In the theater to watch the wonderful martial arts of Peking Opera, in the fierce fight between the enemy and us, the "martial field" in the accompanying band, including single leather drums, large gongs, cymbals and small gongs, struck as fiercely as beans. Just when the two sides were playing with each other, suddenly only saw the drummer in the band, the two drum keys in his hand, standing on the single leather drum, the drum sound, the gong sound, and the cymbal sound immediately stopped abruptly, and then the drum master drum button on the field was gently raised, a crisp "four-hit head", with a tightly seamless "appearance" between the enemy and us, which immediately caused a warm applause from the audience.
Single leather drum
The role of the drummer in literary drama
What is the role of the drummer in the literary drama? When the role played is sung, the drummer holds the sandalwood in one hand and the drum key in the other, measuring the board and eyes for the actor, and controlling the rhythm, when the actor has the last long drag cavity, the drummer's two drum keys knock out a rapid and even drum sound, a high-pitched sound, accompanied by the actor's high-pitched singing voice, the audience can't help but applaud.
If the Huqin in the Peking Opera literary field is the soul of the band, the single leather drum is the head of the whole band and the conductor of the whole band. The two drum keys function exactly the same as the baton of a Western band. The drummer holds two small drum keys, one taping, one stopping, the other standing horizontally on the drum. For a moment it stopped obliquely by the drum. One moment with both hands raised, the next with one hand, the musicians of the whole band knew what to do. These two drum keys are as well-informed as those of a talking person, and not only are their voices ever-changing, but their flexible gestures are also pleasing to the eye. So this drumming, this percussion instrument, is not only an art appreciation, but also a kind of Chinese culture, and how many Chinese stories are also passed on, which is really good, good to see, and fun.
Peking Opera instruments
"Imperial Master" Shen Licheng
According to the existing literature, the drum master who first appeared in the written records was Shen Licheng, born in the third year of Xianfeng (1853), a native of Anhui, who first studied Kun drums and Pi Huang drums with the Su qu master, and became a talented and intelligent, with strong understanding, so whether it was Kunqu opera or Pi Huang repertoire, the drumming festival was handy. In the early years of Guangxu, Shen Licheng, who was more than twenty years old, took the siphi class to applaud, and the opera historian Wang Zhizhang wrote in the "Biography of Lingguan in the Qing Dynasty" that Shen Licheng was "sensitive to curiosity, so his art is like the Yangtze River, vast and endless." In the fifth year of Guangxu (1879), Shen Licheng was selected to join the Shengping Bureau and became the "casual hand" of the court until the fall of the Qing court, which lasted for twenty or thirty years.
Single leather drum in the Qing Dynasty Collection of the Palace Museum
Because Shen Licheng played drums in the palace for many years, Guangxu, the Qing Emperor who loved Peking Opera drumming, learned from him for many years. At that time, some people joked with him that he was an imperial master, and there were some stories circulating. Legend has it that one day, the band members came to Guangxu's residence Yingtai to play with him, Shen Li saw that the emperor had a box of snacks on his desk, and the humorous Shen Licheng had a plan, "Even if he used a drumstick, pretending to be a degree of qu to hit its cover, Shang (Guangxu Emperor) also hit it, Shen Zuo feared that Emperor Gaifu and Yi (did not understand his own meaning), (he) took the cover, put it on (Guangxu Emperor), covered it and exposed the dim sum..." At this time, the Guangxu Emperor also understood his meaning, so he "rewarded everyone with food" (see "Qing Dynasty Lingguan Biography · Shen Licheng Strip").
In addition to "undertaking errands" in the palace, Shen Licheng played drums in the Sixi class for more than 20 years, successively applauding Mei Qiaoling, Shi Xiaofu, and Yu Ziyun. Moreover, he was willing to be a green leaf and cooperated with the famous people, so he became the most famous drummer at that time.
Famous teachers out of high disciples
Shen Licheng had many disciples, including Liu Yongshun, Wang Jingfu, Wang Ziliang, Guo Deshun, Tang Zongcheng, Hang Zihe, Shang Zejiu, and more than ten other people. For example, Liu Yongshun (also known as Liu Shun), who played drums for Tan Xinpei, studied with Shen Licheng and Lu Changli, Liu Yongshun studied hard, so he had many gains, and he was very familiar with Kunqu opera and Pihuang repertoire, and he could play no less than one or two hundred Kunhuang repertoire, all of which could be in harmony with the actors, but did not owe, so he became a famous drummer. In the early years of the Republic of China, Liu Yongshun, after the Taidou drummer Li Wu Li Kuilin, clapped for Tan Xinpei, the king of the Lingjie Realm, and became the right and left hands of the king of Tan with the violinist Mei Yutian.
Who is this Li Kuilin? Li Kuilin, a native of Beijing, was born in the seventh year of Qing Xianfeng (1857), 5 brothers, he is the fifth oldest, his eldest brother Li Chunyuan, is a famous drummer in pihuang class, long in the Sixi class drumming. His fourth brother, Li Chunquan, is a famous violinist who has been playing the violin for Mei Qiaoling for a long time in the Sixi class. Li Kuilin learned drumming since childhood, and worshipped Pan Aqiao, a famous drummer who played drums in the Spring Class, as a teacher. Ah Qiao died young, Kuilin was still young, the art was not accomplished, fortunately, his fourth brother Li Chunquan, a disciple of the famous violinist Shen Xingpei, supervised him day by day, and at the age of sixteen, he ordered him to play in the Sixi class, and as the sun and moon passed, Li Kuilin's drumming skills continued to advance day by day. His wrist strength was very strong, and he began to be known for fighting martial arts, but gradually under the influence of his brother Li Si, Pi Huang's literary drama and even Kunqu opera repertoire were not in the question, and Kunchao Wenwu was not blocked.
In the sixteenth year of Guangxu (1890), Li Kuilin was selected to enter the Shengping Bureau and undertake an errand in the palace, and tan xinpei and Sun Juxian, who were famous old students at the time, invited him to be drummers. In the twenty-second year of Guangxu (1896), Tan Xinpei organized the class as the class leader, so he invited Li Kuilin as his personal drum teacher, and the two cooperated for more than 20 years, making great contributions to the formation of Tan School art.
There is also a famous drum master who is also a student of Shen Licheng (Shen Da), that is, Bao Guishan. However, Shen Li, who was in the palace, had no skills, and Guishan turned to Hao Chunnian (Hao Liu), a famous drummer known for his martial arts. After the teaching of two famous teachers, the drum art is naturally not small, and later the Wusheng Taidou Yang Xiaolou entered the palace to undertake the errands, and guishan carried the hammer for the xiaolou famous drama "Changsakapo" drumming, because he often watched Yang Xiaolou's martial arts in the tea garden, familiar with Yang Xiaolou's skills, so the drumming was in tune with the festival, very appropriate, since then Bao Guishan has been playing drums for Yang Xiaolou for thirty years, becoming an indispensable left and right hand for Yang Xiaolou's Yang School of art founded by Yang Xiaolou. Bao's disciples were many, and many of them were famous drum masters, such as Bai Dengyun and Qiao Yuquan.
Another famous drummer in martial arts was Hou Shuangyin, who was the drummer who applauded the Wuzi class, and the famous Wuzi artists Hou Junshan and Xiang Jiuxiao (Tian Jiyun) asked him to play the drums. The drumming skills of the Zi class are more punching and stronger than the drumming wrists of the Pi Huang class, and the jiaqi cymbal accompaniment in the martial arts field was created by the Zi Zi class, and the Pi Huang class only absorbed it later. Hou Shuangyin's son Hou Changqing and disciple He Binqing later became famous drummers who played Peking Opera. Changqing has long served as Shang Xiaoyun's drum master, and Bin Qing is even more remarkable, when Mr. Mei Lanfang was young and unknown, Bin Qing played drums for Mr. Mei until 1936, when Master Mei left Beijing for Shanghai. Many of the master's new plays are also created together with Bin Qing, so bin Qing is also an important hero in the establishment of Mei Pai.
Hang Zihe is an outstanding Peking Opera drummer who cannot fail to mention. Under the name of the famous teacher Shen Da, he could play a lot of plays, and he could play drums in all kinds of plays. Around 1918, Hang Zihe began to applaud Yu Shuyan, and the two worked together for more than twenty years, and yu Shuyan recorded eighteen and a half records, of which he played more than half. People say that Hang Zihe's drum art, condensed Yazheng, two wrists are symmetrical, thick and round, and later became Yang Baosen's full-time drum master, for the establishment of the Yu and Yang schools, he and the violinists Li Peiqing and Yang Baozhong jointly paid for the painstaking efforts.
Another drummer, Bai Dengyun, was a disciple of the famous drummer Bao Guishan, who had worked with Cheng Yanqiu and was deeply appreciated by Cheng Yanqiu, and became a full-time drummer of Cheng Yanqiu after 1934, because he was well versed in the art of the Cheng school. After Mr. Cheng's death, Bai Dengyun applauded Zhao Rongchen, a descendant of the Cheng Sect, and later transferred to the China Academy of Performing Arts to teach. Because of his excellent drumming skills, no repertoire can stop him, so he has the reputation of "a generation of drum kings".
Bai Dengyun (right)
Qiao Yuquan has long served as Ma Lianliang's drum master, also known as Qiao San, and is also a disciple of the famous drum master Bao Guishan. He began to learn Peking Opera, so he and Ma Lianliang, who sang old students, held drums, and the two worked together for nearly twenty years, and they were tacit collaborators on stage and best friends offstage. Qiao Yuquan knows Ma Lianliang's art too well, ma has a look and an action on the stage; raising his hands and feet, singing and doing, Qiao Yuquan's drums can hit the tendons, playing the rhythm, playing the emotions, and playing the feelings. Therefore, this drummer, who is revered as Third Master Qiao, has made great contributions to the establishment of the Ma Sect and is one of the founders of the Ma Sect.
Qiao Yuquan
Excellent drummer in recent decades
The 1950s and 1960s were the peak of the development of Peking Opera. With the birth of many Peking Opera artists, the organists and drummers who accompanied them also emerged. The famous drummer Geng Jinqun of the National Peking Opera House (formerly the China Peking Opera House), who played extremely wonderful literary and martial arts, and was full of creative and musical design endowments, especially as the conductor of the modern Peking Opera drama "Red Lantern", he was the first to use gestures and drum keys as the conductor of the mixed Chinese and Western music band, leaving a glorious page in the history of Peking Opera music.
In addition, such as Mei Lanfang's late drummer Pei Shichang and Tan Fuying drum master Tan Shixiu, all of whom were trained under the name of famous drum masters, playing Mei Pai and Tan Pai dramas, all played out the charm, played the essence, and were the artist's right and left arm.
In addition, the famous drummers of the National Peking Opera House are Wang Fengchao, Li Chaoyang, Tang Jirong, and Su Guangzhong, Jin Huiwu and Wang Wei of the Beijing Opera Theater, Feng Hongqi, a famous drummer of the Comrades-in-Arms Peking Opera Troupe, and Geng Lianjun, a drum teacher at the China Academy of Opera. There is also an admirable old drummer Wang Yupu, who dedicated his life to his beloved drumming art until May Day 2020, when he went to Shanghai at the age of 96 to do online performances, and played a "bouquet" of "Mu Guiying Hanging Commander" for Mingdan Shi Yihong.
The drummer of Peking Opera compares him to the "commander of the three armed forces" backstage, because it is not only the conductor of the orchestra, but also the length of the performance time of a play, the strength of the rhythm, the rendering of feelings, and the creation of the atmosphere, all of which have a great relationship with the good or bad drumming.