Shengzhou Chuida
01 · Historical Records
Shengzhou wind-and-percussion music originated in the temple-fair activities of the folk. Handed down through generations for thousands of years, by the mid-Ming dynasty every village in the area had its own temple and ancestral hall, and within the temple hall there was a stage. From 1949 to the 1980s the folk music of Shengzhou gradually formed two great schools, the eastern and the western district. The western school is represented by the farmers' band of Changle Town; in transmission it gradually formed a performing method that combines gong and drum with wind instruments, in which the blowing method of the 'jianhao' changed blowing into inhaling, making the sound of the horn higher and more stirring, with greater penetrating and carrying power.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Records show that as early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods Shengzhou already had village community competitions and temple-fair sacrifices. This method of playing by inhalation is extremely rare among the playing techniques of folk wind instruments across the country. The characteristic of the ensemble is the matched set of five gongs, three drums and three large gongs; the wind instruments include the suona, the long horn and others, and there are also string instruments. The main traditional pieces are 'Yuan Men', 'Xiu Qiu', 'Du Hua', 'Shi Fan', 'Jie Shi' and 'Jiang Jun Ling'. The eastern school is represented by the farmers' band of Huangze; it leans towards string playing, its style tends to be slender, soft and delicate, and its repertoire consists mainly of folk tunes together with some traditional folk silk-and-bamboo pieces. The folk music of Shengzhou is the foundation of Yue opera music and an important part of Yue opera, and it has also had a certain influence on the development of the vocal styles and accompanying music of Yue opera.
Yuan Men
A representative piece of the western school of Shengzhou wind-and-percussion music, giving equal weight to gong, drum and wind instruments.
Xiu Qiu
One of the traditional pieces of Shengzhou wind-and-percussion music.
Shi Fan
One of the traditional pieces of Shengzhou wind-and-percussion music, a common suite title in the gong-and-drum music of eastern Zhejiang.
Jiang Jun Ling
One of the traditional pieces of Shengzhou wind-and-percussion music, with a magnificent and stirring character.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Shengzhou wind-and-percussion music has been handed down through generations; by the mid-Ming dynasty every village in the area had a temple and an ancestral hall with a stage inside the hall, and wind-and-percussion playing survived attached to the temple-fair community competitions. After 1949 two schools gradually formed, the eastern and the western: the western school is represented by the farmers' band of Changle Town, combining gong and drum with wind instruments, with the 'jianhao' changing from blowing to inhaling so that its sound is high and stirring with strong penetrating power; the eastern school is represented by the farmers' band of Huangze, leaning towards string playing in a slender, soft and delicate style, with a repertoire consisting mainly of folk tunes and traditional silk-and-bamboo pieces.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Shengzhou wind-and-percussion music is also one of the main constituent parts of the gong-and-drum music of eastern Zhejiang, and it is of important reference value for the emergence and development of folk music in eastern Zhejiang and for the study of folk customs there. Yin Gongxiang (official archival record of the associated inheritor): He earns his living by farming. At nineteen he began to study the drum pieces 'Du Hua' and 'Yuan Men' and other wind-and-percussion pieces under Mr Wei Qiyuan, and in 1952 he went on to study the four seasons pieces 'Spring Breeze', 'Summer Rain', 'Autumn Harvest' and 'Winter Music' composed by Mr Wei Qiyuan. He specializes in beating out rhythmically sharp pieces with the 'five small gongs', integrating percussion and wind playing into one, in a fresh and elegant performing style. Male, Han nationality, born in 1929, died in 2010, a native of Shengzhou, Zhejiang. Representative inheritor of the second national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item Shengzhou wind-and-percussion music.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yin Gongxiang 02-0284
- Wei Ximing
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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