Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble
01 · Historical Records
When the local temple was demolished in 1950, the fanbei music had already been transmitted down to the generation whose generational name began with “Sha”.
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 band of the Nanxiangkou fanbei music society has a fixed establishment: five wind and four percussion with one round cap, ten players in all, is a full class, while only five wind or only four percussion is a half class. The five wind make up the civil music, and include two sheng players, one flute player, one guan player and one cloud-gong player. The cloud gong is a percussion instrument and not a wind instrument, so the five wind are in fact only four wind. The four percussion make up the martial music, and include one nao player, one cymbal player, one player on the gezi (small cymbals) and one drummer. Besides the five wind and four percussion there is also the round cap, who only plays with the band when the scriptures are chanted, when the spirits are attended and when the Buddha is worshipped. The fanbei music society generally performs in four gong modes — the zheng mode, the bei mode, the jie zhi mode and the small gong mode — and there is also a yue mode. Borrowed notes often occur in the chanting of pieces, and this is an important characteristic of the Nanxiangkou fanbei music society. The Nanxiangkou music society plays mainly on occasions of chanting scriptures in temples, scattering the lamps, welcoming the procession, temple-fair performances and folk funerals; the funeral marquee is its main form of activity, and its manner of performance is divided, according to the different sites and occasions, into street processions and seated playing. Representative pieces of the Nanxiangkou fanbei music society include Liu Han Yan, Chu Tan Ji and Yu Fu Rong.
Liu Han Yan
One of the representative pieces of the Nanxiangkou fanbei music society.
Chu Tan Ji
One of the representative pieces of the Nanxiangkou fanbei music society, related to the temple ceremony of leaving the altar.
Yu Fu Rong
One of the representative pieces of the Nanxiangkou fanbei music society, a piece shared by the various music societies of Jizhong sheng-and-guan music.
Five wind, four percussion, one round-cap
Ten players make a full class: the five wind are the civil music (two sheng, one flute, one guan, one cloud gong), the four percussion the martial music (one nao, one cymbal, one small cymbals, one drum), and the round cap only plays with the band when the scriptures are chanted, the spirits attended and the Buddha worshipped.
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.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble · Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble · Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble · Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble · Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble · Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble · Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble · Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble · Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble · Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble · Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble · Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble · Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble · Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble · Jizhong Sheng and Guan Ensemble.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Nanxiangkou fanbei Buddhist music current in Luofa Town, Anci District, Langfang City, Hebei Province has a history that can be traced back at least to before the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty, over five hundred years ago, and has been transmitted through twenty-four generations in succession. Transmitted through several centuries, the Nanxiangkou fanbei music society has always preserved many of the characteristics of traditional music, and is precious material for the study of folklore and ethnomusicology. At present, under the impact of foreign culture and the market economy, the development and transmission of this ancient folk music is extremely difficult and it urgently needs rescue and protection.
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
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。