Gong and Drum Art
01 · Historical Records
The history of Kaifeng pan-gu can be traced back to the Song dynasty; it shares its origin with the ya-gu music transmitted in Kaifeng during the four hundred years from Song to Ming, and after the Ming and Qing dynasties it gradually changed from military drum music into folk square drum-and-dance. It is performed at markets, sacrifices and festival activities, and in the Qing dynasty it was widely used in folk rituals such as praying for rain against drought; the ensemble ranges from a dozen-odd people to several hundred, striking as they march under the direction of the flag-bearer.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Although the instruments used vary from place to place, they consist mainly of high-volume percussion instruments such as gongs, drums, naos and cymbals; the rhythm is stirring and sharply marked, the performance scenes are grand, the artistic style is marked by imposing momentum, martial vigour and ardent warmth, and it is performed mainly at various folk auspicious celebrations and ceremonial occasions. Kaifeng pan-gu was originally called “da gu” (big drum); it is a folk square drum-and-dance music peculiar to Kaifeng City, closely related to the ya-gu music transmitted in Kaifeng during the four hundred years from Song to Ming. The drum used in the Kaifeng pan-gu performance is a flat drum with a wooden frame, 50 centimetres in diameter and 32 centimetres high, shaped like a millstone. A long front strap of 2.5 metres is tied to a pair of iron rings on the two sides of the drum frame; the performer bears it diagonally on the left shoulder and slings it over the body, so that the drum lies in front of the waist with its face upward. The drumsticks are made of willow, about as thick as a thumb; the wood is hard and resilient. This pan-gu, slung on the body and struck while walking, was first used in the army; later it was combined with folk dance to form a special drum-and-dance performance form, in which the performers dress as various characters and make various dance movements to the accompaniment of the pan-gu. Kaifeng pan-gu is generally performed at markets, sacrifices or festival activities, and in the Qing dynasty it was widely used in folk rituals such as praying for rain against drought. Kaifeng pan-gu performance teams number from a dozen-odd people to several hundred; under the direction of the flag-bearer the performers either strike the big drum slung in front of the body or strike large cymbals, horse gongs and other bronze instruments, beating and dancing as they march. The whole performance is grand in scale, with a strong, ardent, lively and martial rhythm, fully revealing the rough and heroic spirit of the sons and daughters of the Central Plains, and it has extremely strong artistic appeal.
Pan-gu drum construction
The pan-gu is a flat drum with a wooden frame, 50 centimetres in diameter and 32 centimetres high, shaped like a millstone; a long front strap of 2.5 metres is tied to a pair of iron rings on the two sides of the drum frame, and the performer bears it diagonally on the left shoulder and slings it over the body, so that the drum lies in front of the waist with its face upward.
Willow drumsticks
The drumsticks are made of willow, about as thick as a thumb; the wood is hard and resilient.
Flag-led marching performance
Kaifeng pan-gu performance teams number from a dozen-odd people to several hundred; under the direction of the flag-bearer the performers either strike the big drum slung in front of the body or strike large cymbals, horse gongs and other bronze instruments, beating and dancing as they march.
Rain-praying ritual use
Kaifeng pan-gu is generally performed at markets, sacrifices or festival activities, and in the Qing dynasty it was widely used in folk rituals such as praying for rain against drought.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Gong-and-drum music is a relatively common form of folk instrumental performance in China; it is widely distributed, and is found in Hebei, Tianjin, Shanxi, Shanghai, Henan, Hubei, Shanxi and other places. Kaifeng pan-gu is rooted in the folk and deeply loved by the local masses; it has long been active in the five counties of Kaifeng City and in the surrounding counties and cities, and together with folk arts such as the dragon dance, the lion dance, the dry-land boat and the bamboo horse it has become an important part of the life of local people, providing important reference for research in folklore and the development history of ethnic music.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art · Gong and Drum Art.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
However, as the art market has developed, professional or semi-professional performance teams have consistently lacked training and funding has also fallen seriously short; in particular the transmission work has not been effectively carried out, and the number of drummers has been steadily declining. In response to this situation, it is necessary to strengthen planning and, from an overall standpoint, carry out comprehensive protection of the ancient Kaifeng pan-gu art. Liu Zhen (per the official archive record of the associated inheritor): Male, of Han ethnicity, born in March 1948, a native of Mengjin County, Henan Province. He loved Kaifeng pan-gu from childhood; after being transferred to the Kaifeng Mass Arts Centre in 1980 he studied Kaifeng pan-gu successively under Yin Junzhong, Guo Quanzhong, Cao Hongru and other masters, and thoroughly mastered the striking methods as well as the norms and techniques of marching, jumping, formation-setting and formation-fighting. His transmission lineage is clear; he masters a large number of pieces (tune patterns); the characteristics of his technique are meticulous and vigorous, and his performance is full of masculine vigour. Besides excavating and collating Kaifeng gong-and-drum pieces, he has done a great deal of work in the study of Kaifeng pan-gu, and has published a number of papers including 《Kaifeng Pan-Gu Dance》. For many years, on the basis of social practice, he has carried out the teaching of Kaifeng pan-gu and the transmission of its techniques. The Kaifeng pan-gu musicians he has trained number more than a thousand; more than a hundred pan-gu teams have been formed under his guidance, involving over ten thousand musicians. Representative inheritor of the gong-and-drum music (Kaifeng pan-gu) item of the fifth national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Liu Yaowen 03-0882
- Zhao Manzong 05-2134
- Zhang Shushe 05-2135
- Wu Mingchang 05-2136
- Yang Renhe 05-2137
- Liu Qingyun 05-2138
- Liu Zhen 05-2139
- Li Xingguang 05-2140
- Wangdaozhang 05-2141
- Cheng Qinxiang 05-2142
- Wang Guohai
- Xuezongfeng
- Hong Yuqing
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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