Buddhist Music
01 · Historical Records
It began to form during the Northern and Southern Dynasties in China, passed through a period of maturity in the Tang and Song, and reached its height in the Ming and the first half of the Qing; when superstition was swept away during the Cultural Revolution the temples declined. Yang County Buddhist music comprises a great many pieces, more than one thousand, and the tune patterns of these pieces are recorded in the Ming-dynasty imperially bestowed sutra scrolls of Zhiguo Temple in Yang County, where they have been preserved to the present day. Yang County lies on the eastern edge of the Hanzhong Basin in southern Shaanxi Province. Buddhist music first took root here during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, gradually matured in the Tang and Song, and reached its height in the Ming and the first half of the Qing; it is linked both to the Ming-dynasty imperially bestowed sutra scrolls of Zhiguo Temple and to the imperially bestowed wind-and-percussion band, forming a distinctive configuration in which religious music and court wind-and-percussion music coexist.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
It stands out among Shaanxi Buddhist music, is a representative work of religious music in western China, and is hailed as the “younghuahua” of Buddhist music, that is, the essence of the thing. Yang County Buddhist music has a history of more than one thousand four hundred years. It falls into three categories, sutra chanting, wind-and-percussion pieces and gong-and-drum pieces, with the wind-and-percussion pieces the most flourishing. Its principal instruments are pipes and drums.
Sutra chanting
One of the three main categories of Yang County Buddhist music, sung in sequence by the monks according to the order of the repentance rite, in an archaic vocal style.
Wind-and-percussion pieces
One of the three main categories of Yang County Buddhist music, and the most flourishing of them; they are on a larger scale and broad in sonority, and their principal instruments are pipes and drums.
Gong-and-drum pieces
One of the three main categories of Yang County Buddhist music, mostly used to open and close the ceremonies and to bridge the transitions.
Imperial sutra scrolls of Zhiguo Temple
Yang County Buddhist music comprises a great many pieces, more than one thousand, and the tune patterns of these pieces are recorded in the Ming-dynasty imperially bestowed sutra scrolls of Zhiguo Temple in Yang County, where they have been preserved to the present day.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Yang County Buddhist music is distributed through the towns and villages of Yang County on the eastern edge of the Hanzhong Basin in southern Shaanxi Province. The instruments of Yang County Buddhist music are mainly pipes and drums; the wind-and-percussion pieces are on a larger scale and broad in sonority, while the gong-and-drum pieces are mostly used to open and close the ceremonies and to bridge the transitions; the sutra-chanting section is sung in sequence by the monks according to the order of the repentance rite, in an archaic vocal style. The instruments of Yang County Buddhist music are mainly pipes and drums; the wind-and-percussion pieces are on a larger scale and broad in sonority, while the gong-and-drum pieces are mostly used to open and close the ceremonies and to bridge the transitions; the sutra-chanting section is sung in sequence by the monks according to the order of the repentance rite, in an archaic vocal style. In former times most temples in Yang County maintained a wind-and-percussion band in which monastic and lay musicians performed side by side; the repertoire was decided according to the scale of the ritual service and the wishes of the patron, and on temple-fair days the playing would continue for several days running.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Even today some two hundred pieces that can still be sung and played have been preserved. In the history of Buddhist music in China, music such as Yang County Buddhist music, which has typical local characteristics and is linked in its transmission both to the imperially bestowed wind-and-percussion band and to the imperially bestowed sutra scrolls, is truly rare. Moreover, at a time when most Buddhist pieces have been lost, Yang County still preserves a large number of them, providing precious material for the study of regional culture, folk custom, religion and aesthetic taste in the upper reaches of the Han River. The transmission of Yang County Buddhist music is closely bound up with the temple economy of Zhiguo Temple, the keeping of the imperially bestowed sutra scrolls and the oral transmission through several generations of wind-and-percussion bands; the playing is mostly done at temple fairs, ritual services and folk funerals. After the founding of the People's Republic of China the local cultural departments organised transcription and recording on several occasions, so that more than two hundred playable pieces were preserved.
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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