Daoist Music
01 · Historical Records
Jiaodong Quanzhen Daoist music was born in the Yuan dynasty and has a history of more than 800 years.
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. In terms of musical expression, the instrumental pieces transmitted by the daoshi Zhu Xiangkun of Yangzhu Temple in Yantai, in which four gong modes are linked together in succession, are the most complete as regards traditional character, technicality, quantity and regularity. Surveys show that the instruments now used by Jiaodong Quanzhen Daoist bands include guanzi, sheng, flute, small gong, dang, small cymbals and hand drum; ensemble playing is the principal manner, solo playing being comparatively rare, and no example has yet been found of accompaniment for jingyun chanting. In instrumental performance, apart from sounding instruments such as cymbals and drums, the altar ritual implements are basically not used. In the instrumental pieces the guanzi leads and the remaining instruments accompany. The scores use the fixed solmisation of the Song-style character notation and of the gongche notation; the metrical forms employed include the loose metre, the slow metre, the moderate or walking metre, the fast metre, the flowing metre and others. The musical form is mainly expressed in the shape of the suite: within a suite formed by linking several tune patterns in succession, each tune pattern can also be performed independently, but once the set is assembled and provided with a head and a tail, it forms a tempo scheme of loose–slow–moderate–fast or presto. Performance commonly makes use of the shangzi diao, the yizi diao, the goufan diao and the kaofan diao, customarily called the “four great modes”. Jiaodong Quanzhen Daoist music has absorbed many elements — ancient traditional repertoire, Jiaodong folk songs, local opera and so forth — and has thereby formed an artistic style of its own. Its representative works include 《Sanjiao Zan》, 《Zan Baxian》 and 《Liuju Jian》 and others.
Sanjiao Zan
Its representative works include 《Sanjiao Zan》, 《Zan Baxian》 and 《Liuju Jian》 and others.
Zan Baxian
Its representative works include 《Sanjiao Zan》, 《Zan Baxian》 and 《Liuju Jian》 and others.
Liuju Jian
Its representative works include 《Sanjiao Zan》, 《Zan Baxian》 and 《Liuju Jian》 and others.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Jiaodong Quanzhen Daoist music bands form their societies on the basis of the Quanzhen temples of the Yantai area, and their players are commonly daoshi and folk musicians performing on the same stage. They link pieces into suites in the order of loose metre, slow metre, moderate or walking metre, fast metre and flowing metre, forming a tempo scheme of loose–slow–moderate–fast or presto, and they modulate between the shangzi diao, the yizi diao, the goufan diao and the kaofan diao, that is, the “four great modes”.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Jiaodong Quanzhen Daoist music has had a great influence on the development of Jiaodong narrative-singing music and of literati music, and occupies an important place in the study of the history of Chinese music and of ethnomusicology. Especially the form of linking several pieces within the same gong mode found in this musical style survives today only in Shandong; its origin is extremely ancient, and it can be regarded as a “living fossil” of traditional suite music. At present, under the impact of modern civilisation, the transmission and development of Jiaodong Quanzhen Daoist music has fallen into difficulties, and the necessary protection measures are urgently needed.
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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