Daoist Music

01 · Historical Records

In the late Qing and early Republican period, the Wuxi Daoist music scene was full of talent and masters of high renown; band groupings such as the “Five Dang”, the “Eight Brothers” and the “Ten Not Split” appeared all at once, and among the outstanding representatives of Wuxi Daoist music were the qin player Kan Xianzhi, the “south drum king” Zhu Qinfu and the Daoist musician Hu Yanjun (A Bing). In the 1960s, Daoist activity in Wuxi came essentially to a halt, which directly affected the development and transmission of Daoist music.

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. Wuxi Daoist music can be divided into three types, qiang kou (melodic declamation), fan yin and luo gu (gongs and drums). The qiang kou belongs to the vocal art and takes such forms as zan song (praise), buxu, dharani, Daoist tunes and declaimed recitation. Fan yin, also called “shifan gu”, belongs to the instrumental art and is an independent genre played on sizhu instruments such as the danpi drum, qudi, sheng, huqin, pipa and bowed and plucked strings, and its use of the danpi drum is its most distinctive feature. Luo gu, also called “shifan luogu”, like fan yin belongs to the instrumental art and is likewise an independent genre, distinguished in its configuration of instruments, its combination of set routines, its performance style and its use in zhai affairs. Works such as 《Erquan Yingyue》, 《Shibapai》 and 《Xia Xifeng》 were born in this fertile soil, and are a great contribution of Wuxi Daoist music to the national culture and art. Representative works of Wuxi Daoist music include 《Jiu Ku Zan》, 《Guizhi Xiang》 and 《Shiba Liu Si Er》 and others. Later, with the recommendation of scholars such as Yang Yinliu, Wuxi Daoist music gradually became known to the public and began to spread far and wide across the country.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The Daoist music transmitted in the Wuxi area of Jiangsu Province has a history of more than 1,400 years. It inherits the classic music tradition of Chinese Daoism and, in the course of its development, has also absorbed artistic elements from the local folk music and from southern Jiangsu local opera, especially Kunqu, gradually forming a distinctive artistic style that returns to the uncarved block and transcends the ordinary world.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Wuxi Daoist music is renowned throughout the country for its long history, its strong local character, its grand scale and its ingenious set routines; it stands apart in the field of Chinese Daoist music and even in that of national folk music, and has research value in religious studies, folklore and musicology alike. At present, some of Wuxi's highly skilled Daoist musicians have already passed away and many techniques are close to being lost; there is an urgent need to commit effort to active rescue and protection work. You Wuzhong (per the official archive record of the associated inheritor): He began studying Daoist music at the age of five, specialising in the sanxian, sheng and di. From 1946 (at the age of 14) he studied Daoist music performance under Hua Boyang, and he often received instruction from famous masters such as A Bing. After years of study and practice he is proficient in the drum, flute, sheng, sanxian, huqin and pipa alike. In the daochang rite his performance is dignified and imposing in mastery and free and unrestrained in technique; in the luo gu performance the drum sections are richly varied in rhythm. In his lifetime he rescued a large batch of Daoist scores and ritual texts that were on the verge of being lost, and he provided part of the original material for the 1999 publication 《Research on Wuxi Daoist Ritual Music》. From 1999 he devoted himself to teaching young daoshi the performance skills of Daoist music, and has trained a group of young talents in Daoist music such as Wu Huyong. His principal works include 《Qingjing Ziranxiang》, 《Bubugao》, 《Meishaoyue》, 《Xia Xifeng》 and 《Shou Tinghou》. Dharma name Luowei, male, Han ethnicity, born in September 1932, died in September 2009, native of Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province. Representative inheritor of the third national-level intangible cultural heritage item Daoist Music (Wuxi Daoist Music).

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

1. Daoist Music (Wuxi, Jiangsu) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. You Wuzhong · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗