Shifan Music
01 · Historical Records
Chating shifan music originated on Chating Street in the Taijiang district of Fuzhou city, Fujian Province.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
According to Zheng Luoying's Chixuzhai Poetry Manuscript of the Qianlong reign of the Qing, in the “Banyan City Evening Bamboo Branch Songs” it is recorded: “In the temple of Fuzhou Mountain the night presses in thick, before the temple the full moon stands at the gate. Betel-nut teeth and holders of long pipes; in the youths' gathering grounds the shifan bands vie with one another.” From this one can see how popular shifan music was among the Fuzhou people at the time. Very long ago the dragon-lantern dance was in vogue among the Fuzhou people. Later the percussion that accompanied the dragon dance gradually separated off and became an independent art form, using five kinds of instrument such as the langzhang, the big and small gongs and the big and small cymbals. In order to avoid the monotony of a combination of five instruments, the flute, the douguan, the yehu and other wind and string instruments were added to them, and the qinggu drum and the yunluo gongs were added as well. To obtain a balance of volume, every kind of wind and string instrument was supplied in even numbers, forming double flutes, double pipes and double hu, ten kinds in all, and the band was thus basically formed. Representative pieces of Chating shifan music are Qin Lou Yue, Shui Di Tian, Lian Hua Ce, Yan Lai Yun, Shi Liu Hua and others. Chating shifan music is not only popular within Fuzhou city but also in the rural areas around Fuzhou and in the five districts and six counties under Fuzhou, and it has spread to Ningde, Jianyang, Nanping, Gutian, Fu'an, Zherong, Xiapu and other places. Chating shifan music is used mainly in folk customs such as welcoming the gods and holding temple fairs, and in the weddings, funerals and family banquets of the common people. The qupai mostly express the relationship between human beings and nature and society, or embody a certain artistic conception, or describe ancient legendary tales.
Qin Lou Yue
Representative pieces of Chating shifan music are Qin Lou Yue, Shui Di Tian, Lian Hua Ce, Yan Lai Yun, Shi Liu Hua and others.
Shui Di Tian
Representative pieces of Chating shifan music are Qin Lou Yue, Shui Di Tian, Lian Hua Ce, Yan Lai Yun, Shi Liu Hua and others.
Lian Hua Ce
Representative pieces of Chating shifan music are Qin Lou Yue, Shui Di Tian, Lian Hua Ce, Yan Lai Yun, Shi Liu Hua and others.
Yan Lai Yun
Representative pieces of Chating shifan music are Qin Lou Yue, Shui Di Tian, Lian Hua Ce, Yan Lai Yun, Shi Liu Hua and others.
Shi Liu Hua
Representative pieces of Chating shifan music are Qin Lou Yue, Shui Di Tian, Lian Hua Ce, Yan Lai Yun, Shi Liu Hua and others.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The performing forms of Chating shifan music are divided into seated performance and processional performance, and the arrangement of the players' positions is very carefully observed. The troupes of Chating shifan consist mainly of the music societies around Chating Street in the Taijiang district of Fuzhou; the players are mostly sons of merchants of Chating Street and amateur music lovers, taught by master and apprentice and handed down through generations, and they spread with Fuzhou emigrants to Ningde, Jianyang, Nanping, Gutian, Fu'an, Zherong, Xiapu and other counties and towns. The band pairs double flutes, double pipes and double hu with the langzhang, the big and small gongs, the big and small cymbals, the qinggu drum and the yunluo gongs, about ten instruments in all, insisting on a balance of volume and a harmony of timbres, and the arrangement of the players' positions is very carefully observed.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Shifan Music · Shifan Music · Shifan Music · Shifan Music · Shifan Music · Shifan Music · Shifan Music · Shifan Music.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Chen Yingmu (as recorded in the official dossier of an associated inheritor): male, Han, born in 1933, a native of Fuzhou, Fujian. Chen Yingmu is skilled in playing such instruments as the yehu, the douguan, the langchuan and the qinggu drum, and he has published works such as Fuzhou Chating Shifan Music. Representative inheritor of Chating shifan music in the second national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage projects.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Chen Yingmu 02-0286
- Louzhengshou 03-0843
- Wang Rongtang 04-1524
- Li Zhenyu 04-1525
- Fang Yuanwang 04-1526
- He Hanpei 05-2076
- Liu Guangrong
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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