The Hongze Lake Fishing Drum Dance is a Han folk dance popular in the Hongze Lake area. It is widely distributed in Xuyi, Sihong, Siyang, Hongze and other places around Hongze Lake.
The predecessor of the fishing drum is the Taiping drum, which was popular in the north. It was introduced to the Hongze Lake Basin by refugees fleeing famine in the north. It was initially used as a tool to accompany raps when begging along the village. The beating of fishing drums has strong rhythm and strong impact on people's hearing. Therefore, it was adopted by the gods in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties and used in burning large paper sacrifices and praying at altars, and became an accompaniment tool in the hands of those who dance to the gods. After the 19th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1860), with the formation of Hongze Lake, fishing drums were widely used in collective activities such as Hongze Lake fishermen burning large paper sacrifices, large (generation) king gatherings, genealogy gatherings and other collective activities. The fishing drum gradually evolved into a sacrificial dance.
The main prop of Hongze Lake fishing drum is the fishing drum. Early fishing drums were made from iron parts by blacksmiths and covered with sheepskin or fish skin. The production process was relatively complicated. The fishing drum is round, shaped like a cattail fan, about 35 centimeters in diameter, and covered with a layer of sheepskin along the circular frame. Dog skin or fish skin can also be used. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, folk artists specializing in making fishing drums appeared along the lake. They promoted the craftsmanship of fishing drums to become more refined and exquisite in appearance. The leather used to make the drum heads was as thin as paper and translucent. The sound of the hits was crisp and powerful, and the lingering sound was melodious. The image of a big red carp is added to the drum surface, which means peace and prosperity every year, thus forming the original fishing drum. After the Republic of China, especially during the revolutionary war years, fishing drums were discovered and used in literary and artistic activities. After excavation and sorting by literary and art workers, the production of fishing drums tends to be simplified, using thick iron wire instead, and the covering is changed to thick leather paper. In order to achieve the effect of stage art, the drum surface began to be painted with folk decorative patterns such as group fish, pairs of fish, water ripples and carps jumping over the dragon gate. While symbolizing harmony and good luck, it also highlighted the role of fishing drum. The festive color of the event.
Most of the fishing drums used in stage performances nowadays are made of thick leather paper. The drum has a handle. The handle is about 20 cm long and the overall length is about 70 cm. There is a circular iron ring with a diameter of 15 cm at the end of the handle. There are four iron rings around the ring, and two or three small iron rings are connected to each ring. A big red ribbon is tied to the ring at the end of the handle. During the performance, the performer holds the drum in his left hand and the keys in his right hand. According to the performer's movements and the sound effect needs, he either shakes the fishing drum, or beats the fishing drum rhythmically with the bamboo keys, making the drum sound "dong dong" and the ring jingling. Drum keys are generally 4 cm long and 1 cm wide, and are made of bamboo strips. The key tail handle is wrapped with soft cloth for easy hand holding. There are silk whiskers or colorful cloth strips tied at the end of the handle. When dancing, the ribbons fly, increasing the viewing effect.
The performance of fishing drum has a long history. The main tunes in the initial performance included "Yao Shen Mantra" and "Reciting the Buddha's Memory". Because the fishing drums always consisted of a string of overlapping sounds of "dong dong", the fishermen also called it "dong dong tune", "dong dong tune" and "dong dong tune". Sissy”. It is a unique folk dance performance form in Hongze Lake folk culture. It has a strong fisherman style and has a broad mass base and distribution range. Later, it gradually evolved from the initial single activity of inviting gods and exorcising ghosts to an indispensable form of entertainment during festivals, family history gatherings and other activities; in the performance, in addition to drumming, it also evolved from simple whispering to Shouting Gods and reciting Buddha's name are integrated into the popular elbow drum and allegro rap in Jiangsu and Anhui areas, as well as folk dances, truly forming the Yugu drum dance.
The Hongze Lake fishing drum performers are all male actors or men dressed as women. Their costumes are gorgeous, and the performance venues are mostly at the bow of the boat. When there are many spectators, seven or eight boats come together to form a simple "stage" on the water. Hongze Lake Fishing Encouragement Artists continue to evolve in the practice of production and life. The singing style is no longer the superstitious chanting of gods and Buddha chanting, but gradually incorporates folk art singing and elbow drum tunes, and also absorbs the singing styles and rhythms of fishermen's chants and fishermen's songs. , changed the sissy who used to sing but not sing, moaning painlessly. The dances performed are no longer simple accompanying dance movements, but include swimming forward and backward, rocking left and right, and other dance movements, simulating the fishing movements of casting a net, lowering a bamboo trap, and rocking a boat. When Hongze Lake Fishing Drum Festival was at its peak, there were more than a thousand people engaged in fishing drum performances.
It was after the founding of the People’s Republic of China that the fishing drum dance truly took shape and matured. Through the excavation and arrangement of cultural workers in the lake area and continuous innovation, it formed today’s relatively complete stage folk dance form. It uses light singing and dancing to depict It depicts the labor scene of the fishermen’s sons and daughters on the lake, and sings the praises of their joyful harvest.
The basic characteristics of fishing drums during this period have completely got rid of the original low-pitched and congratulatory tone, and added exciting and passionate melodies. The natural landscape of the lake with beautiful mountains and clear waters and hundreds of boats competing for water has been used as a stage canopy to set off the spectacular fishing operations. The lineups and formations of the scene are varied, including formations of dragons coming out of the water, two dragons playing with pearls, drums instead of drums, drums instead of nets, and dance movements simulating fishery production, including rowing, pulling nets, underhooking, burkas, There are also labor scenes with broken steps and frustrated steps such as getting off the cage, as well as striding forward in the eight-figure walk and dancing in the garden. There are also vivid performances such as double riding on the clouds, white cranes spreading their wings, looking at the moon from the window, and geese flying south. The Duangu has also been beautified, with carp and water wave patterns symbolically painted on the drum surface. The drum beating method is flexible and diverse, and is not limited by the original seven-character and cross rhymes. Based on the artistic styles of holding the moon in one's arms, holding a drum, playing a pair of drums, and a woman wearing a headband while a man is playing, various sound effects such as single, double, and triple drums have appeared. The actors' costumes have also changed from simple towel tops to embroidered ones for men and women. Sky blue and crimson satin dance clothes beside the clouds.
According to excavations, the traditional repertoire sung by fishermen includes "Wei Zheng Slays the Old Dragon", "Zhang Lang Xiu Lilac", "Return of the Soul", "Jellyfish Flooded Sizhou City" and more than ten pieces.