Buddhist Music
01 · Historical Records
Buddhism was introduced into China around the reign of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han; Buddhist music from India and the Western Regions, over its long course of development, absorbed artistic elements of Chinese folk music and thereby took on a distinctive character, becoming an important component of Chinese Buddhist culture. It was first built during the Zhenguan and Yonghui reigns of the Tang dynasty, and has a history of more than 1,300 years. Since the Northern and Southern dynasties, the musical style of fanbei has formed two great schools, southern and northern. In the seventh year of the Yongming reign of the Southern Qi dynasty (490), the style of Tianning Temple fanbei, marked above all by its plaintive beauty, was formally established. Since the 1940s the fanbei chanting of Changzhou Tianning Temple has spread throughout China and abroad; the fanbei chanting of Buddhist monasteries in the Chinese mainland and in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, in the countries of Southeast Asia and in the United States has all taken Tianning Temple fanbei as its model.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Buddhist music is the music used by Buddhist monasteries in various Dharma-service activities and festival celebrations. It contains both Chinese national tunes and musical tunes of the minority peoples of India and the Western Regions. The musical zanbei directly applied by Buddhism is also called “fanbei”; it praises the Buddha and the bodhisattvas in short verse form, has singing modes such as solo, unison and chorus, and may be accompanied by instruments when sung. Tianning Temple in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, is a famous Chan Buddhist centre in China and ranks first among the “four great forests of Chan Buddhism”. Fanbei is a form of vocal chanting used in Buddhist activities to praise the Buddha and the bodhisattvas. Changzhou was the birthplace of the emperors of Qi and Liang and the place where southern fanbei originated. To this day the fanbei of Changzhou Tianning Temple still perfectly preserves the court music tradition and the Jiangnan musical style of the Qi-Liang era more than 1,500 years ago; its melodies follow relatively uniform norms, its rhythm is steady and solid, its vocal style is extended and free, and it presents an archaic, pure and elegant style. In addition, Tianning Temple fanbei also includes the “ji” (verse), the “zhou” (mantra), the “zhenyan” (true word) and the “li fo hao” (Buddha salutation), whose musical form lies between “zan” and “jing”.
Zan praises
The main part of the fanbei chanting of Tianning Temple can be divided by genre into two great classes, “zan” and “jing”; “zan” mainly includes 《Lu Xiang Zan》, 《Bao Ding Xiang Zan》 and the like, belongs to the poetic form, is rhymed at the ends of lines, is recited in a manner resembling singing, and is strongly melodic.
Jing sutras
“Jing” mainly includes 《Xin Jing》, 《Amituo Jing》 and the like; these belong to the prose form, are unrhymed, are read rhythmically to musical sounds, and are less melodic.
Verse, mantra and salutation forms
Tianning Temple fanbei also includes the “ji” (verse), the “zhou” (mantra), the “zhenyan” (true word) and the “li fo hao” (Buddha salutation), whose musical form lies between “zan” and “jing”.
Qi-Liang court-music tradition
Changzhou was the birthplace of the emperors of Qi and Liang and the place where southern fanbei originated; in the seventh year of the Yongming reign of the Southern Qi dynasty (490) the style of Tianning Temple fanbei, marked above all by its plaintive beauty, was formally established, and to this day it still perfectly preserves the court music tradition and the Jiangnan musical style of the Qi-Liang era more than 1,500 years ago, with uniformly standardised melodies, a steady and solid rhythm and an extended, free vocal style.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The main part of the fanbei chanting of Changzhou Tianning Temple can be divided by genre into two great classes, “zan” and “jing”. “Zan” mainly includes 《Lu Xiang Zan》, 《Bao Ding Xiang Zan》 and the like; these belong to the poetic form, are rhymed at the ends of lines, are recited in a manner resembling singing, and are strongly melodic. “Jing” mainly includes 《Xin Jing》, 《Amituo Jing》 and the like; these belong to the prose form, are unrhymed, are read rhythmically to musical sounds, and are less melodic.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Buddhist Music · Buddhist Music · Buddhist Music · Buddhist Music · Buddhist Music · Buddhist Music · Buddhist Music · Buddhist Music · Buddhist Music · Buddhist Music · Buddhist Music · Buddhist Music.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
It has long been transmitted in an orderly way within Tianning Temple. The fanbei chanting of Changzhou Tianning Temple is the product of the combination of Buddhist culture and Wu culture, and has research value in religious studies, ethnomusicology and related fields. At present, as the process of modernisation accelerates and exchanges inside and outside the monastery increase, the young monks of Tianning Temple have gradually weakened in their sense of identification with fanbei chanting. In this situation the fanbei chanting of Tianning Temple shows a tendency to gradual mutation, and it is necessary to take measures and give it proper protection. Song Chun (per the official archive record of the associated inheritor): Because his family was poor, he was tonsured and became a monk at the age of nine. He received full ordination at the age of twenty, then studied at the Changzhou Tianning Buddhist Academy and afterwards went on to the China Buddhist Academy for further study. He received true transmission from the masters of Tianning Chan Temple, devoted much effort to the study of fanbei, and scrupulously kept to the tonal and vocal conventions of Chinese religious music. When young, because his chanting was loud and resonant and his drumming skill was exquisite, he was invited to record fanbei programmes for the Shanghai Broadcasting Station. Male, of Han ethnicity, born in September 1927, died in August 2017, a native of Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province. Representative inheritor of the Buddhist music (Tianning Temple fanbei chanting) item of the third national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. After reform and opening up he devoted himself to restoring the temple buildings of Tianning Chan Temple and its water-and-land scripture and repentance ritual ground, and spared no effort in cultivating young talent and passing on the Dharma lineage. He was repeatedly invited to visit Hong Kong, the Taiwan region and countries such as the United States, Japan, Singapore and Nepal, leaving his voice in famous monasteries and winning many honours; the World Fellowship of Buddhists awarded him the “Atisha World Peace Gold Award”.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Song Chun 03-0889
- Shilongjiang 03-0890
- Dunzhu 03-0891
- Cheng Laijiacuo 03-0892
- Xu Jianye 03-0893
- Shiyongwu 04-1535
- Jiayanglezhu 04-1536
- Nimazhuoga 05-2149
- Suonanzhuoma 05-2150
- Luocangguanque 05-2151
- Luocanggengga 05-2152
- Kuochen
- Xincheng
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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