Daoist Music

01 · Historical Records

Since the Tang-dynasty Daoist priest Gong Qixia built a hut on the mountain to cultivate his true nature, Mount Qiyun gradually became a place of Daoist rites. In the Ming and Qing dynasties its incense offerings flourished, temples and monasteries multiplied and zhaijiao rites were held frequently; the Zhengyi-school daochang music took shape there accordingly and has been handed down generation after generation by the daoshi of the mountain.

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. The Zhengyi-school daochang music transmitted here complements the various zhaijiao liturgical observances and mutualy reinforces them, becoming an important part of the Daoist culture of Mount Qiyun. Mount Qiyun has many kinds of daochang, chiefly including twenty-five of them such as “Zhutian ke”, “Cibei ke” and “Shuihuo liandu”, and these are divided into “wen chang” (civil) and “wu chang” (martial) forms. The performance of daochang music belongs to the “wen chang”. It consists of instrumental and vocal parts and is played on instruments such as drums, large and small gongs, ching, wooden fish, erhu, pipa, xiao, flute and suona. Once the daochang begins there is music and there is dance, there is speech and there is singing. The daoshi who take the stage number from seven or eight to fourteen or fifteen, the sound of gongs, drums, sheng and xiao never ceases to the ear, and the chanting of the sutras is orderly and melodious, creating an atmosphere that is noisy and lively yet solemn and dignified. Mount Qiyun daochang music is played with the seven notes “gong”, “chi”, “shang”, “yi”, “shi”, “wu” and “liu” of the old-system gongche notation; its rhythm and melody are beautiful and its artistic conception is profound and mysterious. The principal tune patterns used in the performance of Mount Qiyun Daoist music include 【Bu Xu Yun】, 【Zhu Yun Fei】, 【Zhen Xiang Chu Zhu】 and 【Da Kai Men】 and others.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

During the performance, chanting in white of the sutra text is interspersed; because most of the daoshi are natives of Wuyuan, the recitation is mixed with a large amount of dialect and colloquial expression, the voice is drawn out and the melodic contour is stretched, half speaking and half singing; amid the variations of loudness, softness and pace there is a peculiar sense of rhythm, giving a solemn and elegant, airy and otherworldly impression.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Mount Qiyun in Xiuning County, Anhui Province, is one of the four famous Daoist mountains of China; the Daoist culture of Mount Qiyun has a long history, having been transmitted continuously to the present for more than 1,200 years. Mount Qiyun daochang music is an important part of Hui culture and has research value in the fields of primitive religion and historical culture. Over the past few decades, affected by the period of the Cultural Revolution and by the impact of the economic tide of the new era, Mount Qiyun daochang music has grown steadily more declined; although it was revived for a time, with the passing away of the Daoist priests of the older generation this heritage once again faces a crisis of survival, and protection and transmission are urgently needed. Zhan Heping (per the official archive record of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in October 1974, native of Xiuning County, Anhui Province. He comes from a family of Daoist priests of Mount Qiyun and has been influenced by Daoist culture since childhood. In 1992 he became an apprentice at the Mount Qiyun Taoist Association. In the first lunar month of 1993 he formally became a Daoist, taking as his master the elder priest Zhan Songhai of the “Xing” generation. Afterwards he studied the jingyun (scriptural melody) of the Quanzhen school at the China Taoist Academy and took part in Daoist ceremonial activities. In 1995 he returned to Mount Qiyun and systematically learned from the elder priests the chanting of the various daochang and the use of accompanying music, and has worked in Daoist music and daochang activities ever since. For many years he has devoted himself to collecting, excavating and collating daochang and Daoist music, and while accumulating through study he has also valued exchange and discussion with fellow practitioners, so that the daochang and the Daoist music are better organically combined. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level intangible cultural heritage item Daoist Music (Mount Qiyun Daochang 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 (Xiuning, Anhui) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Zhan Heping · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗