Core Techniques & Process
After taking shape it spread rapidly to surrounding areas, and by the Tongzhi period it had become a genre deeply loved by the people of the areas where Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui meet; it has a history of more than 200 years. Its performance form is a single performer with one large drum and two crescent-shaped clappers (of copper or steel), using the Suqian dialect, alternating speech and song, with speech and song equally important. In singing, the left hand shakes the clappers to beat the time and the right hand strikes the drum; during the spoken passages the drum and clappers are put down, and sometimes an xingmu (awakening block) is used as an auxiliary prop. Its sung text is strictly composed, in ten-syllable, seven-syllable, five-syllable and three-syllable lines. Ten-syllable and seven-syllable lines are called "pai", five-syllable lines are called "jin", and three-syllable lines are called "zan". Spoken narration is strict about the four ways of delivering sound — hao (drawn-out cry), dun (sudden stop), huan (slow) and ji (urgent) — with upper and lower lines balanced against each other. The vocal style is rich and sonorous, and includes the huilong diao (returning-dragon tune), the manganniu (slow ox-driving tune) and the kuailluishui (fast flowing-water tune). Performance is strict about "catching the hook, seizing the clasp and snatching the cap", and commonly uses performing techniques such as the "empty spearhead", the "shadowless whip", the "tethered horse post" and the "flying hook"; in the story a large clasp holds a small one inside it and a small clasp is linked to a large one, so that the audience is kept in suspense throughout. In singing it is strict about mouth, hand and eye arriving together. Northern Jiangsu great drum has a rich repertoire, mainly of long works, most of them orally created by artists and honed through repeated performance. According to incomplete statistics, more than 200 works are performed and more than 60 newly composed works exist. Its representative works include "Gao Huaide's Troops East of the River" (Gao Huaide Bing Xia Hedong) and "The Chronicle of Five Plums and Seven Spears against the Tang" (Wu Mei Qi Qiang Fan Tang Zhuan). In performance there is one performer with one large drum and two crescent-shaped clappers (of copper or steel), using the Suqian dialect, alternating speech and song, with speech and song equally important; in singing, the left hand shakes the clappers to beat the time and the right hand strikes the drum, and in the spoken passages the drum and clappers are put down, sometimes with an xingmu (awakening block) as an aid. The sung text is divided into ten-syllable, seven-syllable, five-syllable and three-syllable lines; ten- and seven-syllable lines are called pai, five-syllable lines jin and three-syllable lines zan. Spoken narration is strict about hao, dun, huan and ji, with upper and lower lines balanced against each other. The vocal style is rich and sonorous, and includes the huilong diao, the manganniu and the kuailluishui.
Pai, jin and zan
Its strict texts use lines of ten, seven, five and three characters, respectively called pai, jin and zan.
Suspense techniques
Its suspense craft deploys named devices so that large and small hooks nest, keeping the audience guessing, with mouth, hand and eye all engaged.
Representative titles
Leading titles from over two hundred traditional and sixty newly composed works, mostly created orally by performers.
Family transmission
Passed on orally by masters and within families, the line has nine documented generations since the Qing.
From the yugu drum
Evolved from the bamboo drum, it took shape around 1796 in Suqian and Suining and spread across the four-province borderland by the Tongzhi reign.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Northern Jiangsu great drum, colloquially called "chang dashu" (singing the great book), is a form of quyi based on the dialect of the Suqian area of Jiangsu Province. It circulates over a wide area, namely Suqian, Xuzhou, Huai'an and Lianyungang in northern Jiangsu, as well as northeastern Anhui, southern Shandong and eastern Henan.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Northern Jiangsu great drum is transmitted by oral teaching from heart to mind, and apprenticeship and family inheritance (colloquially called "father-and-son legs") are its principal modes of transmission. From its formation in the Qing dynasty down to the present, the documented line of transmission has run through nine generations, and Suchucheng District of Suqian City is the main area of transmission at present. Northern Jiangsu great drum is a distinctive art form formed by people in the course of long production and life; it is a precious treasure of national folk literature, of considerable historical value and with a fine function in publicity and education. Northern Jiangsu great drum consists mainly of long works, most of them orally created by artists and honed through long years of performance. According to incomplete statistics there are more than two hundred works in the traditional repertoire and more than sixty newly composed works, with representative works such as "Gao Huaide's Troops East of the River" and "The Chronicle of Five Plums and Seven Spears against the Tang". Performance is strict about catching the hook, seizing the clasp and snatching the cap, and commonly uses the techniques of the empty spearhead, the shadowless whip, the tethered horse post and the flying hook, a large clasp holding a small one inside it, so that listeners are kept in suspense throughout; it is also strict about mouth, hand and eye arriving together. The Cultural Centre of Suchucheng District, Suqian City, is the protecting unit for the project, and sustains the art through storytelling-house performances and master-disciple teaching.
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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