Daoist Music

01 · Historical Records

Hainan zhaijiao ritual music is a form of folk music with considerable influence in Hainan Province. It was brought to Hainan by immigrants from the Jiangnan region, and by the Ming dynasty it was already fairly prevalent, spreading widely throughout the province and occupying an important place in the spiritual life of the Hainan people. Having witnessed the zhaijiao sacrificial activities of the time, the Ming-dynasty jinshi (presented scholar) of Ding'an County, Wang Honghai, once described the performance scene of zhaijiao ritual music in the lines: “In the seasonal rites of the fourth and twelfth months they go from village to village, and where they pray for good fortune (that is, perform the zhai rite) they sing and dance everywhere”. In the middle of the Qing dynasty, the wide spread of zhai music had an important influence on Qiong opera. Representative works of Hainan zhaijiao ritual music include 《Ping'an Chao》, 《Yajia Chao》 and 《Fugong Chao》 and others.

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 the Daoist zhaijiao rites of Hainan, the “jiao” is popularly called “qingzhai” and is used to sacrifice to historical figures associated with Hainan such as General Fubo, Lady Xian and Su Dongpo, and to protective deities of legend such as Tianfei Niangniang, Guanyin, Zhenwu and the Dragon King; the “zhai”, also called “baizhai”, is used to deliver the souls of the dead. The officiants of the zhaijiao rite carry out the ceremonies according to the corresponding ritual procedures, playing the ritual music in the course of the process. Its performing instruments are basically configured according to the “eight tones” (bayan) categories of the Zhou dynasty, that is, “metal, stone, clay, leather, silk, wood, gourd and bamboo”, and they fall into two main categories, instrumental music and percussion. After the late Qing, zhaijiao ritual music also appropriated and reformed the tune patterns and some of the vocal styles of Qiong opera. Its musical characteristics are these: a high pitch and a wide range. The chanting of sutras and dharani proceeds synchronously with the music and the percussion; the recitation of sutras and dharani is done in Mandarin, Cantonese, Hainanese and various other language varieties, and because the sutra texts differ in the length of their lines and in their speech, the accompaniment to the jingyun carries many dummy syllables supporting the voice, and the drawn-out vocal lines are long. Hainan zhaijiao ritual music is rich in content and distinctive in its own way. In the course of its development and transmission, Hainan zhaijiao ritual music has exerted a tremendous influence on the local social culture. Qiong opera, the largest opera genre of Hainan, drew many artistic elements from zhaijiao ritual music, which further perfected its vocal styles and music.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Hainan zhaijiao ritual music staffs its music bands according to the two classes of rite, “qingzhai” and “baizhai”: qingzhai is used to sacrifice to historical figures associated with Hainan such as General Fubo, Lady Xian and Su Dongpo, and to protective deities such as Tianfei Niangniang, Guanyin, Zhenwu and the Dragon King, while baizhai, also called “baizhai”, is used to deliver the souls of the dead. The chanting of sutras and dharani proceeds synchronously with the music and the percussion; because the sutra texts differ in the length of their lines and in their speech, the accompaniment to the jingyun carries many dummy syllables supporting the voice and the drawn-out vocal lines are long; the zhai music bands of the Ding'an area perform hall by hall according to the ritual procedures.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

It contains a great deal of information about folk music and about Buddhist and Daoist music, and has research value in folklore and in musicology. At present, under the influence of modern civilisation, traditional folk belief is gradually fading, the temples throughout Hainan are increasingly neglected, and zhaijiao ritual music is declining with them, on the verge of disappearing; rescue and protection 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

1. Daoist Music (Dingan, Hainan) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗