Wind and Percussion Ensemble
01 · Historical Records
The Wujia folk drum-music troupe is a mass folk art group with a strong local flavour characteristic of northern China; its founder was the folk ritual musician and singer Wu Jiacheng.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Wujia drum-and-wind music shed is a comprehensive performing art form integrating music, percussion and stage presentation. It has been handed down from generation to generation by the Wujia folk drum-music troupe and is now active mainly in Lindian County of Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, and the surrounding area. Drum-and-wind music is closely tied to people's labour and daily life: on every important occasion - weddings and funerals, seasonal festivals, or the opening of a business - people invite a drum-music troupe to perform and build up the atmosphere. The essence of the Wujia drum-and-wind music shed lies in four words: "old", "beautiful", "complete" and "florid". "Old" means that the Wujia folk drum-music troupe has a long history and performs old tunes in the old manner well enough to meet the demands of the masses. "Beautiful" means that the tune patterns played by the troupe are fine and its manner of performance is distinctive. "Complete" means that the troupe pairs large and small suona with sheng, guan, di and xiao, adds gong, drum and cymbals, and further includes erhu and yangqin together with singing; blowing, striking, plucking, bowing and singing are all present. "Florid" means that the Wujia performance has many showy tricks: large and small suona are played to captivate the audience, the ensemble is configured in many ways, and the artists' signature and private tricks such as ka-xi, kouqinzi, flower-tongue, rolled tongue and spurted tones add to the liveliness of the scene. The Wujia drum-and-wind music shed has two characteristics. First, its tune patterns are rich: the pieces played respond to need, expressing weight and lightness, haste and slowness, rise and fall, and reach into the heart of the listeners. Second, percussion and wind music are fused into one. "Drum" refers mainly to the folk large drum, small drum, flowerpot drum, hall drum and skin drum, together with such percussion instruments as gong, nao and small gong; "music" refers to an ensemble built on the suona as the leading instrument, supported by sheng, guan, di, xiao, qin and other instruments. At present more than one hundred pupils have mastered the representative tune patterns.
Four-character hallmark
"Old" means a long history and old tunes well played in the old manner; "beautiful" means fine tune patterns and a distinctive manner of performance; "complete" means large and small suona paired with sheng, guan, di and xiao, with gong, drum and cymbals, further supplemented by erhu and yangqin together with singing; "florid" means many showy tricks in performance and a rich repertoire of signature and private techniques.
Special techniques
The Wujia performance configures the ensemble in many ways and adds the artists' signature and private tricks, such as ka-xi, kouqinzi, flower-tongue, rolled tongue and spurted tones, making the scene lively.
Six-generation family lineage
The Wujia drum-and-wind music shed has been transmitted for a hundred years within the Wu clan, has established a school of its own, and has now reached the sixth generation; inheritors of the first and second generations were mostly active in Shandong, those of the third generation mostly in parts of Liaoning and Jilin, and those of the fourth, fifth and sixth generations mostly in Heilongjiang.
Integrated drum-and-wind ensemble
"Drum" refers mainly to the folk large drum, small drum, flowerpot drum, hall drum and skin drum, together with such percussion instruments as gong, nao and small gong; "music" refers to an ensemble built on the suona as the leading instrument, supported by sheng, guan, di, xiao, qin and other instruments.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Wujia drum-and-wind music shed has been handed down from generation to generation by the Wujia folk drum-music troupe and is mainly active in Lindian County of Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, and the surrounding area. Lindian County lies in the central-western part of Heilongjiang Province, on the northern edge of the Songnen Plain, and is inhabited by Han, Mongol, Hui, Manchu, Miao, Bouyei and other peoples; on every occasion such as a wedding or funeral, a seasonal festival or the opening of a business, a drum-music troupe is invited to perform and build up the atmosphere.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Wind and Percussion Ensemble.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Lindian County lies in the central-western part of Heilongjiang Province, on the northern edge of the Songnen Plain, bordering Qiqihar to the north, adjacent to the world-famous Zhalong Nature Reserve, home of the red-crowned crane, to the west, and with vast boundless prairie to the east; Han, Mongol, Hui, Manchu, Miao, Bouyei and other peoples live there. The Wujia drum-and-wind music shed has been transmitted within the Wu family clan for a hundred years, has established a school of its own, and has now reached the sixth generation. Inheritors of the first and second generations were mostly active in Shandong; those of the third generation were mostly active in parts of Liaoning and Jilin; those of the fourth, fifth and sixth generations were mostly active in Heilongjiang. In recent years inheritors have actively widened the channels of transmission, founded art schools and trained successors. Rooted in the life of the people, appealing to both refined and popular taste, artistically accomplished and technically varied, the Wujia drum-and-wind music shed is distinctive in its musical content, notation methods, sight-reading technique and performance style. It is a vivid witness to the intermingling and development of central plains and northeast Chinese culture, and is of positive significance for studying the development of northern folk culture, enriching the cultural life of the people and promoting social harmony.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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