Korean Dongxiao Flute Music
01 · Historical Records
The dongxiao is a traditional instrument of the Korean ethnic group in China, with a history of more than one thousand five hundred years. On festivals and on village occasions of marriage, birthday and long life, the Korean people of China always have dongxiao performances. Since the late nineteenth century the dongxiao players of Yanbian have composed one after another many musical works based mainly on the sanjo, that is, on solo pieces; among them are both sorrowful pieces reflecting the hard life of the Korean people under feudal rule and the savage plunder of the Japanese invaders, and hinayu pieces expressing the will to fight the Japanese invaders to a decisive end. Korean dongxiao music is an indispensable part of the spiritual life of the Korean people and plays a crucial role in Sino-Korean cultural exchange.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The dongxiao has a quiet, lingering timbre, with the honest simplicity of an elder and the bearing of a gentleman. After the founding of the People's Republic of China there appeared further pieces such as the Lumbering Song and the Harvest Song, which express in full the pride and joy arising from labour and production and greatly enrich the treasury of Chinese musical culture.
Sanjo solo pieces
The principal genre composed by Yanbian dongxiao players since the late nineteenth century, unfolding section by section in jangdan rhythm patterns; it is the core of Korean dongxiao music.
Hinayu pieces
Pieces expressing the will to fight the Japanese invaders to a decisive end.
Lumber and Harvest songs
Dongxiao pieces that appeared after the founding of the People's Republic of China, expressing in full the pride and joy arising from labour and production.
Ensemble with gayageum and janggu
Besides solo playing, the dongxiao is often played in ensemble with the gayageum, the janggu and other traditional Korean instruments, for festivals and ceremonial banquets.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Korean dongxiao is a vertical-blown bamboo instrument with a quiet, lingering timbre and the honest simplicity of an elder and the bearing of a gentleman; it is often played solo in gardens, by the river and in halls, or in ensemble with the gayageum and the janggu. Hunchun and Yanji are the main centres for the circulation of dongxiao music; local artists improvise in the form of the sanjo, moving section by section according to the jangdan (rhythm pattern), and the music is taught in local schools and dongxiao classes, forming a comparatively stable master-apprentice network of transmission.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Korean Dongxiao Flute Music · Dongxiao Flute Music.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, although dongxiao performance activity in Yanji and Hunchun in Jilin Province is very lively, it is still necessary to further strengthen protection work, formulate a systematic plan for collecting and sorting the material, promote stable transmission of this fine ethnic art and carry it forward into new prosperity. Dongxiao music plays an important role in Korean festivals, the sixtieth-birthday banquet, weddings and birthday and long-life celebrations; the performer commonly chooses sanjo sections according to the course of the ceremony, laying out the music with low sustained tones and then gradually quickening to zajin moli, forming an evenly balanced structure of tension and relaxation. In recent years Hunchun, Yanji and other places have promoted transmission through dongxiao festivals, community teaching classes and school education, and sanjo scores and playing textbooks have been edited and published, providing a basis for training succeeding generations. Dongxiao music plays an important role in Korean festivals, the sixtieth-birthday banquet, weddings and birthday and long-life celebrations; the performer commonly chooses sanjo sections according to the course of the ceremony, laying out the music with low sustained tones and then gradually quickening to zajin moli, forming an evenly balanced structure of tension and relaxation. In recent years Hunchun, Yanji and other places have promoted transmission through dongxiao festivals, community teaching classes and school education, and sanjo scores and playing textbooks have been edited and published, providing a basis for training succeeding generations. Dongxiao playing insists on a sustained flow of breath and on delicate fingering; performers commonly use circular breathing to keep the phrases connected and embellish the melody with nongyin, so that sustained notes show a sense of breathing in their crescendo and diminuendo.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Hu Yonghan 05-2143
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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