Suona Art
01 · Historical Records
This tradition was transmitted from Persia and reached the central plains in the Jin and Yuan dynasties. The Zhou family troupe has developed from its founding in the late Qing dynasty to the present, having passed through more than a century of vicissitudes. Since it took shape in the late Qing dynasty, the Lingbi Bolin suona has always been celebrated for the richness of its tune patterns, its display of ritual propriety and its enduring popularity.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Lingbi Bolin suona circulates in Bolin Village, Yinji Town, Lingbi County, Suzhou City, Anhui Province. It is a suona performance art created by a folk music troupe made up chiefly of members of the Zhou clan, such as Zhou Zhengyu, the late master of Chinese wind instruments. The suona, popularly called "laba", has a bright, bold and expansive tone, high and resonant, firm yet gentle and gentle yet firm, and is good at expressing hot and unrestrained scenes and emotions of great joy and great sorrow. Among the Zhou surname's direct line there are more than one hundred male and female players of all ages, and over a thousand disciples and followers with other surnames, forming a vast folk music community. Representative figures include the "Eight Tigers of the Zhou Family" and the "Four Flowers of Drum Music". The Lingbi Bolin suona belongs to band-society activity and most often accompanies folk rituals such as weddings, birthday celebrations and funerals. It is generally performed by eight people, but six or ten people are also possible. There are "family troupes" and "combined troupes": they farm in the busy season and perform in the slack season. The repertoire is divided into wedding and birthday pieces of joyous blessing, temple-fair pieces of production and daily life, official and funeral pieces of great ceremony, and impromptu pieces suited to the occasion for folk performance. Forms of performance are divided into the static "seated canopy performance", the dynamic "processional performance", and interactive performance playing created on the spot as the occasion requires. Older-generation artists generally made their own instruments. They melt tin into molten tin, pour it into a homemade double-layer sleeve, and after casting, according to differing size ratios, drill eight sound holes by a special craft, correcting the pitch by test-blowing. The Lingbi Bolin suona can produce almost every wind-instrument technique and sound effect, such as ka-xi, muted pipe, double pipe and bazhuanzi, and can also imitate theatre voices, the human voice and birdsong. By taking several parts of the suona apart and playing them separately, it can imitate different character roles, such as the aged and deep voice of the old male role, the sprightly vivacity of the young female role and the rough bluntness of the martial role. The suona can also play classical pieces, popular songs and foreign music. It is common in the folk that "without the Zhou family troupe a man will not marry and a woman will not wed". The Zhou family troupe also carries out transmission and dissemination in many ways, such as recording suona albums and spontaneously organising performance activities. This heritage item has a broad and deep popular base and carries important social and cultural significance such as binding the community together and promoting harmony among groups.
Seated canopy performance
A static performance form in which the band sets up a canopy and plays seated; it is used mainly at ritual occasions such as weddings and birthday celebrations, and its repertoire belongs to the joyous-blessing category.
Processional performance
A dynamic performance form in which the band plays while marching with the wedding or funeral procession, with long trumpets and percussion setting the pace.
Ka-xi imitative playing
The suona is taken apart and its sections played separately, or a muted pipe, double pipe or bazhuanzi added, to imitate theatre character types such as the aged old male role, the sprightly young female role and the rough martial role, as well as the calls of birds.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Lingbi Bolin suona centres on the Zhou family troupe: among the Zhou surname's direct line there are more than one hundred male and female players of all ages, and over a thousand disciples and followers with other surnames, forming a vast folk music community, with representative figures including the "Eight Tigers of the Zhou Family" and the "Four Flowers of Drum Music". The band societies are divided into "family troupes" and "combined troupes", farming in the busy season and performing in the slack season, generally six to ten people. Older-generation artists made their own instruments, melting tin into molten tin and pouring it into a double-layer sleeve, then drilling eight holes according to the size ratios after casting and correcting the pitch by test-blowing, forming a distinctive manufacturing craft.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Since the Lingbi Bolin suona took shape it has been transmitted in orderly fashion, developing to the present through family transmission and master-disciple transmission. With a hundred years of transmission and far-reaching influence, it upholds traditional Chinese culture, is closely bound up with folk custom, and serves to build up the atmosphere and to display ritual propriety. As part of regional culture, it vividly and truly reflects the folkways and customs of this area and has value for folkloric study.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- He Deyi 02-0276
- Li Jinhai 02-0277
- Yao Shaolin 03-0837
- Lu Buliang 03-0838
- Niuqiyun 03-0839
- Liu Yousheng 03-0840
- Mo Baihuai 04-1520
- Li Qishan 04-1521
- Wang Shifa 04-1522
- Ma Zigang 04-1523
- Liu Fushou 05-2062
- Cui Qingyun 05-2063
- Liu Xiaohong 05-2064
- Tang Haifeng 05-2065
- Yang Chengwei 05-2066
- Li Shupeng 05-2067
- Jiang Fajie 05-2068
- Liu Qiulin 05-2069
- Ding Qinghua 05-2070
- Wang Shuyin 05-2071
- Liu Guofu 05-2072
- Chen Dewang 05-2073
- Liu Daorong 05-2074
- Zhou Benxiang
- Xiehaiming
- Sun Huayang
- Yao Xina
- Suo Zhongxiu
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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