Zhihua Temple music, together with Xi'an City God Temple drum music, Kaifeng Prime Minister's Chinese music, Wutai Mountain Qinghuang Temple music and Fujian Nanyin, are the oldest existing music in my country.
The following is a detailed introduction (what is it called and in what era?):
"Zhihua Temple Music" is the only existing ancient music in my country that is passed down from generation to generation. The music is still well preserved. During the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty, with the construction of Zhihua Temple, the eunuch Wang Zhen introduced court music. After study and practice by the temple monks, "Beijing Zhihua Temple Music" was formed, which integrates court music, Buddhist music, and folk music. The entire system of Zhihua Temple music consists of music scores, musical instruments, tunes, and tunes, all written in Gongchi notation. The instruments used are specially made, with wind, music, sheng, Yunluo, etc. as the main instruments. There are more than 200 rich and colorful repertoires. The music monk team has a history of more than 560 years since its formation. It has been passed down from generation to generation and has been passed down to 28 generations today.
In 1952, Fa Guang, an artistic monk of Zhihua Temple, discovered a manuscript written by the fifteenth generation artistic monk Yongqian in the sutra kitchen of Tathagata Hall. The book is thread-bound, 40 mm high and 25 cm wide. It is made of Goryeo beige paper without curtain marks and is completely bound. There are four words "Music Tune Score" in regular script in the middle of the cover, and 22 words in regular script from top to bottom on the back cover, "On the first day of October, the 33rd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty, everything is auspicious." The content has no prologue and only 48 pieces of wind music are recorded.
Rescuing, protecting, researching and inheriting the music of Beijing Zhihua Temple is an important business of the Beijing Cultural Museum. Since August 1990, Zhang Benxing, Zhang Guangfu, Huan He, Zhu Xiquan and other art monks who have returned to the original Zhihua Temple have been invited to carry out emergency repair, excavation, study and performance of Zhihua Temple music. It has organized more than 100 performances at domestic and foreign invitations, winning high praise from all walks of life and creating a very good sensational effect. On July 24, 1999, it performed for the first time in the Mark Concert Hall, the highest hall of Chinese music, with the "Chinese Buddhist Music Treasures Concert". In 2000, it performed twice in the Beijing Music Hall and the National Library Concert Hall. There was constant applause from the packed house. According to the research conducted by experts from the Chinese Academy of Arts, the Cultural Research Institute of the Chinese Buddhist Association and the cultural relics department, the music of Zhihua Temple is the remnant of the Tang and Song Dynasties. It is one of the only four ancient musics that still exist in China and has extremely high historical value. artistic value and scientific value.
Chenghuang Temple drum music is a typical Taoist drum music, and its exact history is unknown. Taoist priests An Laixu, Zhang Jiaozhen, Meng Qingzhen and Zhang Longxing of the temple said that there were drumming activities in the temple when it was on Jiuyao Street. An Laixu said that he had seen Shuyou during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty (1522-1566 AD). )'s drum music manuscript, which was stored in the Kuixing Building of the temple. In 1942, Japanese planes bombed Xi'an and the building was burned down. In addition, there is an original copy of An Laixu's music score dating from the ninth year of Yongzheng's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1731 AD) (this copy is now in the Institute of Music, China Academy of Arts). Judging from these clues, the drumming activities in the City God's Temple may have started in the Ming Dynasty in the 15th and 16th centuries, and no later than the Qing Dynasty in the early 18th century.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the Chenghuang Temple and its music club were hosted by Yao Chunfa. The artistic disciples taught by Yao included An Laixu, Wang Weisheng, Meng Qingzhen, etc. After Yao Chunfa's death, An Laixu took over the responsibility for temple affairs and entertainment. The apprentices taught by An include Zhang Jiaozhen, Fan Zhizhi, Zhang Cunzhu, etc. In the mid-1940s, under the chairmanship of An Laixu, the Chenghuang Temple established a "Music Research Association" to teach drum music. Many artists from the music club were recruited to learn their skills, such as the famous drumming artist Zhou Tan. Thanks to An's efforts, the Chenghuang Temple Drum Club continued its activities even as other drum clubs were declining, until the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Since then, the Chenghuang Temple Drum Club has become more vigorous, often participating in concert performances and major holiday park performances. In November 1961, the Chenghuang Temple Drum Club accepted the invitation of the Chinese Musicians Association and went to Beijing for a special performance led by An Laixu. It was warmly welcomed, and the Xi'an Drum Club became more widely concerned and valued by the music industry.
The Buddhist music of Daxiangguo Temple is rich in content and diverse in style.
It combines the essence of palace music, temple music and folk music. The repertoire is very rich, including vocal music and instrumental music. There are 200 repertoires. Music scores such as "Handwritten Secret Score of Daxiangguo Temple" and "Shikuang Liulu" are still left. It is the most unique among Buddhist music in the country and the world. One branch. The word "advocate" in the vocal music is based on the language of Sakyamuni's sermons and is composed of thirty-two syllables in ordinary Sanskrit, which is particularly valuable. The instrumental music is mainly based on traditional Buddhist music and Zhongzhou regional music, with standardized performance and strict arrangement. On the wall tiles of Kaifeng Fan Pagoda and Iron Pagoda, you can see carvings of Buddhist disciples playing Buddhist music. Excavating, organizing and inheriting the Buddhist music of Daxiangguo Temple is very important for improving the treasure house of Chinese music.
Buddhist music in Mount Wutai originates from Indian Buddhist music, and absorbs elements of ancient Chinese traditional music, becoming a representative of northern Buddhist music. At that time, the eminent monks Dao'an and Huiyuan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty created a new system of Buddhist singing and singing. With the purpose of teaching and singing the Dharma principles to enlighten all living beings, they adopted a variety of folk singing methods to combine singing and guiding music with the teachings of Pure Land religion. , compiled into "Introduction to Western Culture" and "Praise to the Rebirth". The Tang Dynasty was the peak period of Buddhist music in Mount Wutai. Cheng Guan, a monk in Mount Wutai, was the master of the Huayan Sutra. He also completed the systematic arrangement of chanting music, that is, Volume 18 of the "Huayan Sutra of Dafang Guangfo" states: "Those who praise among the ten praise, those who are happy sing praises, and those who are miserable are lamented... The Tathagata has sixty kinds of sounds..." This kind of chanting music is the representative of Huayan Sect music. It is also a representative of Buddhist chanting music in the Tang Dynasty.
Although the various Buddhist music in Mount Wutai are different, they all reflect the same characteristics of northern religious music, which is more majestic and different from the graceful beauty of southern Buddhist music. There is an existing stone scripture building in front of the Manjusri Hall of Foguang Temple, which was carved in 877. On the Xumizuo, eight musicians holding different instruments and playing are engraved on each side of the girdle, which illustrates the development of Buddhist music at that time.
In the Ming Dynasty, Buddhist music in Mount Wutai experienced new development. It is manifested in the further absorption of Tang and Song Dynasty tunes, Yuan drama tunes, folk songs, folk music, etc. Since the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, due to the rulers' special favor to Tibetan Buddhism - Lamaism, Huangjiao music has appeared again in the Buddhist music of Mount Wutai.
The Buddhist music of Mount Wutai that has been passed down to this day is divided into two parts: scripture music and extra-scriptural music. Sutra music is vocal music specially used for Buddhist activities, and is composed of sutras and Buddhist songs. The chant is read or recited in high tones without instrumental accompaniment. Those with musical instrument accompaniment and mainly singing and praising are called "Fan Bai" or "He Nian". Music outside the Classical Classics has no words or verses, and is only composed of instrumental music played mainly on musical instruments. It is the essence of Wutai temple music.
The content of Buddhist music in Mount Wutai is divided into two types: Qingmiao music and Huangmiao music.
The ritual music in Chinese Buddhist temples is Qingmiao music. According to traditional classification, it can be divided into four parts: yoga flame mouth, singing, blowing tune and Sanqu. The music in Tibetan Buddhist lamaseries is called Huangmiao music, which generally includes singing, blowing, and ritual music. Qingmiao music has elegant melody and profound artistic conception, and has the characteristics of distance, emptiness, lightness and tranquility. There are 47 poems of Qingmiao music that have been handed down, consisting of five parts: Yoga Yankou, Zen Door Chanting, Buddhist Sanqu, Three Days and Nights This class.
Huangmiao music has more gorgeous melodies, more active rhythms, and more Yu and Shang tunes. It not only has the style of the mountains and fields of the Mongolian and Tibetan plateaus, but also has the elegant and quiet charm of Buddhist music. These two kinds of music include singing in praise of scriptures, and purely instrumental music without scriptures. Whether it is singing or playing tunes, judging from the repertoire, in addition to Buddhist songs with strong national style, in order to attract the audience , spread the teachings widely, and attracted many classical music and folk music in our country. There are approximately 40 tunes left over from Huangmiao music, which are mainly composed of three parts: Zen music and chanting parts, blowing tunes and ritual parts. Many Huangmiao music tunes were introduced to the mainland from Tibet, and most of the tunes are Tibetan transliterations. But it also absorbed some ancient songs and folk songs of the Han nationality.
The score books used by the Qing and Huang temples are also traditional Gongchi score; all modulations are also the traditional fifth-degree modulation method. However, Qingmiao music and Huangmiao music have different styles and characteristics. Qingmiao music pays attention to rules, while Huangmiao music is less strict. The two temples use different height adjustments. Huangmiao uses this tune, which is Guan tune. Use Gongchipu, which is the modern E key.
Qingmiao is one key lower than Huangmiao, that is, angle key, and the high pitch is equivalent to the modern D key. In addition, Qingmiao mainly focuses on Han nationality music, while Huangmiao inherits many ancient Tibetan music. Therefore, Qingmiao style is known for its solemnity, elegance and quietness, while Huangmiao music is strong, loud and more than rough.
The musical instruments of Buddhist music in Mount Wutai are roughly the same in the Qing and Huang temples, both composed of percussion and wind instruments. Qingmiao music mainly includes: tambourine, dangzi, zhongmuyu, square gong, drum, cymbal, confession bell, xingxin, pipe, sheng, plum, etc. Among them, Sheng is the main one, Guan Mei helps. The band usually consists of 14 people. Huangmiao musical instruments mainly include big drums, Tibetan bells, pipes, shengs, large wooden fish, tubas, bells, conches, cymbals, suonas and sea flutes. The Huangmiao Band is mainly composed of Guanzi and Shengmei. The band usually consists of 10 people. When welcoming the sun every morning and evening, the musical instruments used include tuba, suona, conch, belle, etc.
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.
So, in Buddhist activities, the ups and downs of the chanting rhythm of Buddhist music are either accompanied by accompaniment, or sing a cappella alone, or the music is stopped, singing and chanting are combined, and vocal music is alternated. Suddenly there are deep valleys and streams, and now there are wild geese in the high mountains. The harmonious performance has a very strong classical flavor, which can't help but remind people of the style of Tang poetry, Song poetry and Yuan Dynasty prose.
The blowing tune in Qingmiao music is purely instrumental music for priests. The main repertoire includes more than 40 pieces such as "Shang Sutra Platform", "Mimo Rock", "Pu'an Mantra", "Bird in the Cloud", "Into the Orchid Room", etc. Some of them are from Buddhist music, some from classical music, and some. It comes from folk songs. Once performed by a Buddhist band, it has a rich flavor of ethnic folk music and distinct characteristics of Buddhist music. The blowing tune in Huangmiao music is used in various hall ceremonies and various Buddhist activities in Huangmiao. Some of the music comes from Qingmiao music such as "Secret Moyan", "Shangzi Green Yellow Flower", "Six-Character Mantra", etc. Some of the music comes from classical music such as: "Ruyi Song", "Four-Character Moon High", etc., and some Part of it comes from folk music.
Fujian Nanyin is a kind of folk art, also known as "Nanqu", "Nanle", "Nanguan" and "Xianguan". It is called the "living fossil" of music culture. Pipa in the Tang Dynasty The plectrum is generally used and held horizontally. Fujian Nanyin still maintains this legacy system. The "clapper" used in Nanyin and its playing method are the same as those in the Dunhuang murals. Nanqu is mainly popular in Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Longxi and Xiamen in southern Fujian. It is also popular in places where overseas Chinese live in Taiwan and Nanyang Islands. Fujian Nanyin originated in the Tang Dynasty and formed in the Song Dynasty. It is mainly popular in Fujian, Taiwan and the areas where overseas Chinese live in Nanyang Islands.
Fujian Nanyin: also known as "Nanqu", "Nanyue", "Nanguan" and "Xianguan", is known as the "living fossil" of music culture. In the Tang Dynasty, plectrums were commonly used for pipa, and It is a horizontal hug posture, and Fujian Nanyin still maintains this legacy. The "clapper" used in Nanyin and its playing method are the same as those in the Dunhuang murals. Nanqu is mainly popular in Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Longxi and Xiamen in southern Fujian. It is also popular in places where overseas Chinese live in Taiwan and Nanyang Islands.
It is generally believed that Nanqu originated in the Tang Dynasty and formed in the Song Dynasty:
(1) According to literature records: In the first year of Guangqi of Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty (885), brothers Wang Chao and Wang Shenzhi Leading their troops into Fujian, they brought with them the "Daqu" of the Tang Dynasty and spread it among the people. The mutual influence and absorption of Daqu and local folk music resulted in the unique "Southern Opera".
(2) The pipa, the main instrument of Nanqu, is played while leaning on one side. The size of the flute used is strictly one foot and eight inches. The playing posture and shape of these two instruments are consistent with those of the old Tang Dynasty.
(3) Many of the qupai names of Nanqu are the same as those of Daqu and Faqu in the Tang Dynasty. Such as "Maha Tuole", "Midnight Song", "Qing Ping Le", "Liangzhou Song", "Brahman", etc.
(4) The five famous dramas of "Southern Opera" in the Song Dynasty: "The Story of Jingchai", "The Story of the White Rabbit", "The Story of Worshiping the Moon", "The Story of Killing the Dog" and "The Story of Pipa", also known as Nanqu Sing these plays.
The spread of Nanqu among the people depends on the inheritance and dissemination of community organizations.
Since the Qing Dynasty, societies have been established in Quanzhou, Xiamen, Jinjiang, Nan'an, Hui'an, Anxi and other places, and professional teachers have taught the skills. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, many Nanyin research societies and Nanyin research societies have been established. A professional Nanqu music group was also established.