Jingxi Taiping Drum Dance
01 · Historical Records
It was already being performed in the Beijing area in the Ming dynasty, and from the Qing dynasty onward it became ever more widespread, enjoying a broad popular base. In its early days Jingxi Taiping Drum was a collective song-and-dance performed by Manchu women; men did not take part in it until the beginning of the 20th century.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Taiping Drum is also called “fan drum”, “single drum” or “goatskin drum”, and is a distinctive folk festive dance of the Beijing area. Taiping Drum activities are held from the first day of the twelfth lunar month until the second day of the first lunar month of the following year, which is why the Beijing area also calls it the “New Year Greeting Drum”. Beating the Taiping Drum symbolises peace and ease throughout the land, and it carries the special sense of praying for blessings and welcoming the new year. Shijingshan Taiping Drum has a history of more than two hundred years to the present. It is most prevalent in Wulituo, Moshikou, Beixinan, Gucheng Village, Yamenkou and other villages of Shijingshan District, Beijing; the first and the twelfth lunar months of each year are its active season. The Taiping Drum is as large as a cattail-leaf fan, with a drum handle fitted below it, and comes in several drum shapes: regular round, flattened round, trapezoid and octagonal. Shijingshan Taiping Drum is humorous and amusing, steeped in the flavour of everyday life, and it can express different emotions through changes of rhythm. The drum is both an instrument and a prop; in performance it is closely integrated with the dance, so that the players may beat while dancing, or alternate beating with singing. The dancers shake the rings with the left hand and strike the drum with the right, producing a crisp sound, and they dance gracefully to the rhythm of the drumbeats; the basic dynamic quality of female dancers is “twisting” and “trembling”, and that of male dancers is “fanning” and “stubborn strength”. The music of the Taiping Drum consists mainly of two parts, drum patterns and tune patterns. There are more than a dozen drum patterns, and the techniques for beating the Taiping Drum are many and varied, including striking the front face, striking the reverse face, striking the drum centre, beating the drum rim, and shaking the iron rings up, down, left and right, among a whole series of skills.
Drum patterns and melodies
The music consists of drum patterns, of which there are more than ten, and melodies; dancers shake a ring with the left hand and strike the drum with the right, dancing to the rhythm.
Over a dozen striking techniques
A series of techniques including front and reverse strikes, striking the drum centre, striking the rim and trembling the iron ring in all directions, used to express shifting moods.
Three modes of transmission, lineage first
The Shijingshan Taiping drum was transmitted chiefly within families, secondarily by villagers' voluntary learning; once a collective dance of Manchu women, it admitted men from the early twentieth century.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Shijingshan Taiping Drum is most prevalent in Wulituo, Moshikou, Beixinan, Gucheng Village, Yamenkou and other villages; its drums come in several shapes, including regular round, flattened round, trapezoid and octagonal, and in performance the players may beat while dancing or alternate beating with singing.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Jingxi Taiping Drum Dance · Jingxi Taiping Drum Dance.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
It is transmitted among the people in three ways, the most important being family transmission, followed by learning and transmission by villagers on their own initiative. Shijingshan Taiping Drum is a component of Jingxi Taiping Drum. It has a long history, a wide circulation, rich content, a distinctive style and a strong local colour; it carries a strong measure of self-entertainment, is dearly loved by the people, has considerable value for the study of folk custom, and serves as a mark of the cultural identity of the people of western Beijing and as an important means of emotional communication among villagers. In recent years Shijingshan Taiping Drum has gradually lost its performance space and has few successors, and it is in urgent need of rescue and protection.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Gao Hongwei 02-0331
- Lvcuiqin 04-1540
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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