Gong and Drum Art

01 · Historical Records

Zhongzhou big drum took shape during the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty (1606) and has a history of more than four hundred years. It is a folk art form unique to the northern part of Henan Province, in which big drum, nao and cymbals are combined. Zhongzhou big drum is bold in style, imposing in scale, varied in formations and rich in local colour. With its distinctive performing format that combines sound and movement, and its bright, energetic rhythms, it expresses the singular way in which the farmers of the Central Plains perceive and feel the world, and displays their warm, unrestrained and forthright state of mind.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

According to the Tianxian Temple stele in Zhaodi Village, Langgongmiao Town, Xinxiang County: during the Wanli reign (1606), in order to resist bandits and repel invaders, the villagers contributed money to purchase several big drums for raising morale. During the Xianfeng reign of the Qing dynasty (1850), the villager Zhang Wanmian added nao, cymbals, gongs and other bronze instruments, and organized three drum troupes — the Tiandihui, the Tianyehui and the Huoshenhui — so that Zhongzhou big drum first took shape on a scale. In the early years of the Republic of China, Zhongzhou big drum developed further. Villagers such as Zhang Zaifu adapted the traditional tunes, added props such as tiger-head placards, dragon banners and lanterns, and brought the drum-dance art into sacrificial rites and festival celebrations. In drum-type artistic performance, Zhongzhou big drum is typical and representative. First, the drum is large. The big drum has a diameter of 3.5 chi and weighs more than fifty jin; among the drums carried on a person’s back or shoulder it is the largest, possessing a primitive beauty and a magnificent scale. Inside the drum are tension springs, so the metallic sound it gives out when struck is very pleasant to the ear. Second, its repertory of scores is distinctive. The “Da Hu Lei Pao” drum tune is weighty and sedate, with slow rhythms and a complex structure; the “Xiao Hu Lei Pao” drum tune is cheerful and flowing, giving a sense of passion and uplift. The complete score presents a musical structure that repeats and progresses, and the nao and drum create a distinctive dialogue-like artistic conception. Third, its dance is distinctive. The dancing cymbals move in response to the drum, keep exactly to the drum beats, and rapidly change through a variety of dance movements and poses. On the foundation of traditional drum-dance, the art adds the giant drum and aerial drum-dance, giving strong visual impact, spatial range and three-dimensional mass; the drum-dance is weighty and substantial.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Its drum scores fall into two kinds, “Da Hu Lei Pao” and “Xiao Hu Lei Pao”.

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

As the times develop and rural areas urbanize while cities grow increasingly homogeneous, this drum-dance art is far more difficult to protect and the task far more arduous; the transmission of its technique faces the predicament of there being few successors. Li Xingguang (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, of Han ethnicity, born in August 1965, a native of Xinxiang County, Henan Province. In 1990 he fully mastered the various ways of beating the big drum, and became familiar both with the ways of playing the nao and the cymbals and with the steps and formations of Zhongzhou big drum. His performance is imposing in scale and rich in musical variety; in particular, the entrance of the dancing cymbals is arranged in a curtain-drawing manner, which fuses the masculine vigour of male performers into the performance, making it grand in scale and highly praised by fellow artists and experts. He also raised his own funds to build a Zhongzhou big drum exhibition hall, collecting related materials and physical objects of Zhongzhou big drum for display. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch intangible cultural heritage project Luogu Yishu (Zhongzhou big drum). Over the years he has also taught through the model of master and apprentice and by giving lessons in schools, training more than one hundred students, and has guided the formation of close to one hundred drum teams in Xinxiang, Luoyang, Jiaozuo, Linfen and other places.

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

1. Gong and Drum Art (Xinxiang, Henan) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Li Xingguang · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗