In Anhou Village, Jinshan Town, Nanjing County, there is an active traditional Siping gong and drum team. This kind of drum music has a strong sense of rhythm and a lively atmosphere, and is deeply loved by farmers. Let's go and have a look. Siping gong and drum music, commonly known as rough gongs and drums, originated from the ancient Siping opera. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Siping opera was introduced to Fujian and evolved into a new local opera. During the Qing Dynasty, Siping opera and Siping gongs and drums were very popular in Nanjing. The traditional Siping gong and drum team generally consists of eight people as a performance unit, and can be increased to 2 to 4 people for performance according to the situation. In recent years, the Siping gong and drum team has participated in celebrations, festivals, competitions and other activities and has created large-scale wind and percussion music according to the tune of Siping opera. It has a strong sense of rhythm and a lively atmosphere, and is deeply loved by farmers. Wu Huozhi, the village director of Anhou Village, Nanjing County: There were many Siping gong and drum teams in Jinshan before, but now there is only one team in Anhou Village. This Siping gong and drum team is active among the people every year on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, the Torch Festival on the 20th day of the first lunar month, and the September 15th Cultural Traditional Festival, and is very popular among the masses. The reason why the Siping gong and drum team in Anhou Village has been preserved until now is due to the sixth-generation inheritor of the Siping gong and drum in Nanjing, the 73-year-old Wu Yanxiang, who also treasures a handwritten copy of the "Siping Gong and Drum Blowing Score" from the Qing Dynasty in his home. Wu Yanxiang, the captain of the Siping Gong and Drum Team in Anhou, Nanjing County: This score is like the script used for acting now. It is divided into ten sets according to the repertoire. A complete set is equivalent to a play, which is equivalent to the play in the current play. Wu Yanxiang told us that the performance of Siping gong and drum music follows the set of drama programs, such as the first sound blowing arrangement, the big break battle, the formation, the double sword record, the iron bow battle, etc. During the performance, the blowing melody, the gong and drum beats and the blowing melody are closely coordinated, and the gong and drum sound is loud and beautiful. Wu Yanxiang, captain of the Anhou Siping Gong and Drum Team in Nanjing County: The characteristic is that we follow the teachings of the master at that time, and the score is lively and lively. For example, this set of ten rows is played with high pitch, which sounds better. For example, in the big scene, the gong is played first, and it starts seven times, like this, bang, bang, bang, and the drum is like this, dong, dong, dong, clang. The instruments of the Siping Gong and Drum Team are divided into two major categories: wind instruments and percussion instruments. The wind instrument is mainly suona, which is 47.5 cm long and 14 cm in diameter. There are eight note holes in the middle of the suona. The Anhou Siping Gong and Drum Team also has a suona left over from 120 years ago. Wu Yamin, a member of the Anhou Siping Gong and Drum Team of Nanjing County: This (Suona) consists of four parts. This is the blowpiece. You can only blow it loudly by inserting it. This is the scale for adjusting the high pitch. The mouthpiece is for adjusting the low pitch. The middle is the row of holes for adjusting the volume. Without these, it cannot be blown. It is made of lychee wood. It has been passed down from the past that lychee wood must be used. The leather drums used by the Siping Gong and Drum Team include big drums, small drums, bamboo drums, small bamboo drums, etc. Their functions are also particular. Wu Zaide, a member of the Anhou Siping Gong and Drum Team of Nanjing County: This is the small drum, and this is the big drum. The small drum plays the role of conductor in the performance of the drum band. For example, this is called Jie, which means that the musicians below should be prepared for the performance. For example, this is called Qijie, which means starting the performance. The big drum should follow me to play, like this." Question "Is it difficult to learn this conductor?" "It's very difficult. When I first learned it, I had to go through a lot of training and practice. For example, practicing this (beating demonstration), I had to practice for more than ten days before I could learn Qijie. "In recent years, as some traditional folk customs have become increasingly faded, except for a few Siping gong and drum bands in Jinshan, Chuanchang, Kuiyang and other towns in Nanjing County, most of them have no successors and have stopped their activities. In order to protect this traditional folk culture, Nanjing County has established an intangible cultural heritage protection leading group since last year. Through in-depth and meticulous surveys, it has thoroughly understood the historical evolution of the occurrence and development of Siping gongs and drums, as well as all the conditions of musical instruments, music and musicians, and successfully applied for provincial intangible cultural heritage. Jinshan Town, which has the most complete preservation of Siping gongs and drums, also stated that it will take measures to effectively protect this folk cultural heritage. 11 Ran, Jinshan Town, Nanjing County: Siping gongs and drums are one of the two provincial intangible cultural heritage projects in our town. Since it was identified as a provincial project, I believe this will be a good start to protecting it. In the future, the town party committee and government will help select successors in terms of team building, with a combination of old, middle-aged and young players, so that they can be passed down from generation to generation; in terms of funding, the town government will provide certain financial subsidies to allow them to purchase some equipment and clothing, so that they have better performance opportunities; in terms of publicity, we will invite them to help with some major events in our town to let more people know about this cultural project. We will also invite them to go out and communicate more, thereby increasing their visibility and improving their performance level. I believe that through the above efforts, this folk culture will definitely take root in the countryside and be carried forward. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)