Drum Dance
01 · Historical Records
During the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty the brothers Wang Lili and Wang Liyi of Shanghe went to Beijing to perform; they took as masters the brothers Li Guizhen and Li Mingxiong, artists who had drifted to the capital, learned the flower-whip drum dance, and on returning home practised hard and improved daily. Later the brothers Wang Lili passed the flower-whip drum dance skills on to their fellow villagers, and it has been transmitted down to the present day.
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. Shanghe County lies on the northern Shandong plain; it is 35 kilometres south of the Yellow River, borders Huimin County to the east, reaches Leling City to the north and adjoins Linyi County to the west. The flower-whip drum dance is transmitted in this area. The flower-whip drum dance performance uses an ordinary waist drum, accompanied by small gongs and small cymbals. The dancer ties a white towel round the head, wears a short jacket, carries the waist drum slung diagonally under the left arm, and holds a whip in each hand; the whip handle is 22 centimetres long and the whip lash 50 centimetres, with the tip of the lash tied into a knot. In performance the two whips fly up and down, are swung behind the back, and strike the drumhead accurately in front of the chest and beneath the hip; the whips fly and the drum booms — a style quite distinctive and captivating. The flower-whip drum dance has more than thirty movements, including front eight steps, back eight steps, the kite turning over, the carp leaping the dragon gate, the old tree coiling its roots, Zhang Fei deceiving the horse, Su Qin carrying the sword, the two dragons breathing whiskers, the golden gourd, the chrysanthemum capping the head, the black dog threading the crotch and eighteen rolls on the spot. In performance the flower whips tumble like golden snakes in a frenzy, dazzling the eye so that the beholder cannot take it all in; the booming drums sound like war-horses galloping, lifting the spirits and raising the mood.
A twenty-two centimetre handle, a fifty centimetre thong
With a white towel on the head and a waist drum under the left arm, the dancer wields two whips of a twenty-two centimetre handle and fifty centimetre thong.
Thirty-odd named movements
More than thirty movements from the eight forward steps to the sparrowhawk's turn and the carp leaping the dragon gate, the whips writhing and the drum rolling.
The Wang brothers learn in Beijing
In the Guangxu reign the Wang brothers of Shanghe busked in Beijing, learned the dance from the Li brothers and brought it home.
The Zhang clan of Goujia village
The dance flourishes around Zhangfang township, where generations of the Zhang family of Goujia village perform it at every festival.
Ground rolls and the black dog's crouch
Its most demanding low movements, requiring the drum face to be struck accurately while rolling or stooping.
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. At present the flower-whip drum dance flourishes greatly in the area of Zhangfang Township, Shanghe County; several generations of the Zhang family of Goujia Village, Zhangfang Township have all been able to dance the flower-whip drum, and they perform at every festival, making a great bustle.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance · Drum Dance.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The flower-whip drum dance is full of the local colour of northern Shandong and has research value in historical culture, folklore studies and dance studies. In recent years the transmission of this folk dance has fallen into a difficult position, its development prospects are worrying, and it urgently needs protection. Zhang Jifu (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in March 1944, a native of Shanghe County, Shandong Province. He studied the flower-whip drum dance from childhood and formed his own distinctive style. He can hold in each hand a flower whip a little over one chi long and swing them at the same time, producing more than thirty postures including the kite turning over, the carp leaping the dragon gate, the old tree coiling its roots, Su Qin carrying the sword and the golden gourd. The whip head strikes the centre of the drumhead, producing a variety of ornamental beats and a clear, ringing sound that lifts the mood. He has also reworked and recreated the dance, greatly developing the flower-whip drum in the variation of its drumbeats, its whip-swinging postures and its leg movements. He frequently teaches dance techniques to the young people of his village and organises the troupe to take part in municipal and county folk art performances, making the flower-whip drum a form of performance the people are glad to hear and see. Representative inheritor of the drum dance (flower-whip drum) item of the fifth batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage. He has also trained young successors for the transmission of the flower-whip drum, so that this traditional folk art has regained its vitality.
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
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。