Buddhist Music

01 · Historical Records

As early as the twelfth century, Jegong Chuchen Sengge, a disciple dispatched by Pamo Zhuba Dorje Gyalpo, founder of the Pakhrug Kagyu school, one of the four main schools of the Kagyu order of Tibetan Buddhism, established Xiongse Monastery.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Xiongse juelu is a religious and cultural activity of the Kagyu and Nyingma schools of Tibetan Buddhism. In Tibetan the word “jue” means delivering all sentient beings, the release and purification of the soul, and the casting out of evil thoughts; “lu” means song in Tibetan, so “juelu” means the chanting music of the “jue”. Xiongse juelu is chanting music in which the scripture of the “jue” is sung during the religious activities of Xiongse Monastery; it is practised on occasions such as the observance of the “jue” teachings, the carrying of a deceased person's body to the sky-burial platform, and the commemoration of the parinirvana of Jizun Marenzang Qunisangmu (the thirteenth day of the third Tibetan month) and of Gongqin Langqin Raoqiang (the eighteenth day of every Tibetan month). Xiongse juelu is transmitted only at Xiongse Monastery in Qushui County, Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region. The monastery stands on the mountainside in the Xiongse valley on the south bank of the lower Lhasa River, about 4,000 metres north of the Redui group (group nine) of Caina Village, Caina Township, Qushui County, on the midway slope of Gangri Tuiga Mountain. The tunes of Xiongse juelu are long-drawn and gentle, creating a mood that is spacious, ethereal and sorrowful. When the juelu is sung, the Xiongse jueqiangmu dance is also performed. The jueqiangmu makes no demand for movements that are imposing, proud, brisk or forceful; what it must bring out is beauty, slowness, gentleness and ethereality, and the performing costume is in no way fussy, the ordinary dress of monks and nuns being enough. By tradition the Xiongse jueqiangmu must be performed by five nuns, who represent five kinds of celestial maiden. Local believers hold that through the performance and chanting of Xiongse juelu one can conquer the “three poisons” or the “five poisons” in the hearts of onlookers and practitioners, in the hope of removing magical obstacles and conquering inner enemies. As a “threshold-crossing ceremony” for the deliverance of a life, the juelu shows the living a vision of teaching and of leading the way to the right, so that they may attain insight into emptiness and thus gain their own liberation. Xiongse juelu is one of the constituent parts of Tibetan Buddhist music; it has a long history and a distinctive character. It not only lets the faithful find quiet and comfort of mind in a placid and solemn atmosphere and strengthens their understanding of Buddhist doctrine, but also plays a certain part in promoting social harmony and enriching the traditional music culture of the nation.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Xiongse juelu is transmitted only at Xiongse Monastery in Qushui County, Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region. The monastery stands on the mountainside in the Xiongse valley on the south bank of the lower Lhasa River, about 4,000 metres north of the Redui group (group nine) of Caina Village, Caina Township, Qushui County, on the midway slope of Gangri Tuiga Mountain; the juelu is generally practised on occasions such as the observance of the “jue” teachings, the carrying of a deceased person's body to the sky-burial platform, and the commemoration of the parinirvana of Jizun Marenzang Qunisangmu (the thirteenth day of the third Tibetan month) and of Gongqin Langqin Raoqiang (the eighteenth day of every Tibetan month).

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

In time the doctrine and the teachings of the “jue” were gradually taken up into the Kagyu and Nyingma schools, and Xiongse juelu has been handed down from generation to generation to the present day. Nima Zhuoga (from the official archival record of the associated inheritor): Female, Tibetan, born in August 1974, native of Qushui County, Tibet Autonomous Region. During her training at Xiongse Monastery in Qushui County she studied the juelu systematically under the guidance of Lama Awang Jiancai and of Danzeng Jinmei Dorje Rinpoche, and she has a deep personal understanding of the juelu. Her performing movements are beautiful, slow, gentle and ethereal, and her chanting long-drawn and soft, expressing the intent of the juelu to ward off evil and guard the Way, to protect and uphold the Buddha's teaching, to bless sentient beings, to cast out evil thoughts, to uphold righteousness and to lead the way along the true path. She is a representative inheritor of Buddhist music (Xiongse juelu), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fifth national-level batch. She attaches importance to the transmission of the juelu, is eager to take apprentices and pass on the art, and hands the artistic essence she has mastered to her disciples.

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

1. Buddhist Music (Qushui, Tibet) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Nimazhuoga · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗