Shifan Music
01 · Historical Records
During the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty, Sun Yuqing, a folk lyricist of Chuzhou, arranged into a score the kunqu music played by the ensemble that accompanied the Qianlong Emperor on his first southern tour in the sixteenth year of the Qianlong reign (1751), then added lyrics with local folk characteristics together with distinctive percussion, producing Chuzhou shifan luogu (wukun), a folk music form appreciated alike by the refined and the popular.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Shifan music is also called "ten classes" or "five pairs", taking its name from the ten instruments played, which are made of silk, bamboo, leather, wood and metal. This music is light and lively, strongly rhythmic, harmonious in pitch and pleasing to the ear, and it is widely circulated in Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other parts of China. Most shifan melodies come from folk minor tunes and huapa (suona pieces); they have also drawn much nourishment from opera, quyi storytelling and song tunes. Their performing forms are divided into seated performance, marching performance and dancing performance, and the player in charge of the clapper boards normally acts as the conductor. Shifan luogu has been flourishing in Chuzhou for more than two hundred years, and a clean original hand-copied manuscript score in gongche notation is still preserved, recording nine principal pieces, several dozen distinctive folk gong-and-drum tune patterns, together with instrument stringing methods, vocal styles, gong-and-drum striking techniques and notation methods. Chuzhou shifan luogu fuses the three parts of chorus, instrumental playing and percussion into one; the instruments used comprise ten percussion instruments together with sixteen string, plucked and wind instruments (also called the "double body"). Gong-and-drum tune patterns are often inserted into the pieces, and the endings are likewise usually built on gong-and-drum tune patterns; at the climaxes of instrumental pieces, to set off the atmosphere and heighten the expressive force, gong and drums are commonly joined by the instrumental ensemble. In its tune names, lyrics, gong-and-drum tune patterns, instruments and performing practice, Chuzhou shifan luogu displays a distinctive individual character. Titles such as Jin Pen Lao Yue and Yong Hua are comparatively rare among the artistic works of the peoples of China and abroad from ancient times to the present, and gong-and-drum tune pattern names such as Chu Yun Shan and Jin Qian Hua are markedly different from the names of opera and folk gong-and-drum patterns. Chuzhou shifan luogu uses a "double body" ensemble made up of paired flutes, paired xiao, paired bamboo flutes, paired sheng, paired pipa and paired sanxian, which compensates for the insufficient sonority of a single body; this double-body format already has a history of several hundred years. In addition, the percussion instruments of Chuzhou shifan luogu are themselves distinctive: their sonority is unique, ranging from high to low in very clearly separated layers.
Jin Pen Lao Yue
One of the nine principal pieces of Chuzhou shifan luogu; its title is comparatively rare among the artistic works of the peoples of China and abroad.
Yong Hua
One of the nine principal pieces of Chuzhou shifan luogu, with a distinctive individualised tune name.
Chu Yun Shan
A representative gong-and-drum tune pattern of Chuzhou shifan luogu, markedly different from the names of opera and folk gong-and-drum patterns.
Jin Qian Hua
A representative gong-and-drum tune pattern of Chuzhou shifan luogu, often used where gong and drums join the instrumental ensemble at the climax of a piece.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Chuzhou shifan luogu is circulated in the Huai'an District area of Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province. Since Sun Yuqing arranged it into a score during the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty it has flourished in Chuzhou for more than two hundred years, and a clean original hand-copied score in gongche notation is still preserved, recording nine principal pieces and several dozen folk gong-and-drum tune patterns, together with instrument stringing methods, vocal styles, gong-and-drum striking techniques and notation methods. The ensemble follows the "double body" configuration, with ten percussion instruments and sixteen string, plucked and wind instruments complete, fusing the three parts of chorus, instrumental playing and percussion into one.
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
Chuzhou shifan luogu evolved out of court kunqu music, into which the creativity of folk musicians was in turn absorbed; the process of its formation and development can provide important material for music history, and it has high research value. But because one generation after another of older artists has passed away and government financial investment is limited, the survival of Chuzhou shifan luogu is hanging by a thread, and it urgently needs systematic research and collation, active rescue and protection.
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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