Suzhou Xuanmiaoguandaojiao Music
01 · Historical Records
In the late Qing and the early Republican period, Taoism in Suzhou was declining: some of the halls at Xuanmiaoguan were rented out and part of the clergy turned to other trades to make a living, yet Taoist music still exerted a wide and deep influence among the people.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Suzhou Taoist music, of which the Taoist music of Xuanmiaoguan is the leading representative, belongs to the Zhengyi school of Taoist music and can be traced back to the Western Jin dynasty. It inherits the traditions of ancient music, absorbs elements such as court and temple music, and is also shaped by Wu-region musical art forms such as tangming music, Jiangnan sizhu, Kunqu opera and Wu songs. The result is a style entirely of its own, widely popular and immensely active. Books such as Zhai Tian, compiled by the Taoist master Shi Liangsheng in the late Ming and early Qing, and Juntian Miaoyue, revised by the Taoist Cao Xisheng during the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty, remain the standards of the Taoist music of Xuanmiaoguan to this day. Suzhou has produced many celebrated musicians: some are well versed in pitch systems and skilled in composition, some are master players of instruments, and others are deeply accomplished in the chanting of jingyun. They have exerted great influence in the world of Taoist music. Suzhou Taoist music comprises two main parts, instrumental and vocal. The instrumental part consists mainly of flute pieces, drum sections and suites made by linking the two together, and is performed in such modes as “seated performance” and “processional music”. The vocal part is the Taoist chanting of sutras; the chants that carry a melody are called “yunqiang”, and take such forms as zan, song, ji, gao, zhou and fu.
Juntian Miaoyue
The Taoist music score revised by the Taoist Cao Xisheng during the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty; it remains the standard of the Taoist music of Xuanmiaoguan to this day.
Zhai Tian
The Taoist liturgical book compiled by the Taoist master Shi Liangsheng in the late Ming and early Qing; it remains the standard of the Taoist music of Xuanmiaoguan to this day.
Flute pieces, drum sections and suites
The instrumental part consists mainly of flute pieces, drum sections and suites made by linking the two together; the modes of performance are divided into such forms as “seated performance” and “processional music”.
Yun-qang chant forms
The vocal part is the Taoist chanting of sutras; the chants that carry a melody are called “yunqiang”, and include the forms zan, song, ji, gao, zhou and fu.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Taoist music of Xuanmiaoguan in Suzhou belongs to the Zhengyi school, with Xuanmiaoguan as its centre of transmission. Historically Suzhou had many Taoist temples and produced generation after generation of musicians, who were well versed in pitch systems and skilled in composition, or master players of instruments, or deeply accomplished in the chanting of jingyun, and who exerted great influence in the world of Taoist music. Books such as Zhai Tian, compiled by the Taoist master Shi Liangsheng in the late Ming and early Qing, and Juntian Miaoyue, revised by the Taoist Cao Xisheng during the Jiaqing reign, remain the standards of the Taoist music of Xuanmiaoguan to this day. The instrumental part includes flute pieces, drum sections and suites made by linking the two together, performed as “seated performance” or “processional music”; the vocal part is the chanting of sutras, of which the melodic form is called “yunqiang”.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Suzhou Taoist music has a long history and high historical value. Its structure is complete, its contrasts strong and its expressiveness rich; it has a high artistic value and has exerted broad influence on social life. In recent years, with reform and opening-up and increasing foreign cultural exchange, the music of Xuanmiaoguan in Suzhou has performed abroad many times and met with favourable reception. Mao Liangshan (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, of Han ethnicity, born in 1928, native of Suzhou, Jiangsu. Representative inheritor of the second national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item Taoist music of Xuanmiaoguan in Suzhou; a Taoist priest of Xuanmiaoguan. Xue Guiyuan (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, of Han ethnicity, born in 1917, native of Suzhou, Jiangsu. He began to study the Taoist way at the Shuixian temple in 1925, and from 1932 to 1936 apprenticed himself to Wu Ziming at the An Qiwang temple to learn the Taoist jiao rite and its liturgy, receiving his ordination eight years later. After 1984 he served as the high-ranking ritual master of Xuanmiaoguan, devoting himself to the collection, sorting out and transmission of the Taoist jiao rite and its liturgy. He took part in such events as the Beijing Buddhist-Taoist Music Week, the recording of Nishang Yayun and the third Taoist Festival in Singapore. Representative inheritor of the second national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item Taoist music of Xuanmiaoguan in Suzhou; a Taoist priest of Xuanmiaoguan.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Mao Liangshan 02-0313
- Xue Guiyuan 02-0314
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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