Gong and Drum Art
01 · Historical Records
In the 1980s a handwritten copy of a 1916 paiziluo gongche score was discovered among the folk of Ezhou; it contains 225 tune patterns (including variants), as well as more than forty 'dianzi' percussion patterns of the gong classics.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The grandfather of Mr Chen Xinfeng, who keeps the handwritten copy, Chen Huaiqing, was himself a famous 'changhao player' (three-section horn) in the late Qing dynasty. Ezhou paiziluo had therefore already taken shape by the middle and late Qing dynasty and has a history of more than a century to the present. Paiziluo has a large number of pieces and is widely used in folk occasions such as weddings and funerals, welcoming deities and ritual competitions, celebrations of good fortune and birthday wishes, and traditional festivals. The instruments used to perform paiziluo consist of wind instruments and percussion instruments. It can be performed impromptu according to the setting, the atmosphere and the length of time available, producing music with a marked principal mode, rigorous blowing-and-beating rhythms, varied beats, a rich timbre, a melodious and flowing flow and a lively, expansive character. It can fully display the easy and peaceful life of the people of the mountain and lake country, as well as their pursuit of the good wishes of 'favourable weather and timely rain' and 'long life and plentiful harvests'.
1916 handwritten gong-che score
Discovered among the folk of Ezhou in the 1980s, containing 225 tune patterns (including variants); the grandfather of Mr Chen Xinfeng, who keeps the handwritten copy, Chen Huaiqing, was himself a famous 'changhao player' (three-section horn) in the late Qing dynasty.
Forty-plus percussion patterns
Besides the tune patterns, the 1916 handwritten copy also records more than forty 'dianzi' patterns of the gong classics.
Wind and percussion sections
The instruments used to perform paiziluo consist of wind instruments and percussion instruments; the time-beating leader of the ensemble is the player who is versed in more than one hundred tune patterns and is skilled in the instruments of both the civil and the martial sections.
Customary performance occasions
Paiziluo has a large number of pieces and is widely used in folk occasions such as weddings and funerals, welcoming deities and ritual competitions, celebrations of good fortune and birthday wishes, and traditional festivals.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Paiziluo is a folk genre in which named pieces are freely mixed and linked together; it is of great antiquity and is widespread in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Paiziluo is a folk genre in which named pieces are freely mixed and linked together; it is of great antiquity and is widespread in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and Ezhou is an important centre for its transmission. In the 1980s a handwritten copy of a 1916 paiziluo gongche score was discovered among the folk of Ezhou; it contains 225 tune patterns (including variants) as well as more than forty 'dianzi' percussion patterns of the gong classics; the instruments used in performance consist of wind instruments and percussion instruments, and the music can be performed impromptu according to the setting, the atmosphere and the length of time available.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Ezhou is an important centre for the transmission of paiziluo. As the older generation of paiziluo artists have died one after another, this art form has gradually faded from memory and is moving to the edge of being lost. Wang Daochang (official archive record of the associated inheritor): A man of the Han people, born in September 1947 in Ezhou City, Hubei Province. He is versed in more than one hundred tune patterns and is skilled in playing the instruments of both the civil and the martial sections, and he is the time-beating leader of the Ezhou paiziluo ensemble. His blowing-and-beating rhythms are bright and rigorous, richly varied, melodious and flowing. He has led his troupe to take part in thousands of folk occasions in the surrounding areas, including weddings and funerals, celebrations and religious sacrifices. His disciples are spread across the urban and rural areas of Ezhou and across Huangshi urban district and Daye, making him the most influential artistic backbone among Ezhou paiziluo ensembles. Representative inheritor of gong and drum art (Ezhou paiziluo) in 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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