"Sima Yi's Victory Drum" is a folk percussion music that is popular in Wen County, Henan Province. It is simple and elegant, rough and bold, with a long history. It was created by Sima Yi, a politician and military strategist during the Three Kingdoms period, and has a history of more than 1,700 years. The historical origin of Sima Yi's Victory Drum In the middle of the 3rd century AD, the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu were in a three-way confrontation, each dominating one side and competing for the world. In order to win the struggle, Sima Yi, the general of Wei State, ordered the military musicians to select five distinctive percussion instruments, namely, big drum, big cymbals, whip drum, cloud gong, and moon gong, according to the relationship principle of the five tones of Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zheng, and Yu in music, and created the drum music "Victory Drum". After the advent of this drum music, it has been used in the army. When the soldiers went to war, they were sent off with drums and music to enhance the military prestige; when the soldiers returned victorious, they were welcomed with drums and music to celebrate grandly. In the second year of Emperor Ming of Wei (238 AD), Sima Yi led 40,000 infantry and cavalry to the north to attack the rebel general Gongsun Yuan in Liaodong. When he crossed the Yellow River to the north and passed through his hometown Wen County, he hosted a banquet for local officials and fellow villagers on Guogong Terrace on the east bank of the Jishui River outside the south gate of the county. At the banquet, Sima Yi ordered the band to play the victory drum to liven up the atmosphere. The earth-shaking drum sounded rumbling and echoed between heaven and earth for a long time, which made people feel relaxed and happy and moved. Sima Yi was even more excited and ecstatic. He sang a song with great emotion: "The world is vast, the sun and the moon are shining again. When I encounter the opportunity, I will do my best in the distant places. I will sweep away all the filth and return to my hometown. I will clear thousands of miles and save the eight wastelands. I will return to my hometown after my mission is accomplished and wait for punishment in Wuyang." The exciting scene made the villagers feel deeply moved. They were shocked by the beautiful sound of the victory drum and begged to give this drum song to their hometown. Sima Yi readily agreed and immediately asked someone to teach it. As a result, the victory drum was introduced from the army to the people, and was called "Sima Yi's Victory Drum" by later generations. In the long river of history, Sima Yi's victory drum has gone through vicissitudes, experienced the birth period of the Three Kingdoms period, the heyday of the Jin Dynasty, the inheritance period from the Sui Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the low tide period of the Republic of China, and the revival period since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and has gone through a long and tortuous development path. The artistic characteristics and basic content of Sima Yi's victory drum Sima Yi's victory drum has many instruments and a large performance team, ranging from more than a hundred people to hundreds of people. The scene is grand and spectacular. Its artistic style is profound and dignified, simple and elegant, rough and bold, and magnificent. When playing, the drums rumble and the gongs clang, magnificent and majestic, with a kind of earth-shaking appeal. Sima Yi's victory drum has a total of twelve chapters, each of which starts with 5 drum sounds and ends with 24 drum sounds. There are five kinds of instruments for playing Sima Yi's victory drum, each with its own characteristics and power. The big drum is the earliest musical instrument in my country and is also the main instrument. It has a loud, rough and bold sound. When playing, one person usually plays one drum alone, or two people can play one drum in exchange. The sound of the big cymbal is loud and long, exciting and high-pitched. When playing, the actor holds his head high, raises the big cymbal above his head with both arms, and beats it in double circles. The whip drum is named after it is beaten with a horse whip. The drum is cylindrical on the outside and conical on the inside. Its structure is novel, and the sound is crisp and peculiar, which is unique. The whip drum stick is made of bamboo, about 50 cm long, decorated with red and green colored lines, and a five-inch leather whip tip is tied to the stick head. When playing, the actor stretches his left arm to the left, holds the drum with his left hand, and holds the drum whip high above his head with his right hand and beats it sideways. The cloud gong and moon gong are named because they resemble the moon, implying that they absorb the light of the sun and moon, and absorb the spirit of all things in the universe. The cloud gong and moon gong were originally played by two people, but after the Republic of China, they were fixed on the same gong stand and played by one person. When playing, the actor holds the gong stand in his left hand and hits it with a wooden gong board in his right hand. The cloud gong has a deep sound and an antique flavor. The moon gong is small and exquisite, with a crisp and bright sound. The big gong, also known as the transmission gong, was originally in front of the guard of honor. It was tied under the bar and carried by two people on their shoulders to be beaten for "opening the way". Later, it was added to the percussion team to participate in the performance. In the Tang Dynasty, it is said that the musical instrument horse gong was added to the drum music. The horse gong is slightly larger than the cloud gong, round, flat, and made of bronze. When playing, the actor holds the gong in his left hand and hits the gong board in his right hand. During the performance, there are stunts such as throwing a horse gong vertically into the air five feet high, catching the gong with the left hand after it falls and continuing to hit it, or two people throwing gongs to each other and hitting each other, which is very exciting and spectacular. Unfortunately, this skill has been lost during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. The instrument configuration ratio of this drum music is 12 big drums, 24 pairs of big cymbals, 24 whip drums, cloud gongs and moon gongs, and 2 big gongs, a total of one set. The basic characteristics of Sima Yi's victory drum Sima Yi's victory drum is exquisitely and novelly conceived, with a complete theme structure, profound cultural connotations, and rich artistic expression. First of all, Sima Yi's victory drum organically and cleverly integrates traditional culture such as the philosophy of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements of Yi culture, the natural laws of celestial movement, and military science into the drum music, which has profound cultural connotations. In terms of instrument selection, she chose 5 percussion instruments with different characteristics to play together. Each round of this drum music begins with 5 drum sounds, commonly known as "Old Five Hammers". "Wu" is homophonic with "wu", which means "self-centered". When the soldiers heard it, they developed a sense of self-respect, self-confidence, self-honor and pride. At the same time, it represents the five tones (gong, shang, jiao, zhi, yu), the five elements (gold, wood, water, fire, earth), the five directions (east, west, south, north, center), and the five seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter, midsummer), which means that the five tones sing together, the five elements are harmonious, the five seasons are prosperous, and the five directions are unified, hoping for national unity, national unification, world peace, and China's soaring. From the perspective of the musical form, this drum music has a total of twelve episodes, each episode represents a month, and each drum class has 12 big drums. They all represent the 12 months of a year and the 12 hours of a day, symbolizing the meaning of winning battles every month and playing triumphant songs every year. Second, the area where Sima Yi's victory drum is located, in Anlezhai Village, the hometown of Sima Yi, and its surrounding villages, has the uniqueness of the music area. According to the "Book of Jin Emperor Xuan", "Emperor Xuan's taboo name is Yi, his courtesy name is Zhongda, he was from Xiaojingli, Wen County, Henan Province, and his surname was Sima." This area is located on Qingfeng Ridge, 13 kilometers southwest of Wen County. It was the Jinwang City built by Sima Zhao, the second son of Sima Yi, in the late Three Kingdoms period. The city covers an area of 16 square kilometers, with more than 10 villages in the city, and the names of the year are still used today. Jinwang City is divided into the inner city and the outer city. Anlezhai Village is located in the inner city. It was originally named Anle Palace and was the palace where the Sima family and the princesses lived. Shangyuan Village, more than 100 meters west of Anlezhai Village, is the Shangyuan Garden where the Sima family played. 1 kilometer east of Anlezhai Village is Chanfang Village, where the Sima family practiced meditation, worshipped and burned incense to the Buddha. East and West Zhaoxian Village, 1 kilometer northeast of the village, are the Zhaoxian Halls established by Sima Yi, which are used to recruit talents from all over the world. Xinzhuang Village, 1.5 kilometers northeast of the village, is where the Sima family practiced boxing, martial arts and hunting. Huzhuang Village, 1.5 kilometers north of the village, was originally named Hujiazhuang. It was a garrison for guarding and protecting the Jinwang City. In addition, Xiaoying Village, 3 kilometers south of Anlezhai Village, was a garrison camp for Sima's guarding the Yellow River ferry. Zuoli Village, 3 kilometers east of the village, was a place set up by Sima for reading, teaching, educating, and making music and practicing rituals. Third, Sima Yi's victory drum has many types of instruments and a large number of them, which is very suitable for organizing a large performance team to participate in grand celebrations. The number of actors ranges from more than a hundred to hundreds. They can perform in fixed places or perform marching performances along the streets of villages and towns, which is very convenient for many people to watch. The actors and the audience have fun together, which not only beautifies life, but also cultivates sentiment, thus forming a flexible and diverse performance method and a wide range of public participation. Fourth, this drum music has formed a dependence on folk customs. For thousands of years, Sima Yi's victory drum has been deeply rooted in the social stage and the fertile soil of the people with its tenacious vitality. Through the cultural accumulation of successive dynasties, it has been gradually inherited and developed by relying on folk customs. It has become an indispensable item for the people of Anlezhai Village in Wen County and surrounding areas to participate in festivals, celebrations, sacrifices, community fires, temple fairs and other traditional festivals and cultural and entertainment activities, forming the dependence of this drum music on folk customs. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)