Quick Answer: What Is a Chinese Bronze Drum?
A tonggu (铜鼓, tónggǔ) is a bronze percussion instrument with a flat metal face. The player strikes that face to set the metal vibrating. Bronze drums are documented across parts of southern China and mainland Southeast Asia. In Guangxi, some communities still play them at festivals and ceremonies.[1][2][3]
- Surface: The cast top makes the sound, in place of a stretched hide.[1][2]
- Design: A central star or sun motif is often surrounded by decorative rings.[1][2][4]
- Use: Some drums are placed flat and others suspended for playing.[3][5]
The object and its local performance context are the best starting points for identification.
Look at the top of a bronze drum before the flared sides. The striking surface is a flat metal plate with decoration incorporated into the cast top. Sculpted forms sometimes rise around the rim.[1][2]
How a Cast Metal Face Makes Sound
The hollow body supports the broad cast top, called a tympanum. A blow sets the cast surface vibrating, so the tonggu is an idiophone in classifications based on what moves to make the sound. A bangu drum sounds through a stretched skin instead. Chinese bronze bells also use struck cast metal, though the bell’s walls and mouth have a different shape.[1][2]
Performance position can vary. A study in the Journal of Music Archaeology suggests that the placement of raised figures on historical drums can help identify possible playing orientations. Drums with figures on the face tend to be associated with horizontal placement, while the study links certain body decorations to suspended playing.[5]
What to Look for on a Drum Face
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art holds a Lingshan-type bronze drum from Guangxi about 118 centimeters across and 65 centimeters tall. It has a sun on its face, rows of stylized birds on the side, and six pairs of frogs around the rim. Its carved wooden stand is modern.[2]
The Lengshuichong drum described by China’s National Ethnic Affairs Commission is a separate Han-period example from Teng County, Guangxi. Its face has a twelve-point sun pattern and measures 77 centimeters across. Looking from the center to the outer bands helps distinguish the central motif from the details on the rim and body. A twelve-ray design on this object gives a specific count, while “sun motif” describes a broader family of designs.[4]
How Bronze Drums Are Used in Guangxi
China’s national heritage entry for Zhuang bronze drum traditions names Donglan and Tian’e among places where drums are struck during Lunar New Year and the Zhuang March Third Festival. The entry also describes specific Yao and Miao occasions. The same entry records funeral use among Yao communities in Nandan, a different setting from the festive use in Donglan and Tian’e.[3]
Museum objects and living instruments preserve different evidence. A museum example can show the casting and surface decoration. A documented performance can show how a drum was held, which part was struck and when it sounded in the event.
FAQs About Chinese Bronze Drums
Does a bronze drum have a stretched head?
A tonggu has a cast metal top that is struck directly. The metal vibrates to make the sound.[1][2]
Do all tonggu have frogs on the rim?
Some have raised frogs, such as the Lingshan-type drum in the Smithsonian. The number and types of motifs vary across objects.[2][4][5]
Источники
[1] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mahōra Thuk and Regional Bronze Drum Traditions
[2] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Drum of Lingshan Type
[3] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Digital Museum. Zhuang Bronze Drum Customs
[4] National Ethnic Affairs Commission. Twelve-Ray Lengshuichong Bronze Drum
[5] Journal of Music Archaeology. Small Sculptures on Bronze Drums in Southern China