Tujia Daliuzi Percussion
01 · Historical Records
Tujia daliuzi in Hubei Province is distributed mainly in Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County, Hefeng County and other places; daliuzi in Hefeng County is further concentrated in most of the villages of Tiehu Township, Zouma Town, and was brought in from another region more than two hundred years ago.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Tujia daliuzi was formed by the Tujia people in years of hunting, felling timber and reclaiming land; it was at first called striking the “family estate”, and is popularly known as “surrounding the drum” or “drawing the daliuzi”. Tujia daliuzi is performed with one drum, one gong, two pairs of cymbals and one hook gong; the 5 instruments are each played by one of 5 people, and the ensemble is called the “five-piece band”. Locally it is said that “the drum sounds once, the gong twice, the cymbals three times, and the hook gong dots the dragon's eye”. The Hefeng Tujia daliuzi has more than one hundred named tune patterns; at performance time connective tune patterns are used to link several single tune patterns into a linked suite, which is played in alternation. During performance the “bowl-bowl sound”, “lotus-leaf sound”, “sparse blossom” and “crowded blossom” struck out in turn by the mandarin-duck cymbals (that is, the first and second cymbals) form series of melodic phrases, which make up the basic sections of the music. The gong and the mandarin-duck cymbals interweave the music alternately, sustaining the body and the character of the named tunes and clearly revealing the linear structure of gong-and-drum tune patterns, that is, the luogu jing. The drum and the hook gong, by contrast, follow the trend of the sound and play the part of “dotting the dragon's eye”. In performance the players can make full use of changes in speed, timbre, dynamics and metre to link different tune patterns organically into suites, so as to depict many vivid images and a great variety of moods. Many tune patterns are named after the movements of animals, such as Yan Ping Chi, Feng Huang Shan Chi, Long Hu Dou, Ba Ge Xi Zao and Yao Zi Fan Shen; they are vivid in image and carry a certain power of moving the hearer.
Yan Ping Chi
A Hefeng Tujia daliuzi tune pattern named after the movements of an animal.
Feng Huang Shan Chi
A Hefeng Tujia daliuzi tune pattern that takes the movements of a bird as its subject.
Long Hu Dou
A Hefeng Tujia daliuzi tune pattern of fierce intensity.
Ba Ge Xi Zao
A Hefeng Tujia daliuzi tune pattern that takes the everyday movements of a bird as its subject.
Linked-tune procedure
The procedure for joining several single tune patterns into a linked suite with connective tune patterns and playing them in alternation; it is the core structural device of Hefeng daliuzi.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Daliuzi is conducted entirely through the “drum eye” sounded on the drumhead, which cues the performance and shapes the musical mood; for this reason local people call it “surrounding the drum”. According to the different conducting instruments, it is divided into classes such as “rubbing-eye gong and drum” and “drum-eye gong and drum”; “drum-eye gong and drum” is further divided into “civil-pattern drum eye”, “martial-pattern drum eye” and “dianzi drum eye” according to the different changing and cueing tune patterns. Daliuzi in Hefeng County is concentrated in most of the villages of Tiehu Township, Zouma Town, and was brought in from another region more than two hundred years ago; the local named tunes number more than one hundred. At performance time connective tune patterns are used to link several single tune patterns into a linked suite, which is played in alternation; the players make full use of changes in speed, timbre, dynamics and metre to link different tune patterns into suites, so as to depict many vivid images and a great variety of moods; many tune patterns are named after the movements of animals.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Tujia Daliuzi Percussion · Tujia Daliuzi Percussion.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Tujia daliuzi has a long history, abundant tune patterns and a distinctive artistic style; it is closely bound to the life customs of the local people, and has considerable artistic appreciation and academic research value. But as the social economy develops, the way of life of the local people keeps being renewed, and imported culture strikes hard at local culture; the living environment of Tujia daliuzi is no longer in keeping with this traditional folk art form, and the prospects for the transmission and development of daliuzi are worrying. Measures to give it the necessary protection are now urgent.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Luo Shibi 02-0299
- Tian Longxin 02-0300
- Jian Boyuan 03-0846
- Yang Wenming 05-2081
- Wang Defang
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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