Drum Dance

01 · Historical Records

The Da zou drum was originally called 'cheguting'; it reached Shitang, Wenling, Zhejiang, when fishermen from the Huian area of Fujian moved there. It has a history of more than three hundred years and is now practised mainly in Liruo Village of Shitang Town and the surrounding fishing villages.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Chinese drum dance is distinguished by rich drum patterns, ardent emotion and deep cultural reserves; it spreads across the whole country and its influence reaches the entire world. The Book of Changes (Yijing), in its chapter 'Appended Statements', has the phrase 'the drums are danced to, so as to bring the spirits to their fullest' (gu zhi wu zhi yi jin shen); it vividly reflects the long history of Chinese drum dance while also summing up, in a nutshell, its principal function. From the primitive 'striking stones and clapping stones, the hundred beasts all dance' (ji shi fu shi, bai shou shui wu) to later times when its influence spread everywhere south and north of the Yangtze, Chinese drum dance has remained one continuous, unbroken tradition. It is said that the Da zou drum spread to Shitang with the migration of fishermen from Huian in Fujian, and that it has a history of more than three hundred years. The Da zou drum was at first performed by eight or nine people; it later developed to several dozen, and at its largest as many as sixty. In Shitang there are Da zou drum troupes of old people, of young people and of teenagers alike; whenever the city, town or village holds a major event they can take part in the performance at any time. The Da zou drum has dance steps such as the horse crouch leap step, the waving-wave step, the shoulder-trembling four-direction step and the small treading step; its formations are very varied, and the commonly used formation patterns include 'one arrow encircling eight', 'twin arrows rolling the waves', 'twin-arrow gate', 'ingot formation', 'half-moon encircling the eight-character figure', 'rolling waves turning the flowers', 'ten-gate formation' and 'dragon gate formation'. The Da zou drum takes two forms, performance on the spot and performance in procession. In performance the performers hold their instruments, playing as they move; the movements are rough and bold, humorous and amusing. Apart from the drummer, the other eight or nine performers may improvise freely. Two suona horns play the melody, accompanied by percussion instruments such as the wooden fish, large and small cymbals, bronze bell-drums, yue luo (moon gongs) and small gongs. Male roles performed in women's dress are the most distinctive feature of the Da zou drum performance. During the performance the male performers' faces are made up in heavy colours, they wear horn-shaped ornaments and large earrings on their heads, and barefoot they play the 'fisherwoman', twisting as they walk — a scene seldom seen in Han dance. The Da zou drum has many performance pieces; among them, programmes adapted from its original materials such as 'Taizhou Bay Fishing Drum', 'Ruoshhan Da zou Drum' and 'Sun Drum' have repeatedly taken part in performances at provincial, prefectural and municipal levels and have won awards. The Da zou drum is one of the 'tedi gushi' (special set pieces) in festival celebration processions, and the only one that has survived.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Chinese drum dance takes many forms, is widely distributed, varies greatly in dance posture, and differs enormously in kind. Among the more typical forms are waist-drum dance, the crouching drum dance (biaogu), flower-drum (flower-lantern) dance, wooden-drum dance, long-drum dance, flat-drum dance, bronze-drum dance, dragon-drum dance, fan-drum dance, yellow-clay drum dance, elephant-foot drum dance, monkey drum dance, flower-whip drum dance, bamboo-drum dance, bell-drum dance, sheep-skin drum dance and many others. The Da zou drum, originally called 'cheguting', is a traditional fishing-village dance popular in the area of Shitang Town, Wenling City, Zhejiang Province.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The Da zou drum is rough and humorous, with male performers in women's dress and witty movements; in performance it follows where the mood takes it and relies on practice born of mastery. Its artistic style is distinctive, and it has some value for the study of Zhejiang's folk dance and folk customs, as well as for the study of settlement migration and cultural transmission. With the arrival of the information age, the development of local industry and the divergence between old and new culture, the living space of the Da zou drum is shrinking steadily and transmission is very difficult; it is now in an endangered state and urgently needs rescue and protection. Chen Defu (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in September 1942, a native of Wenling City, Zhejiang Province. He began taking part in the local Da zou drum activities from the Lantern Festival in 1976. He actively helped prepare and establish the village's Da zou drum study society and teaching-and-transmission base. Representative inheritor of the drum dance (Da zou drum) item of the fifth batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage. Since 2000 the Da zou drum has flourished in Ruoshan and even in the wider Shitang area, and he has thrown himself wholeheartedly into this ancient dance activity, taking part many times in performances above provincial level and winning awards. Several of his sons and nephews and their children have been trained as successors in the Da zou drum.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

• Mairemuhan Adili 02-0402
• Li Chengyuan 03-0925
• Yang Menyuan 03-0926
• Daisanhai 03-0927
• Gao Ruchang 04-1570
• Wang Qiren 04-1571
• Qi Xuede 05-2243
• Zhang Hongnian 05-2244
• Chen Defu 05-2245
• Zhang Lanqing 05-2246
• Zhang Jifu 05-2247
• Su Anfu
• Wang Chengde
• Liu Xueguang

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Drum Dance (Wenling, Zhejiang) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Chen Defu · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗