Ansaiyaogu
01 · Historical Records
The Ansai waist drum is fast in release and fast in closure, astonishingly quick in change, natural and unforced, joyous and flowing, combining hardness and softness, free in bending and stretching. In the course of its development and evolution it fused dance, martial arts, physical exercise, percussion, wind music and folk song into one, making itself richer in content and form and more ornamental and entertaining. Ansi lies in the heart of the loess plateau of northern Shaanxi and was in ancient times a garrison outpost on the frontier. The waist drum was at first associated with the military activities of garrison soldiers in raising the alarm and encouraging the fighters, and only later was it absorbed into folk occasions such as the Spring Festival yangge processions and god-welcoming rites. After the Ming and Qing dynasties the waist drum became the most rallying programme in the shehuo of the New Year in northern Shaanxi: the drummer carries the waist drum slung across the body, holds a beater in each hand, and beats and dances at the same time, so that the sound of the drum interweaves with that of the suona, gongs and cymbals into a single whole.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Ansai waist drum has a long history, but the specific period in which it arose and took shape can no longer be ascertained. To raise the alarm with the drum, to encourage the fighters with the drum, to signal urgency with the drum, to make music with the drum — these are all functions of the Ansai waist drum. The Ansai waist drum is divided into the literary drum and the martial drum: the literary drum is chiefly twist-based, stressing the twist and playing the drum lightly, while the martial drum is chiefly beat-based, stressing the beating and the twist lightly. The body of the waist drum is wooden, with cowhide stretched over both faces, and is tied horizontally to the waist with a red silk band; each hand holds a drumstick for striking it. According to the occasion of performance the Ansai waist drum is divided into the ground drum and the marching drum: the ground drum is performed in formation in squares and courtyards, and stresses the interweaving of formations and collective tableaux, while the marching drum is beaten as the procession moves, and is used mostly for welcoming deities, paying New Year greetings and festival parades.
Civil drumming and martial drumming
The civil style stresses twisting with light striking, the martial style heavy striking with little twisting; both alternate within one troupe.
Alarm, encouragement, summons and joy
The drum once served to warn, encourage, summon and entertain; its sound carried far across the loess gullies as a village signal.
Ground drumming and marching drumming
Ground drumming is staged in squares and courtyards with complex formations; marching drumming accompanies processions for festivals and New Year visits.
The waist drum and its harness
The wooden drum is skinned with ox hide on both faces and slung at the waist with a red silk band, struck by two sticks.
Cao Huairong's family transmission
Cao Huairong, born in Ansai in 1939, learned drumming from his father Cao Dewang and later trained performers of all ages.
Liu Yanhe's training method
Liu Yanhe, active for over thirty years, devised a training method suited to modern taste; his teams perform with bold and flowing style.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Ansai waist drum is a component part of the Yellow River culture, embodying the dashing, tiger-like strength and bull-like stubborn vigour of the men of northern Shaanxi, and it is strongly marked by national style and local character. The Ansai waist drum is transmitted among the villages of the valleys and loess tablelands around Ansai District of Yan'an City. Waist drum teams are commonly established in the townships of Zhenwu Cave, ZhuanYao Wan, Gaoqiao, Zhao'an and others; in most villages the teams are organized by elders of the community, and at New Year time the drummers are gathered together, from a few dozen people to over a hundred, with the leader unifying their starting and stopping and their changes of formation.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present the actual state of survival of the Ansai waist drum gives cause for concern, and it must be protected and supported. Cao Huairong (official archival record of the associated representative inheritor): Male, Han nationality, born in 1939, native of Ansi, Shaanxi. Cao Huairong learned to beat the waist drum from his father Cao Dewang from childhood, mastering all the performance techniques of the Ansai waist drum. He trained a large number of waist drum performers of the older, middle-aged and younger generations, making an important contribution to the popularization of the Ansai waist drum. Representative inheritor of the Ansai waist drum, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the second national-level batch. Liu Yanhe (official archival record of the associated representative inheritor): Male, Han nationality, born in March 1960, native of Ansi County, Shaanxi Province. Over more than thirty years of professional work, on the basis of the traditional waist drum beating methods and sequences, he has kept innovating and created a set of waist drum training methods suited to modern aesthetic sensibilities. The waist drum teams he trained have a bold and heroic performance style, a grand and sweeping manner, and graceful, flowing and distinctive dancing. Representative inheritor of the Ansai waist drum, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fifth national-level batch.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Cao Huairong 02-0360
- Liu Yanhe 05-2220
- Tan Haize
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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