Daoist Music
01 · Historical Records
Hengshan Daoist music originates in the “Bei Tianshi Dao” (Northern Way of the Heavenly Masters) founded within Daoism in the Eastern Han; in the course of its long development it absorbed musical elements such as the drum-and-trumpet music (guchui yue) of the Han, Wei and later periods and the ritual tunes (faqu) of the Tang and Song dynasties, forming a distinctive style of its own. Its performers are mainly the “yingmenshi” (resident musicians) of Hengshan, that is, household daoshi, known locally as the “Hengshan Daoist music band”. The earliest appearance of the music band can be traced back to the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Daoist music is also called “daochang music” (music of the ritual ground); it is the music used in Daoist zhaijiao liturgical observances, and, like Daoism itself, it too has its origin in the ritual song and dance of ancient shamans. Daoist music consists of instrumental and vocal parts. In the instrumental part the leading instruments are bells, ching, drums, wooden fish and small gongs, supported by wind, plucked and bowed string instruments; the vocal part is centred on chanting, and comprises the solo singing of the high-ranking officiant who proclaims the precepts, recites dharani, praises the spirits and chants the declaration, together with the spoken declaration of the dujiang daoshi and the unison singing of the assembled daoshi. Hengshan of the Northern Peak is a sacred place of Daoism in the north of China, and the Hengshan Daoist music transmitted within Yanggao County, Shanxi Province, is one branch of northern Daoist music. The music performed by the Hengshan Daoist music band is divided chiefly into three parts: “zantan”, “taoqu” (suites) and “peiqu” (supporting tunes). “Zantan” is chanting music, and its principal tunes include 【Laojun Jing】, 【Sandai Zan】, 【Sizi Zhenyan】, 【Dongxuan Jing】, 【Shi Bao'en】 and others; every tune carries the sense of praising the spirits and praying for blessings, it is highly melodic, and it is sung with sheng and wind accompaniment, using the same vocal production as “Jinbei Daoqing”. “Taoqu” is instrumental music, its content being mostly the “bei qu” (northern tunes) that flourished in northern China in the Jin and Yuan dynasties; it is generally solemn and elegant in style, bright and tranquil, and the suites commonly performed are six in number — 【Zhumating】, 【Dazouma】, 【Shuihonghua】, 【Pu'an Zhou】, 【Ma Yulang】 and 【Yao Zhang】. When the suite is played, the “zhengtao” proper suite is required to use “da gong da chi”, strictly beating time according to the character score. “Peiqu” is an extension of the suites and consists of festival tunes; it is often used together with suites in the same gong mode, there are many of them — “Gan Huang'en”, “Xiao Bamen”, “Shifan” and the like — and their principal style is vivid and explosive, high-pitched and stirring. The main performing instruments of Hengshan Daoist music are guanzi, sheng, di, Dharma conch (faluo), drums, nao, bai, small gongs, bronze ching, wooden fish, Dharma bell, guo and dang.
Zantan chanting music
One of the three parts of Hengshan Daoist music; it is chanting music, every tune carries the sense of praising the spirits and praying for blessings, it is highly melodic, sung with sheng and wind accompaniment, and uses the same vocal production as “Jinbei Daoqing”.
Suite music
One of the three parts of Hengshan Daoist music; it is instrumental music, its content being mostly the “bei qu” (northern tunes) that flourished in northern China in the Jin and Yuan dynasties; it is generally solemn and elegant in style, bright and tranquil, and there are six suites that are commonly performed.
Supporting tunes
One of the three parts of Hengshan Daoist music; it is an extension of the suites and consists of festival tunes, often used together with suites in the same gong mode. There are many of them, characterised by vividness and fire, and by a high-pitched, ringing brilliance.
Strict metrical requirement
When a suite is performed, the “zhengtao” proper suite is required to use “da gong da chi”, strictly beating time according to the character score.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Hengshan Daoist music band is composed of the “yingmenshi” of Hengshan, that is, household daoshi, who live in the area around Yanggao County and work the fields while also serving temple fairs, funerals and the rites of prayer and warding off misfortune. The band transmits the three categories of “zantan”, “taoqu” and “peiqu” according to the gongche notation books inherited from its ancestors, and it both borrows from and lends to Jinbei Daoqing and the drum-and-trumpet bands in both repertoire and technique, forming a system of its own in Hebei and in the surrounding area of Inner Mongolia.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Hengshan Daoist music has established a school and a system of its own in Yanggao County of Shanxi Province and in the provinces and municipalities around Hebei and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; its ancient melodies and complete repertoire are the crystallisation and surviving legacy of the national traditional culture, and it has research value for musicology, operatics and local history and culture. At present most of the musicians who perform Hengshan Daoist music are already advanced in age; with successors insufficient, the whole of Hengshan Daoist music faces the danger of being lost, and protection and transmission are urgently needed. Li Manshan (per the official archive record of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in January 1946, native of Yanggao County, Shanxi Province. He carried on his ancestors' undertaking and developed Daoist music, translating the notation books (gongche notation) left behind by his forebears into numbered notation and, in response to the needs of social development, adding the performance of modern pieces; his technique is richly varied and gives the ear something new. Representative inheritor of the third national-level intangible cultural heritage item Daoist Music (Hengshan Daoist Music). The Daoist music band is active throughout the year in villages and towns, and the zantan and taoqu it performs have both won high praise from the masses and attracted wide attention in society.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zhang Yubao 03-0894
- Li Manshan 03-0895
- Shi Jitong 03-0896
- You Wuzhong 03-0897
- Zhang Minggui 03-0898
- Wu Bingzhi 04-1537
- Feng Yingzhan 05-2153
- He Chunsheng 05-2154
- Wu Lixun 05-2155
- Zhan Heping 05-2156
- Zhang Jintao 05-2157
- Huo Dezhong 05-2158
- An Baohui 05-2159
- Wu Huyong
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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