Buddhist Music
01 · Historical Records
Kumbum Monastery stands in Huangzhong County, Qinghai Province, and is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelukpa school. Inside the monastery, the upper and lower butter-sculpture courtyards have each maintained a monk band from the very founding of the monastery, serving exclusively the making of the butter sculptures and their display as an offering, and this has continued for more than six hundred years. From the tenth lunar month to the twelfth lunar month every year the musician monks play music for each important stage of the three-month-long making period; during the Great Prayer Assembly from the eighth to the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, the performance reaches its climax when the butter sculptures are displayed as an offering on the evening of the fifteenth.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Kumbum Monastery is a sacred site of Tibetan Buddhism and one of the six great monasteries of the Gelukpa school; its butter sculptures, murals and silk appliqué are hailed as the three supreme achievements of Tibetan art. The Flower-stand music of Kumbum Monastery is music played specifically for the making of the butter sculptures and their display as an offering. Kumbum Monastery has an upper and a lower butter-sculpture courtyard devoted to the making of the butter flowers, and the “flower-stand” band is a monk band established specifically for the making of the butter sculptures and their display as an offering. It comprises two bands, Jiezong Zengzha belonging to the upper courtyard and Guomang Zengzha belonging to the lower courtyard; these are the only bands of their kind in the Tibetan Buddhist monasteries of the Qinghai area, and they have continued unbroken since the monastery was founded, a history of more than six hundred years. From the tenth to the twelfth lunar month every year, during the three-month process of making the butter sculptures, the two bands play the relevant pieces for every important stage of production in their own courtyard. During the Great Prayer Assembly from the eighth to the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, the performance of the Flower-stand music reaches its climax when the butter sculptures are displayed as an offering on the evening of the fifteenth. Before the Cultural Revolution this band also frequently played together with the monastery's ceremonial procession band to welcome and see off eminent monks and preceptors. At its height the Flower-stand band had more than forty members and a repertoire of more than thirty pieces; at present the musician monks can remember only thirteen pieces, and only nineteen monks can play instruments such as the flute, the guanzi pipe, the nine-cloud gong and the sheng.
Flower-stand bands
Kumbum Monastery has an upper and a lower butter-sculpture courtyard devoted to the making of the butter flowers, and the “flower-stand” band is a monk band established specifically for the making of the butter sculptures and their display as an offering; it comprises two bands, Jiezong Zengzha belonging to the upper courtyard and Guomang Zengzha belonging to the lower courtyard, and these are the only bands of their kind in the Tibetan Buddhist monasteries of the Qinghai area.
Tibetan gong-che notation
Flower-stand music is notated in Tibetan gong-che notation; an inheritor must be able to interpret the complete Tibetan gong-che notation and must also be versed in reading numbered musical notation.
Nineteen monks, thirteen pieces
At its height the band numbered more than forty members and a repertoire of more than thirty pieces; at present the artist-monks can remember only thirteen pieces, only nineteen monks can play the flute, the guanzi pipe, the nine-cloud gong, the sheng and similar instruments, and the small suona, the ancient sheng and the plucked instruments can now be played by very few people.
Great Prayer Festival climax
During the Great Prayer Assembly from the eighth to the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, the performance of Flower-stand music reaches its climax when the butter sculptures are displayed as an offering on the evening of the fifteenth; before the Cultural Revolution this band also frequently played together with the monastery's ceremonial procession band to welcome and see off eminent monks and preceptors.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
At its height the Kumbum Flower-stand band numbered more than forty members and a repertoire of more than thirty pieces; at present the musician monks can remember only thirteen pieces, and only nineteen monks can play the flute, the guanzi pipe, the nine-cloud gong, the sheng and similar instruments. The band is written down in Tibetan gong-che notation; inheritors such as Luozang Guanque and Luozang Genga have long taught student monks the art of playing the flute and the guanzi pipe, together with the reading of Tibetan gong-che notation and numbered musical notation.
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
The Kumbum Flower-stand band now has nineteen musician monks. As the elder artist-monks pass away it faces the condition of “the art perishing with the men”: the small suona, the ancient sheng and the plucked instruments can now be played by nobody, many pieces are on the verge of being lost, and urgent protection is needed. Luozang Guanque (from the official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, Tibetan, born in October 1964, native of Huangzhong County, Qinghai Province. He has systematically mastered ten pieces of the Kumbum Flower-stand music, is able to read the complete Tibetan gong-che notation, and has thoroughly mastered the playing techniques of instruments such as the flute, the guanzi pipe and the Tibetan suona. He began to take part in the performance of Flower-stand music in 1984. He has devoted himself to collecting and sorting out historical materials relating to Flower-stand music. He is a representative inheritor of Buddhist music (Kumbum Tibetan Buddhist Flower-stand music), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fifth national-level batch. From 2004 to the present he has taught student monks the playing techniques of instruments such as the flute and the guanzi pipe in Flower-stand music, together with the reading of Tibetan gong-che notation and numbered musical notation, and has trained a group of core performers including Luocang Angxiu and Angwang Xire. Luozang Genga (from the official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, Tibetan, born in August 1965, native of Huangzhong County, Qinghai Province. He has systematically mastered ten pieces played by the Kumbum Flower-stand band, is a strong reader of music and can interpret the complete Tibetan gong-che notation; he has mastered the playing skills of instruments such as the flute, the guanzi pipe, the Tibetan suona and the yunluo gong, and he has carried out in-depth research into the pieces, the performing practice and the staffing of the Flower-stand band. He began to take part in the performance of Flower-stand music in 1983. From 2004 he has taught student monks the playing techniques of instruments such as the flute and the guanzi pipe, together with the skills of reading numbered musical notation and Tibetan gong-che notation. He is a representative inheritor of Buddhist music (Kumbum Tibetan Buddhist Flower-stand music), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fifth national-level batch.
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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