Weeding Gong and Drum

01 · Historical Records

The eastern Sichuan Tujia weeding gong-and-drum is a folk musical form formed by the Tujia in their long years of field labour, in which they sing while beating gong and drum; its origins may be traced to the period of the Ba people's transition from a fishing-and-hunting economy to an agricultural civilization, and it has been sung from generation to generation down to the present in Xuanhan county of Sichuan and the surrounding Tujia areas of settlement.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The weeding gong-and-drum, also called the “racket song” and commonly known as “making a racket”, is a folk-song form current in the Tujia areas of settlement. In the weeding season the Tujia gather scores or even hundreds of people for collective labour, and at such times two singers are usually invited to perform facing the weeding crowd, one beating the drum and one striking the gong, singing and dancing to the sound of gong and drum while the weeding crowd joins in the chorus. In dancing, the hands sway with the steps, the left hand with the left foot and the right hand with the right foot—light and lively, soft yet firm. The tunes of the weeding gong-and-drum are flexible and varied, and the song master can change the lyrics according to the time of day and the hour, so as to enliven the atmosphere and turn the monotonous and toilsome farm labour into a fiery and cheerful collective activity. The eastern Sichuan Tujia weeding gong-and-drum is also called the “digging-earth song”, the “mountain gong-and-drum” and the “harmonized gong-and-drum”; it is a folk musical form formed by the Tujia in their long years of field labour, in which they sing while beating gong and drum. The Tujia call the intercultivation of rice “weeding the seedlings” and that of maize “weeding the grass”, and both farm activities take place in high summer. To relieve fatigue and rouse the spirits the Tujia enliven their labour with gong and drum, whence the name “weeding gong-and-drum”. The weeding gong-and-drum circulates mainly in the fifty-five townships of Xuanhan county, Sichuan, and the neighbouring Wanyuan, Kaijiang and Kai county in Chongqing; its origins may be traced to the period of the Ba people's transition from a fishing-and-hunting economy to an agricultural civilization. Its forms of performance are varied: there is the “two-man singing and drumming” of one beating the drum and one striking the gong, and the “three-man singing and drumming” of gong, drum and horse gong struck together; the performing forms may be divided into the “civil gong-and-drum” and the “martial gong-and-drum”. The lyrics of the Tujia weeding gong-and-drum are mainly in seven- and five-character lines, with some ten- and four-character forms; the phrases are highly condensed and make much use of exposition, comparison and evocation, and the padding words are mostly empty words. The content of the lyrics consists of the four parts of the prelude, the invitation of the gods, the raising song and the sending off of the gods; the prelude, the invitation of the gods and the sending off of the gods have relatively fixed lyrics, and the raising song is the main content of the song, mostly improvised, composed and sung as one goes, touching on a very wide range of content, including ethnic history, knowledge of production, religious sacrifice, rites and filial affection, love between men and women, the trivial affairs of daily life and amorous banter. The musical melody of the Tujia weeding gong-and-drum is mostly in the ethnic pentatonic zhi mode; the vocal style is high and flowing, bold and rough, ringing and forceful, plain and generous.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The lyrics are mostly in a single rhyme throughout, and their content is divided into the parts of the “song head”, commonly called the “prelude”, the “invitation of the gods”, the “raising song” and the “sending off of the gods”. Its music is in the single-period or multi-period structure of upper and lower lines, with a rich local character.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Chuanbeihaocao Gong and Drum · Weeding Gong and Drum · Weeding Gong and Drum · Weeding Gong and Drum · Weeding Gong and Drum · Weeding Gong and Drum · Weeding Gong and Drum · Weeding Gong and Drum.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The eastern Sichuan Tujia weeding gong-and-drum is an important vehicle of the oral history of the eastern Sichuan Tujia over several thousand years, called locally “flesh-mouth transmission”; it leaves a true portrayal of the Tujia's long years of production and life, and the rich traditional musical culture it contains has important value for artistic appreciation and research. With the acceleration of modernization the local people have gradually lost interest in traditional folk activities, and the old artists, advanced in years, have died one after another, so that the eastern Sichuan Tujia weeding gong-and-drum has no successors and stands on the verge of extinction, urgently needing rescue and protection.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

• Wang Shaoxing 02-0252
• Meng Fanlin 03-0824
• Wang Aimin 03-0825
• Zhang Zhongxiang 05-2047
• Fang Yougen 05-2048
• Leng Haoran 05-2049
• Li Decui
• Xiao Shiqin
• Zhang Yuzhen

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Weeding Gong and Drum (Xuanhan, Sichuan) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗