Chen Niangniang's Wenzhou Drum Poems

Wenzhou drum ci is one of the two major folk music schools in Zhejiang, and it is said that "northern Zhejiang plays ci, while southern Zhejiang plays ci". This kind of folk art with local characteristics is also called "Ci" and "Blind Ci" because it is mostly run by blind people. Because the singing of drum lyrics is related to the belief of folk Chen Jinggu (commonly known as "Empress Chen 14"), artists often go to Niangniang Temple to sing Daqu lyrics, so they are also called "Niangniang Ci".

There are three main types of Wenzhou drum ci: Niangniang ci, Pingci and family ci. Among them, Niangniang Ci is the main type, which is the "big word" in Wenzhou Drum Ci. Because of its long circulation and wide influence, it is called "Ci Niang" by artists. In Wenzhou, people have great respect for artists who sing Niangniang Ci. Generally, the artists who sing lyrics are called "lyricists", only the artists who sing the lyrics of Niangniang are called "gentlemen", and the top artists who sing the lyrics of Niangniang are considered "gentlemen".

Every season, temples and temples in Wenzhou invite artists to sing drums; Usually, the clan has a complete genealogy, and the folk elderly hold birthdays, housewarming and funerals. And also held drumming and singing activities. As little as one night, as many as a few days. Streets, alleys and villages can all be used as venues for singing. Therefore, on the banks of Oujiang River and nanxi river, you will hear the beautiful, simple and charming tunes of Wenzhou drum lyrics from time to time. When the piano and drums sounded, men, women and children competed to listen and sing. When Wenzhou drum ci flourished, there were more than 200 professional artists and more than 300 folk artists. There are more than 80 calligraphy and ci fields in urban and rural areas, and the audience of drum ci is as high as 30 thousand people every day.

There are two opinions about the origin time of Wenzhou drum ci. An idea began in the Song Dynasty. Lu You, a great poet who has been to Wenzhou and Rui 'an, wrote such a poem: "The ancient Liu Zhaojiazhuang in the setting sun, Weng Zhengzuo, the blind man in charge after death, listened to Cai Zhonglang all over the village." It can be seen that Lu You witnessed the grand occasion of drum singing in the Southern Song Dynasty. Another way of saying it is that Wenzhou Drum Ci began in the Ming Dynasty, and was formed by combining the lyrics of Pingyang Lane. Later, it was gradually developed by the absorption of ancient music and folk tunes. But in any case, Wenzhou drum lyrics must be bred from folk songs in southern Zhejiang, and constantly absorb folk tunes to develop and improve, so the tunes have the local flavor of Wenzhou and the amorous feelings of Yanshan Oushui.

Wenzhou drum ci is sung in dialect, and it has always been pronounced with Rui 'an dialect as the standard, explained and narrated. Therefore, Ryan is known as Wenzhou's "hometown of drums". For the local people, drum songs sung in Rui 'an dialect are not only easy to understand, but also flat, rhyming and catchy. It can not only tell tortuous stories, but also adapt to the needs of the plot, express emotions, sometimes sing passionately, sometimes mourn deeply, restrain, raise and suppress, pause, stumble, be light and heavy, be fast and slow, and use it freely. The musical cavity is exquisite, unrestrained, pleasant and refreshing.

The accompaniment instrument that sings the lyrics of Wenzhou drum is unique. There are drums, beef tendon harps (only appeared in Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty), three boards (made of three mahogany or boxwood boards) and a small moon hug (made of boxwood or evergreen or camphor tree hollowed out, about four inches). When singing, the artist sits in a chair, holding a drum arrow in his left hand and three boards in his right hand, and taps the drum and beef tendon with the drum arrow to sing in tune. When singing the lyrics of the empress, we should also increase the gongs and drums. A drummer can play four or six musical instruments. He holds the board in his left hand and grasps the change of beat speed. His right hand taps the piano with bamboo chopsticks (drum arrow), and bamboo chopsticks also tap flat drums, gongs and drums.

In the early days, because the location of singing opera was not fixed, the drums sang opera door by door along the village, so the drums were small, light and easy to carry. Later, the drum gradually developed into a flat drum about one and a half inches high and seven inches in diameter. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the instruments that sang the lyrics of Wenzhou drum had undergone major changes: "Jinniu Qin" was the main instrument, followed by Pinggu.

Niu is from Wenzhou. Inspired by the tinkling sound of the cotton violinist knocking on the tendons on the cotton bow, Ryan artists tried to temporarily wrap three or five tendons around the feet of a small table and play a simple scale to accompany them. This is the prototype of the tenon piano. Later, Peng Ayuan, a local artist in Ruian, fixed the beef tendon on a board and hung it on the table to play when singing, which was convenient and accurate in scale, and officially created the beef tendon piano. Because of the beautiful and fresh timbre of the piano, artists competed to imitate it, and gradually improved it to five strings and seven strings. After liberation, it continued to be improved and increased to 17 strings. It is equipped with turbine and scroll bar, which is convenient to adjust and has a wide range. It is also divided into high-pitched piano and low-pitched piano, so Jinniu piano has become a unique accompaniment of Wenzhou drum lyrics.

The content of Wenzhou drum ci exudes a strong folk flavor. There was no written copy of the early Wenzhou drum ci, only the master handed it down. According to Zhao Lianqin's biography: "This biography (Southern Tour Biography) has more than 20,000 sentences, and the master has passed it on from mouth to mouth." Wenzhou drum ci began with singing a folk story and gradually developed into a whole word, with the content still dominated by legendary stories familiar to the people. The earliest long drum lyrics are Twelve Red, and there are Gao E, Wu Sanchun, Wang and others adapted from Wenzhou folk stories. In the mid-Qing Dynasty, with the influx of drum lyrics into cities, scholars also participated. Some drum lyrics were adapted from ballads of pingtan, such as Sleeping Gun and Jade Dragonfly. However, in Wenzhou, the most influential folk stories are "Niangniang Ci" and The Journey to the West, telling the story of Chen Jinggu.