Wutai Mountain Buddhist music belongs to the northern system, but it is independent from the east and west. It has its own system and has quaint tunes. It is the product of the combination of music art and religion. It is a special cultural phenomenon in social development and an important part of the Buddhist culture of Mount Wutai. It is considered to be the representative of northern Buddhist music. It has a great influence in the entire northern China and the whole country, except for the area where Mount Wutai belongs. In Chinese music culture, Wutai Mountain Buddhist music also occupies an important position. Therefore, it is of great significance to inherit and protect the "Buddha Music of Mount Wutai".
Historically, Qingmiao and Huangmiao in Wutai Mountain had their own bands. In addition to daily chanting and playing in the hall, there are also bands playing at various Dharma gatherings. Later, temple music was passed down to the people, and monks and lamas were invited to chant sutras and play music for birthdays and funerals. However, since it takes several or even more than ten years to train a monk who can play musical instruments and sing sutras, and the monks in the training class are very mobile, most of the music can no longer be played completely. Traveling around is a lifestyle that many monks are happy to choose, but inheriting Mount Wutai’s Buddhist cultural heritage that has lasted for thousands of years requires long-lasting endurance and perseverance. At the same time, with the decrease in traditional Buddhist rituals in Mount Wutai, the Buddhist music used has also become less useful, and some traditional repertoire has been gradually lost. In 1958, 18 monks from the Qinghuang Temple in Mount Wutai formed a band and went to Taiyuan, the provincial capital, to perform temple music and won awards.
In 1986, in order to solve the problem of inheritance of repertoire, Wutai Mountain Nanshan Temple, Shuxiang Temple and Pusa Ding respectively established Buddhist music training classes, which were responsible for excavating and sorting out Wutai Mountain Buddhist music materials and teaching Wutai Mountain Buddhist music. Happy mission.
In March 1989, the Wutai Mountain Buddhist Orchestra arrived in Hong Kong for the first time to perform large-scale Buddhist music, causing a sensation and a great response.
The state attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. On May 20, 2006, Wutai Mountain Buddhist music was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists.
On November 20, 2003, the essence of Chinese Buddhist and Taoist music was performed in Beijing. The Wutai Mountain Buddhist Orchestra and the Beijing Buddhist Orchestra, Jiangsu Gusu Xian Orchestra, Beijing Baiyun Taoist Orchestra, and Qinghai Labrang Monastery Buddhist Orchestra Six Buddhist orchestras including Taiwan's Fo Guang Shan Fan Bai Praise Troupe gathered at the Zhongshan Concert Hall.
Nanshan Temple holds an annual Water and Land Dharma Assembly, and is often invited to perform various Buddhist activities and Buddhist music performances at home and abroad. When there are large-scale activities in provinces, cities and counties, the government and relevant departments also actively recommend them Participating creates an excellent showcase opportunity for the Buddhist Band.
On March 19, 2011, the Buddhist orchestra composed of monks from Nanshan Temple and Shuxiang Temple led by Master Huiguang accompanied the "Charming Three Jins - Shanxi Culture and Art Exhibition Month" at the Shanghai Grand Theater Perform and win applause.
(Atlas of Buddhist music inheritance activities and figures in Mount Wutai) 1. Master Huiguang
Master Huiguang was born in 1966. He is a member of the Wang family in Fanzhi County at the foot of Xitai Mountain, one of the five tops of Mount Wutai. , the common name is Wang Huansheng. Most of the villagers near and far believe in Buddhism. The Wang family has done good deeds and accumulated virtues for generations, and worships Buddha devoutly. There are people in every generation who have become monks. My parents are also devout Buddhists and have been influenced by Buddhism since childhood.
In his youth, in order to reduce the burden on his family, he went out to work and became a coal worker. Facing the constant landslides in the mines and during many rescues, I have gained a different understanding of life and death. For this reason, he resolutely resigned and prayed to Mount Wutai with the consent of his parents. In 1991, Master Huiguang went to Nanshan Temple to be ordained step by step. He became a disciple of Monk Wanfu and received full ordination from the eminent monk Jidu of Tayuan Temple. Participate in Zen, worship the Buddha, observe precepts, and learn the skills of reciting scriptures and playing musical instruments.
On June 11, 2009, Master Huiguang, as the only representative of the Han Dynasty (Qingmiao) Buddhist music in Mount Wutai, was identified as the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage project protection inheritors.
2. Zhang Yangmolan
Zhangyang Molan was born in Xigou Village, Wutai County in September 1969. His common name is Liang Linhu. He became a monk in Bodhisattva Ding in 1982 and became a teacher. Learned Buddhist music from Huangmiao from Luosang Tenzin. In the autumn of 1984, Hamu'er, the president of the Chengde Buddhist Association, initiated Lin Hu in accordance with the Yellow Sect's rituals, and awarded him the bhikkhu ordination, giving him the Dharma name Zhangyang Molan. Member of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, member of the Standing Committee of the Xinzhou CPPCC Committee, vice president of the Shanxi Provincial Buddhist Association, and executive vice president of the Wutai Mountain Buddhist Association. In 2009, as the only representative of Tibetan Buddhist music (Huang Temple) in Wutai Mountain, he was identified as the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage project protection inheritors.
3. Master Shanyi
Master Shanxi’s common name is Yang Jianguo. He is a native of Gujiazhuang Village, Xingyuan Township, Fanzhi County, Shanxi Province. He was born in 1958. He liked to meditate and chant Buddha's name since he was a child, and he was very talented in music. In 1983, he was hired as a musician by the county Yangzhou Opera Troupe. In 1986, he became a monk at the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy in Sedar, Sichuan. In April of the following year, he began to visit Wutai Mountain and Mima Rock for meditation, and then went to Kek Lok Temple. He graduated from the China Buddhist Academy in 1991. Master Shanxi began to study Buddhist music in Mount Wutai in 1986. In 1997, in order to promote Dharma and benefit living beings and inherit the ancient Buddhist music cultural heritage, he founded a Buddhist music training class in Mount Wutai at the Shifo Temple in Fanzhi County, Shanxi Province, and served as a lecturer. In 1998, Jile Temple in Dai County, Shanxi Province founded the Northern Buddhist and Music Seminary in Mount Wutai, China. In September 2000, the China Wutai Mountain Buddhist Band was formed and was invited to Beijing to participate in the consecration of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and the Water and Land Dharma Assembly held by Guanghua Temple.
The wonderful performance of the Buddhist orchestra was happily praised by both monks and laypeople. Professor Tian Qing, a Buddhist music expert and researcher at the Institute of Music of the China Academy of Arts, spoke highly of and appreciated the performance of Buddhist music after watching it. In 2004, he participated in the Buddhist music activity of the Water and Land Dharma Assembly of Guanghua Temple in Beijing for the second time. On October 16, 2000, the group was invited to attend the consecration ceremony of Buddha and Bodhisattvas at Tianning Temple in Guashan County, Jiaocheng County. They were welcomed by the Vice President of Shanxi Buddhist Association, Abbot Gentong of Xuanzang Temple, the elders of various mountains and the attending devotees. Appreciated. In 2001, the group was invited to consecrate one hundred Buddha statues at Bishan Temple in Mount Wutai. In 2001, he was invited to perform Buddhist music and non-canonical music at Gulinquan Temple in Ezhou City, Hubei Province. On August 1, 2005, I was invited by the great monk Miaojiang of Bishan Temple in Wutai Mountain to participate in the Buddhist music performance of the Water and Land Dharma Assembly. From 1997 to 2005, 6 Buddhist music classes were held, and Buddhist music activities were carried out in Guangdong, Henan, Zhejiang, Shanxi and other places. Master Shanyi composed the music for "Ksitigarbha Repentance Ceremony", and also compiled nearly a hundred Buddhist songs, 20 music scores for sheng, pipe and flute, and compiled volumes 1-2 of "Chinese Wutai Mountain Buddhist Music Collection·Song Collection", " The Encyclopedia of Buddhist Music in Mount Wutai of China·Music Score Book of Second-hour Class Recitations", The Encyclopedia of Buddhist Music of Mount Wutai in China·Collection of Pure Land Buddhist Practice", Volumes 1-6, The Encyclopedia of Buddhist Music of Mount Wutai in China·Music Score of Praise and Verses of Buddhist Music".