Gong and Drum Art
01 · Historical Records
By the period of the Republic of China this folk art had already begun to wane. In 1997, after listening to this drum music, the musician Lü Ji said: 'Its performance can be called a "Chinese gong-and-drum symphony"; its repertoire and its sound must both be preserved.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Yungang big gong and drum music, also called Yunsheng gong and drum music, and also known as northern Shanxi big gong and drum music, is transmitted mainly in northern Shanxi, and is most famous in Yongxing Village of Yuanping City. In Cave 16 of the Yungang Grottoes there is carved a gong-and-drum ensemble holding small cymbals, which shows that the small cymbals were already popular among the people in the Northern Wei period. At that time warfare was frequent on the northern Shanxi plateau, and this genre of music was often used to welcome soldiers home in triumph; after the wars ended it was mainly played at folk festivals. 'The genre has a rich repertoire, with 133 pieces surviving today, and it has 37 distinctive conducting methods. Its difference from the drum-playing methods used by other gong-and-drum music in China is this: as soon as a piece reaches the grade of 'sanpin erdang' or above, the players use no drumsticks and strike the drums with their fingers alone. Every kind of instrument has its specialty of the 'yuanyang' striking technique, that is, a man and a woman playing the same instrument together. According to the old artists: 'In the northern Shanxi big gong and drum music the drum is the sovereign and symbolizes the skeleton; the small cymbals are the queen and the small gong is the tongue, the two in close coordination serving as the sinews, veins and blood; the large cymbals are flesh and skin and the set of gongs is ornament, playing an auxiliary role; the wooden fish symbolizes the brows and eyes; and conducting with a whip is the soul, making up a complete person.'
Finger-drumming above San-pin Er-dang
Its drumming method differs from that used by other gong-and-drum music in China: as soon as a piece reaches the grade of 'sanpin erdang' or above, the players use no drumsticks and strike the drums with their fingers alone.
Yuanyang paired striking
Every kind of instrument has its specialty of the 'yuanyang' striking technique, that is, a man and a woman playing the same instrument together; it is a distinguishing skill of this genre.
Thirty-seven conducting methods
Yunsheng gong and drum music has 133 surviving pieces and 37 distinctive conducting methods; conducting with a whip is regarded as the soul of the whole ensemble.
Instrumental role division
According to the old artists, in the northern Shanxi big gong and drum music the drum is the sovereign and symbolizes the skeleton; the small cymbals are the queen and the small gong is the tongue, the two in close coordination serving as the sinews, veins and blood; the large cymbals are flesh and skin, the set of gongs is ornament, the wooden fish symbolizes the brows and eyes, and conducting with a whip is the soul.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Yunsheng gong and drum music, also called Yungang big gong and drum music and northern Shanxi big gong and drum music, is transmitted mainly in northern Shanxi and is most famous in Yongxing Village of Yuanping City; in 1997 the musician Lü Ji, after hearing it, said its performance could be called a 'Chinese gong-and-drum symphony' and hoped that both its repertoire and its sound would be preserved. In this genre the drum is the sovereign and the small cymbals the queen; every instrument emphasizes the 'yuanyang' striking technique, that is, a man and a woman playing the same instrument together, and conducting with a whip is regarded as the soul. After the reform and opening up, the inheritors Xing Mingxuan and Zhang Linyu recorded and collated the repertoire and repeatedly took their ensemble to perform at home and abroad, winning widespread acclaim; in recent years, because the old artists are advanced in age, gong-and-drum materials are scattered among the people and funding for protection is insufficient, the genre has gradually declined.
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
After the reform and opening up, its inheritors Xing Mingxuan and Zhang Linyu recorded and collated its repertoire, carried it forward with great effort and frequently took their ensemble to perform at home and abroad, winning widespread acclaim. In recent years, for reasons such as the advanced age of the old artists, the scattering of gong-and-drum materials among the people and the absence of funding for protection, it has gradually declined and is on the verge of being lost. Strengthening rescue and protection for it is therefore urgent.
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)
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。