Drum Dance
01 · Historical Records
The origins of the Jishan High-Platform Flower Drum are tied to the shehuo and gong-and-drum traditions of southern Shanxi. Jishan was anciently called Gaoliang and lies on the north bank of the lower Fen River, with densely settled villages inside its borders; at New Year, when shehuo was being held, flower-drum troupes were organized mostly on a village basis, and those of Wubi, Tongshang, Dongpu, Xiwei, Shizhuang and other villages were the most famous. Early flower drums were played while walking on level ground. Later, in order to attract attention amid the watching crowds, performers stacked several square tables layer upon layer to form a platform, and dancers climbed up to dance on it; hence the name "high-platform flower drum", and difficult movements such as inverted drumming on the high platform and figure-eight drumming on the chest developed along with it. The platform is built with the square table as its unit: the four legs of several tables are stacked one on another into a single column, and planks are then laid across the top of the column to form the platform, while the size and height of the platform are determined by the site and the difficulty of the piece. When climbing onto the platform, the dancers first complete the moving flower-beating and the bench duel on the lower level, then move up level by level to the top to perform inverted drumming on the high platform and waist-entangled whipping strokes; as the height rises the drumbeats tighten, while the amplitude of the movements actually grows larger. The flower-drum tunes form a current of their own within this performance: the melodies are drawn mostly from local folk minor tunes, carrying a touch of the flavour of northern Shaanxi folk songs and the vocal style of Meihu opera, lyrical and extended, forming a contrast of tension and relaxation with the tumbling drumbeats on the platform. Besides sacrificial rites and New Year shehuo, it is also performed for such occasions as trampling the courtyard, rear-yard revels, celebrating a baby's first month and seeing off new recruits, taking on the function of praying for blessings and offering congratulations. In the past, during the New Year in Jishan County every village had flower-drum performances and performers with exceptional skills appeared one after another; in recent decades, as young and middle-aged people went out to work, complete high-platform troupes remain active only in a few villages.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Jishan High-Platform Flower Drum is a traditional dance widely transmitted in Jishan County, and is best known in places such as Wubi, Tongshang, Dongpu, Xiwei and Shizhuang. The distinguishing feature of the Jishan High-Platform Flower Drum is that the dancer climbs onto a high platform built from several square tables to perform the flower-drum dance; the movements are technically demanding and highly visual. Its routines include "zouchang huada" (moving flower-beating), "bandeng duida" (bench duel), "gaotai huada" (high-platform flower-beating), "gaotai daoda" (high-platform inverted drumming), "xiontou gu bazida" (figure-eight drumming on the chest) and "chan yao shuida" (waist-entangled whipping strokes), among others. Besides performing in sacrificial rites and New Year shehuo, the Jishan flower drum is also performed at occasions such as trampling the courtyard, rear-yard revels, celebrating a baby's first month and seeing off new recruits, in order to pray for blessings and offer congratulations. In the past, during the New Year in Jishan County every village had flower-drum performances, and performers with exceptional skills appeared one after another.
Walking patterns and bench duels
The ground-level sections that precede the raised-platform work, part of a sequence running from easy to difficult.
Inverted work on the platform
The form's distinction is dancing on a platform raised from stacked tables, the inverted strokes and waist-swung beats being the hardest.
Occasions of performance
Besides sacrifices and the spring festival, it is performed at house visits, after-stage revels, first-month celebrations and farewells to new soldiers.
Tunes with a Meihu flavour
The songs inserted into the drumming come from folk airs and carry a hint of northern Shaanxi song and of Meihu opera, lyrical and lingering.
The leading villages
The dance was widespread in Jishan county, with Wubi, Tongshang, Dongpu, Xiwei and Sizhuang the best known villages.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The flower-drum tunes interspersed among the drum patterns are also strongly local in character. All come from folk minor tunes in circulation, and carry a touch of northern Shaanxi folk songs and of "Meihu opera"; the melodies are lyrical and beautiful, full of lingering meaning.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, the Jishan High-Platform Flower Drum survives in only a few villages, and the state of its transmission is not encouraging.
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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