Quick Answer: What Is a Flower Drum?
Flower drum (花鼓, huāgǔ) can refer to a small drum or to a performance tradition associated with it. In Fengyang, Anhui, a performer can hold the drum in one hand and strike it with slender beaters while singing. Historical Fengyang accounts also describe a small gong in the accompaniment.[1][2][3]
- Size: A local description gives a head about three cun across.[2]
- Beaters: Two thin bamboo sticks can be held in the striking hand.[2][3]
- Use: Drum strokes can accompany song or mark intervals between sung parts.[1][3]
The place and genre name tell you which flower-drum practice a source describes.[1][4][5]
In a Fengyang flower-drum performance, a singer can supply the percussion while holding the instrument. The action of raising the drum or moving the beaters may be as visible as the strokes are audible.[1][3]
A Small Drum and Two Slender Beaters
The Fengyang county account describes a small drum face and two slender bamboo beaters. Its diameter of about three cun is roughly ten centimeters using the modern unit conversion. That small face fits a drum the performer can carry in one hand, leaving the other hand to strike it.[2][3]
ChinaCulture’s performance account describes holding the drum in the left hand and using two beaters in the right. The drum strokes can occupy the space between sung phrases, making the rhythm audible even when the voice pauses. This is a different playing setup from the stand-mounted bangu drum of Peking opera.[2][3]
How the Drum Accompanied Fengyang Song
China’s national heritage entry records early Fengyang flower-drum performances with drum and gong. One or two performers could accompany their own singing. The entry lists the Fengyang Song among tunes that circulated widely. It also records that some performers once traveled to earn a living through singing and percussion. The small drum and gong could be carried with them.[1]
The same entry describes seated singing and singing at doorways as two later folk forms. These settings help explain why some accounts emphasize the voice and accompaniment, while accounts of other performances describe dance as well.[1]
In the early 1950s, some stage adaptations dropped the small gong and used the small drum alone. The heritage entry connects the name double-beater drum (双条鼓, shuāngtiáogǔ) to the sticks used for this version. That change explains why one description mentions both percussion sounds while another focuses on the drum.[1][3]
Flower Drum, Lantern Dance and Opera
Fengtai huagudeng (花鼓灯, huāgǔdēng) is listed as a folk dance that combines dancing, singing and gong-and-drum music. The Fengtai listing describes small-group dances with a dramatic element alongside group dance.[1][4]
Changsha huaguxi (花鼓戏, huāgǔxì) is a Hunan opera tradition with roles, stories and several types of tunes. Its heritage entry records repertoire built around roles such as a young woman, clown and young man. In a program for huagu opera, the name identifies a theatrical genre. A handheld Fengyang drum is one instrument associated with a different performance format. A program that gives the county and the form of the performance can clarify what the words flower drum mean in that setting.[1][5]
FAQs About the Flower Drum
Is a gong always played with the flower drum?
Earlier Fengyang forms could use a small gong with the drum. The national listing also describes later arrangements with the drum alone.[1]
Does flower drum refer to one kind of performance?
The term appears in different local names. Fengyang flower drum, Fengtai flower-drum lantern dance and Changsha flower-drum opera have distinct performance practices.[1][4][5]
出典
[1] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Digital Museum. Fengyang Flower Drum
[2] Fengyang News. The Fengyang Flower Drum and Its Beaters
[3] ChinaCulture. Fengyang Huagu
[4] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Digital Museum. Fengtai Flower-Drum Lantern Dance
[5] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Digital Museum. Changsha Flower-Drum Opera