Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble

01 · Historical Records

The ancient music of Xiongxian belongs to the northern branch of folk drum-and-wind music; it began in the Song and Yuan, flourished in the Ming and Qing, and has very deep connections with court music.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Besides wind instruments such as the sheng, guan and flute, Jizhong sheng-and-guan music also uses such percussion instruments as cloud gongs, drums, nao, cymbals and clapper bells. The pieces of sheng-and-guan music fall into three kinds: suites, short pieces and independent sets of percussion music; of these the suites are of great length and complex structure, and form the main part of the whole performing repertory. The pieces of the Yagucheng music society are plain in wording and refined in sentiment, holding joy and sorrow together, and have a character of their own. Its civil-suite repertory includes pieces such as Kong Zi Tan Yan Hui and Pu Tan Zhou; the opening pieces include such reversed-mode tunes as Xiao Hua Yuan and Da Zou Ma, and the scattered pieces such as Tiao Pao, Tao Jun Ling and Si Ji; the martial section begins with the opening cymbals and has seven sections in all, closing with a cymbal head, high and stirring, refreshing to ear and eye. The Zhaogang music society belongs to the northern music and preserves more than twenty ancient pieces, two suites and five sets of percussion music, classified by kind into Buddhist tunes, Daoist tunes, folk tunes and the like. The Duzhuang music society is a typical folk drum-and-wind music of the northern school, and all the pieces it plays are ancient tunes; they may be played seated in the canopy or performed on the move. The ancient music of Xiongxian takes the folk music society as its vehicle, is organised spontaneously, and is handed down from generation to generation. The pieces of the music society are all notated in gongche; in the band the Chinese wind instruments take the guan (the large guan and the small guan) as the leading instrument, accompanied by sheng, flute and cloud gong, and the pieces played are solemn and dignified. The martial music is led by great cymbals, nao, cymbals and drums, among which the Hexi cymbals are magnificent and stirring.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Jizhong sheng-and-guan music is current in nearly thirty counties and cities south of Beijing, west of Tianjin and north of Cangzhou and Dingzhou; it is a drum-and-wind music peculiar to the Jizhong Plain, popularly called a “music society” by the people, and, because it is led by the guan and accompanied by the sheng and other instruments, also called “sheng-and-guan music”. Jizhong sheng-and-guan music is found all over the Jizhong Plain; the farmers of this region form societies by village, borrowing instruments to meet, and play in local sacrificial rites, funerals and other folk activities, handing it on from generation to generation in their own distinctive way. The Kaikou music society has both civil and martial music and belongs to the Daoist northern music; one volume of gongche scores survives locally, containing five large suites including Ma Yu Lang, Hui Xue and Kong Zi Tan Yan Hui, more than eighty short pieces, one volume of hu lun and one part of Hexi cymbals.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The ancient music of Xiongxian still active among the people today is that of the four music societies of Yagucheng, Kaikou, Zhaogang and Duzhuang; these societies have the closest of relations with religious beliefs such as Buddhism and Daoism, and have always been an indispensable form of art for the people of Xiongxian in blessing, welcoming auspiciousness, pastime and amusement. The pieces played by the ancient music of Xiongxian are all ancient tunes that have passed through many vicissitudes; they preserve rather completely the original appearance of traditional national music and provide precious materials for the study of classical Chinese music. At present, under the impact of Western culture and modern ways of life, the performers of the ancient music of Xiongxian are ageing, the tradition survives with difficulty, and urgent protection is needed. Shi Junping (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, Han, born in February 1966, a native of Xiongxian, Hebei Province. In performance he gets several tones from one hole, different tones from the same hole, and combines high and low tones in endlessly varied ways; his tunes are refined and his timbre beautiful, now sweeping like a river in flood, now gentle like a low murmur, now clear as birdsong and cicadas. The flowery cymbals he created for the martial section, drawing on the strengths of many schools, are varied in pattern, magnificent in force, high and stirring, bold and unrestrained, and have won the praise of experts and old artists. His main representative works include Kong Zi Tan Yan Hui, Xiao Hua Yuan and Tao Jun Ling. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage project Jizhong sheng-and-guan music (Xiongxian ancient music). He is now president of the Yagucheng music society and has trained more than twenty apprentices.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

• Feng Yuechi 02-0302
• Cai Yurun 02-0303
• Shangxuezhi 02-0304
• Hu Deming 02-0305
• Xia Laofei 03-0849
• Liu Qin 03-0850
• Wang Ruhai 03-0851
• Hu Guoqing 04-1528
• Shi Junping 05-2083
• Shao Shutong 05-2084
• Cai Baoheng 05-2085
• Zhang Zhanmin 05-2086
• Jia Tingxin
• Lizhanglin
• Pan Desen

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble (Xiong, Hebei) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Shi Junping · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗