Drum Dance
01 · Historical Records
The Hengshan old waist drum transmitted in the northern Shaanxi region is also known as the 'literary waist drum'; it is the only surviving old waist drum, and its origin can be traced back to the middle of the Ming dynasty.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Chinese drum dance is distinguished by its rich drum notation, its ardent emotion and its deep cultural foundations; it is spread throughout the country and its influence reaches the whole world. The 'Historical Appendix' of the Book of Changes contains the phrase 'the drum, danced so as to bring the spirit to its fullest', which vividly reflects the long history of Chinese drum dance and at the same time sums up its principal function. From the primitive 'striking the stones and beating the stones, all the beasts take to dancing' to the later spreading of its influence across the great rivers to the south of the Yangtze, Chinese drum dance has always continued in a single line of transmission, unbroken and unceasing. The Hengshan old waist drum of northern Shaanxi usually appears in the form of a dance company; its performance forms include solo drumming, two-person drumming, four-person drumming, eight-person paired drumming and open-group drumming. The dance company is made up of the umbrella-head leader, the drum players, the lahua dancers and clowns of assorted colours; among them the drum players move vigorously and powerfully, boldly and uninhibitedly, weaving frequently across the stage, while the lahua dancers are half pouting and half shy, with light steps; they pair up with the drum players and convey affection through their glances, adding artistic expressiveness to the performance. The Hengshan old waist drum takes the tiger-stretcher, the umbrella, the waist drum, drumsticks, small cymbals and big cymbals as its main props; its basic movements include keeping both feet off the ground, the three-foot jumping step, the double turn, the straight-leg kick, the bent-leg kick, the cross-hall paired drumming, the waist-entwining paired drumming and the cross-hall turning-body drumming; its principal set pieces include 'jujube-comb inverted blossoming', 'black donkey rolling at noon' and 'black tiger clawing the heart'. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Hengshan old waist drum has repeatedly won prizes at national and provincial folk literary and art showcases.
Umbrella head, drummers, wax flowers and clowns
The troupe comprises an umbrella head, drummers, wax flowers and clowns, the drummers forceful and free, the wax flowers light-footed and paired with them.
Props of the old waist drum
The main props are the tiger ring, the umbrella, the waist drum, drumsticks, the small cymbals and the whirling disc.
Named field patterns
Its principal field formations, paired with basic movements such as the two-foot hop, triple step, leg kicks and circling body blows.
The civil waist drum
Called the civil waist drum and the only old-style waist drum still extant, it dates to the mid-Ming; Hengshan's drums fall into four types.
Li Chengyuan's twenty-five patterns
Born in 1954 in Hengshan, Li Chengyuan codified the movements and devised twenty-five new field patterns while mastering the traditional ones.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Chinese drum dance takes many forms, is widely distributed, shows the most varied dance postures, and abounds in the greatest variety of kinds; among the more typical forms are waist drum dance, biegǔ dance, flower drum (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, sheepskin drum dance and many others. The Hengshan waist drum is a traditional folk dance; by performance form it can be divided into several types: the small-group waist drum, the four-person waist drum, the old waist drum and the new waist drum. It is distributed mainly in the basins of the Luchuan, Xiaolichuan, Dalichuan and Heimutou rivers in Hengshan County, of which Zhangcun and Dicun in Nanta Township are the most representative.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Hengshan old waist drum has long preserved its native drumming technique; it is highly distinctive in costume, props, makeup and dance movement, showing a traditional style that is bold, rugged, stirring and humorous, and it has important historical, cultural and artistic research value. At present, under the influence of global economic integration, the transmission and development of the Hengshan old waist drum faces enormous challenges, and concrete measures are urgently needed for its rescue and protection. Li Chengyuan (official archive record of the associated inheritor): male, Han ethnicity, born in December 1954, native of Hengshan County, Shaanxi Province. Over more than forty years he has ventured to explore and has summed up a set of movement forms for old waist drum performance, mainly 'following-wind flag', 'single leg kick', 'both feet off the ground', 'bent-leg kick' and 'cross-hall drumming'. While mastering the traditional set pieces, he has devised twenty-five old waist drum performance patterns such as 'Harmonious Great China' and 'Lotus Land'. Representative inheritor of the third national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage project Drum Dance (Hengshan old waist drum). He has not only taken an active part in various kinds of showcase performances, but has also passed on his experience and skills to yangge performers in a number of villages.
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)
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