Korean Zhang Drum Dance
01 · Historical Records
The Korean long drum dance is one of the most representative dances of the Korean ethnic group, circulated mainly in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture of Jilin Province and in other Korean settlements. It grew out of the traditional nongak farmers' music and dance of the Korean ethnic group and has a history of more than a thousand years. The long drum originates from the Indian waist drum, which reached the Central Plains along the Silk Road and then, after many stages of transmission, passed into Korea, where it became the principal percussion instrument of the Korean ethnic group. The Korean long drum is a two-headed drum whose two heads do not have the same pitch. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, some Korean people migrated from the Korean peninsula to China, and the long drum dance came in with them; after long development it gradually took on the character of a Korean long drum dance with distinct Chinese features. The Korean long drum dance has vivid Korean ethnic cultural characteristics and occupies a very important place in the history of Korean ethnic dance. Its transmission enriched the artistic forms of Chinese ethnic folk dance and also left a fine story of cultural exchange. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, careful adaptation by Korean ethnic dance artists infused the long drum dance with a new spirit of the times, making this fine folk art more complete.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Korean long drum dance may be performed collectively or by a single performer. The women's long drum dance is graceful in style; the men's long drum dance is lively and uninhibited. In performance the principal movements are raising the arms, extending the shoulders and the magpie step; the dancer carries the long drum on the shoulder, holds the drumstick in the right hand, and strikes while dancing. The long drum is not only a prop of the dance but also an accompanying instrument. The dance as a whole integrates playing, singing and dancing, achieving a high degree of coordination of body, drum and music.
The two-headed hourglass drum
The Korean long drum is a waisted two-headed drum whose faces are pitched differently, struck by hand and by a switch.
From the farmers' band to the drum dance
The drum dance grew out of the farmers' band music, brought to northeast China by Korean migrants in the Ming and Qing periods.
Shoulder-carrying, shoulder-stretching and magpie steps
The female style combines shoulder-carrying gestures, a stretching shoulder line and light magpie steps while striking the drum.
Solo and group forms
The dance is performed both solo and in groups, with the male and female styles in sharp contrast.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Korean long drum dance is centred on Tumen City, Jilin Province, and the Tumen City Cultural Center is the protecting unit for this item; it also circulates in other counties and cities of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and in Korean settlements such as Heilongjiang and Liaoning. The long drum dance is divided into women's and men's lines: the women's version carries the long drum on the shoulder and holds the drumstick in the right hand, and centres on the soft movements of raising the arms, extending the shoulders and the magpie step; the men's version uses larger movements and a faster tempo, is often performed on the same occasion as the nongak farmers' dance, and is lively and uninhibited in style. In Yanbian the long drum dance is commonly seen at celebrations honouring elderly people, at sixtieth-birthday banquets, and in cultural shows staged by schools and community art centres. The long drum serves both as a prop and as an accompanying instrument, and the drummer is also the dancer, so body, drum and music must be brought into a high degree of coordination.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, with the acceleration of modernisation, the Korean long drum dance has fallen into a survival predicament with few successors; some of the more demanding drumming techniques in the folk repertoire have already been lost, and urgent protection and rescue is needed.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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