Daoist Music

01 · Historical Records

It has been established that the “shifang yun” (Ten Directions Rhyme) of the Dongyue Temple at Pingyang was transmitted at the end of the Qing dynasty from the famous temple Dayou Palace at Weiyu Mountain in Huangyan, Zhejiang Province, and was introduced to Pingyang by the nineteenth-generation patriarchs of the Quanzhen Longmen school of that monastery, Lin Yuandan and Xue Yuanshun; it has now been transmitted through seven generations, and its lineage is very clearly recorded. They are used respectively in the morning office, the evening office, the Five-Master Offering, the Audience with the Perfected, the Flame-mouth and other rituals. Of these, the morning office has 14 pieces such as “Chengqing Yun”; the evening office has 13 pieces such as “Ju Tianzun”; the Five-Master Offering has 10 pieces such as “Buxu Yun”; the Audience with the Perfected has 10 pieces such as “Sanbao Ci”; and the Flame-mouth ritual has 20 pieces such as “Tan Kulou”.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The Taoist music of the Dongyue Temple at Pingyang is the only Taoist traditional ritual music of the Quanzhen school in general use throughout the country. The Dongyue Temple at Pingyang now preserves 67 “shifang yun” pieces; those with the same melody being excluded, there are in fact 33. Most of the temples belonging to the Quanzhen school throughout the country have adopted the “shifang yun”, which shows how profound its meaning and influence are.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

In transmission, in order to meet the needs of those who sponsor the offerings, local music has also been absorbed, such as the Buddhist “Heshang Ban”, the heju opera “Luobangzi” and the ouju opera “Erhan”.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

At present a book, Taoist Music of the Dongyue Temple at Pingyang, has been published on the Taoist music of the “shifang yun” of the Dongyue Temple, and, with the vice-chairman Huang Xinyang as compiler, has been issued nationwide on discs and circulated at home and abroad. Wu Lixun (official archive record of the associated inheritor): Male, Han, born in May 1969, a native of Pingyang County, Zhejiang Province. Since becoming the head of the monastery in 1990 he has attached greater importance to transmitting Taoist music of the Dongyue Temple such as the “shifang ban”. In order to raise the musical standard of young Taoist priests, a Taoist music training class was held in 2012. In 2014 a transmission base for Dongyue Temple Taoist music was established, a Taoist music exhibition room was set up, and a performing ensemble for Dongyue Temple Taoist music was specially organized to hold regular drills and improve the performing skills. Representative inheritor of Taoist music (Dongyue Temple Taoist music) of the fifth national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. Since 1990 the Dongyue Temple of Pingyang County has been led by its abbot in transmitting Taoist music such as the “shifang ban”; it held a Taoist music training class in 2012, established a transmission base for Dongyue Temple Taoist music and set up a Taoist music exhibition room in 2014, and furthermore specially organized a performing ensemble that drills regularly; together with the publication and distribution of the book Taoist Music of the Dongyue Temple at Pingyang and the discs, this has formed a comparatively complete system of transmission, keeping the “shifang yun” alive among the Quanzhen temples of southern Zhejiang. Since 1990 the Dongyue Temple of Pingyang County has been led by its abbot in transmitting Taoist music such as the “shifang ban”; it held a Taoist music training class in 2012, established a transmission base for Dongyue Temple Taoist music and set up a Taoist music exhibition room in 2014, and furthermore specially organized a performing ensemble that drills regularly; together with the publication and distribution of the book Taoist Music of the Dongyue Temple at Pingyang and the discs, this has formed a comparatively complete system of transmission, keeping the “shifang yun” alive among the Quanzhen temples of southern Zhejiang. The lineage of the “shifang yun” of the Dongyue Temple at Pingyang has already run through seven generations counting from the two patriarchs Lin Yuandan and Xue Yuanshun at the end of the Qing dynasty; within the monastery, oral teaching from master to apprentice is the principal method and the rhyme scores serve as a supplement.

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 (Pingyang, Zhejiang) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Wu Lixun · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗