中国字与中国非遗 | 西安鼓乐 Xi'an wind and percussion ensemble & its Chinese keywords

Editor's note: Xi'an wind and percussion ensemble, or Xi'an guyue, is a regional Chinese music genre. It is showcased primarily in Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi province, and features performances of drum and wind instruments, sometimes accompanied by a chorus.

With a history of more than 3,100 years, Xi'an served as the capital city for 13 dynasties during Chinese history, including the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when it was known as Chang'an and when Xi'an wind and percussion ensemble began to take shape.

This ancient artform, boasting a history of about 1,400 years, was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. The Chinese characters 鼓 ("gu"), meaning drum, and 乐 ("yue"), denoting music, combine to form the keywords for understanding Xi'an guyue.

This music genre originated from the royal music of the Tang Dynasty and was performed to entertain hosts and guests attending royal banquets or to accompany an emperor's outings. Later, it was integrated with folk music. Accordingly, its verses were compiled to reflect local life and the music was showcased mainly during folk and religious activities such as temple fairs and funerals.

Xi'an guyue can be divided into two main categories — "sitting music" played indoors and "walking music" played in open fields — and a music band is usually composed of more than 10 musicians, but can include 30 to 50 members. Traditional string instruments such as the pipa and daqin were used in ancient times, and gradually the bamboo flute, sheng (a reed pipe wind instrument), drum and gong were adopted as the main instruments. The music could be tenderly lyrical or startlingly grand.

Music scores are recorded using an ancient notation system dating from the Tang and Song (618-1279) period, and represent one of the oldest music score recording methods in the world. Almost every wind and percussion association in Xi'an has kept handwritten copies, with around 150 copies preserved to the present day.

According to UNESCO, over 3,000 repertoires are documented, among which, more than 1,100 have been sorted through and contain colorful musical pieces and scores that are of artistic and historical value. These include tunes from the Tang and Song dynasties, court banquet music, grand performances, religious songs, traditional opera and folk tunes.

The genre flourished in the 1920s and 1930s, but the number of performers and musical ensembles greatly reduced in the following decades. Since the 1980s, local governments and people have begun making concerted efforts to popularize and preserve this traditional artform, including the launch of specific programs, academic research and cultural tours. In 2006, Xi'an guyue was added to the first batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage of China.

Experts and scholars of Xi'an guyue have worked to pass down and develop the artform by archiving singing and performances via photographs, as well as audio and video recordings. Institutions such as the Xi'an Conservatory of Music and the Shaanxi Art Study Institute have also held seminars and forums to discuss the current status and future development of Xi'an guyue.

Local students at all levels are also being encouraged to get involved in cultural exchange activities related to the artform. However, younger generations' preference for modern music over traditional forms means there are fewer and fewer people willing to learn the ancient Xi'an guyue. As such, this millennium-old music genre faces an uncertain future.

Discover more about China's intangible cultural heritage and their keywords: 

• Item inscribed on UNESCO ICH list in 2022: Traditional tea processing

• Items in 2020: Wangchuan ceremony, Taijiquan

• Item in 2018: Lum medicinal bathing of Sowa Rigpa

• Item in 2016: Twenty-Four Solar Terms

• Item in 2013: Abacus-based Zhusuan

• Item in 2012: Training plan for Fujian puppetry performers

• Items in 2011: Shadow puppetry, Yimakan storytelling

• Items in 2010: Peking opera, acupuncture and moxibustion, wooden movable-type printing, watertight-bulkhead technology of Chinese junks, Meshrep

• Item in 2009: Yueju opera, Xi'an wind and percussion ensemble