Drum Dance
01 · Historical Records
According to incomplete statistics, in the 1980s there were some 200-odd troupes of folk performers of the four-cylinder drum dance.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The "Zhaotong Zhi Gao" (Gazetteer Draft of Zhaotong) records: "The four-cylinder drum is long in shape, carved from wood, with skin stretched over both ends; villagers use it at funerals, treating it as a form of dancing. " Textual research shows that the Zhaotong four-cylinder drum dance already has a history of more than 200 years. Historically it appeared mainly in sacrificial settings; in modern times it has evolved into a performance practice for festive occasions. The four-cylinder drum dance has more than 80 routines, and each drum troupe is generally able to dance twenty or thirty of them; the dance forms include solo dance, duet, three-person dance and group dance. Unlike other mass folk dances, the entrances of the four-cylinder drum dance proceed in a counter-clockwise direction. Its basic movement is the "lateral travelling step": the "horse stance" is taken first as the preparatory posture, the body leans slightly forward, the drum is placed in front of the left leg, and the left hand hooks the drum cord while pressing down on the drum rim, forming the curved line of bodily beauty and the movement character in which hand and foot fall on the same side. The special techniques of the four-cylinder drum dance include "foot hooking foot", "foot stepping on foot", "toad drying its belly", "magpie climbing the branch", "tiger holding its cub", "eagle carrying a chick", "monkey scooping the moon" and "bride entering the sedan chair". The accompanying instruments mainly comprise the big drum, the small flat drum, the gong, the bowl and the whistle. The four-cylinder drum dance runs throughout on the beating of the drums, in 2/4 time; it is resonant and powerful, the movements are vigorous and uninhibited, and it expresses the temperament of a highland mountain people. The dancer keeps hand and foot on the same side. Because the dancer's centre of gravity differs, the dance rhythms of the mountain districts and the flatland districts have formed different characteristics. The "low-post" movements of the mountain districts are steady, rough and powerful, with the centre of gravity low; the "high-post" movements of the flatland districts are smooth, absorb some dance steps from the flower lantern and the waist drum, with the centre of gravity a little higher, relaxed and unrestrained. At present Zhaotong has more than 300 drum troupes and over 1,000 performers. The four-cylinder drum dance is closely bound to the residential life and the seasonal customs of Zhaotong, and carries features of the fusion of hunting culture and farming culture; it can both express the joy and the prayer for blessing in residential life and serve as physical exercise and entertainment, and it has a broad popular base. By occasion of use, the four-cylinder drum dance is divided into four kinds — zuotang drum, houjia drum, qinjia drum and family sacrificial drum — each with its own ritual procedure and repertoire. In performance a band made up of the big drum, small flat drum, gong, bowl and whistle accompanies at the side of the ground, with the rhythm unified at 2/4 time. According to statistics from the 1980s there were some 200-odd troupes of four-cylinder drum dance performers in the Zhaotong area; to the present Zhaotong has more than 300 drum troupes and over 1,000 performers.
Four ritual types
The drum divides into hall, affinal, in-law and family sacrifice types, each tied to a different relationship and moment in mourning rites.
Special feats
Its feats include hooking feet, the toad sunning its belly, the magpie on its branch, the tiger guarding eggs and the monkey fishing for the moon.
The Zhaotong gazetteer
The Zhaotong gazetteer records a long wooden drum with hide at both ends, used in village funerals for dancing; the form is over two centuries old.
Counter-clockwise entry
Unlike other communal dances it enters counter-clockwise, its basic side-step forming the line of a body moving all on one side.
Four townships
A Han folk dance of the Zhaotong region, it is chiefly found in the four townships of Tucheng, Leju, Sayu and Sujia.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The four-cylinder drum dance is popularly known as the "four-cylinder drum". It is a Han folk dance transmitted in the Zhaotong area of Yunnan Province, distributed mainly in the four townships of Tucheng, Leju, Sayu and Sujia in Zhaoyang District of Zhaotong City. The four-cylinder drum is divided into four types: zuotang drum, houjia drum, qinjia drum and family sacrificial drum.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The four-cylinder drum dance has a fairly wide transmission base in Zhaoyang District of Zhaotong City, and is passed down mainly through the master-apprentice relationship. With the support of the local government, representative inheritors have actively promoted the transmission and dissemination of the project by holding training classes, taking part in performance events and by other means. Protecting this cultural heritage well plays a positive role in promoting fine traditional culture, strengthening ethnic and cultural identification, and fostering social harmony.
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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