Chapter 17 Section 6 The Magical Bronze Drum

During the Southern Dynasties, there was a historian named Fan Ye [ye Ye]. In his book "Book of the Later Han·Ma Yuan Biography", it was recorded that Ma Yuan, a famous general known as "General Fubo" in the Eastern Han Dynasty, died in Jiaozhi (now Guangxi, southern Guangdong) Minority areas obtained a historical event of a magical bronze drum. Later, this type of drum was widely circulated among ethnic minorities in Guangdong and Guangxi, so it was commonly known as "Fubo Drum". Aid System".Coincidentally, during the period of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang’s army in the Shu Kingdom was divided into three routes to Pingyuexi (now Xichang, Sichuan), Zangke [zangke] (most of today’s Guizhou, northwestern Guangxi and eastern Yunnan) and Yizhou (now most of Yunnan) Later, this type of drum was widely circulated among the ethnic minorities in the regions where it passed, so it was commonly known as "Zhuge drum", and it was said that it was "Zhuge legacy" ("Xiqing Ancient Mirror").

These records and legends about the Southern Bronze Drum, whether it is the statement of "Ma Yuan's inheritance" or "Zhuge's inheritance", are all appendages, and naturally they are not enough for training.However, these records and legends contain a real historical fact: that is, in the era of Ma Yuan and Zhuge Liang (that is, the Han and Wei dynasties), the minority groups in Southwest China and Guangdong and Guangxi (referred to as "Southwestern Yi" in historical records) and "Nanman"), a metal drum made of bronze, which is quite different from all kinds of drums in the Central Plains—the bronze drum, has been widely used and spread.Later archaeological excavations fully confirmed the relevant records in the historical documents of the Han and Wei dynasties.

From 1955 to 1957, the archaeological department of Yunnan Province unearthed 16 such bronze drums successively for the first time in Shizhai Mountain, Jinning, because one unearthed at the same time was determined to be the second year of Yuanfeng Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty (109 BC) bestowed on the Dian King Dangqiang. Therefore, these bronze drums can be concluded to be relics of the Western Han Dynasty.Subsequently, dozens of bronze drums from the Han and Wei dynasties were successively discovered in Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and other provinces. Bronze drum, a percussion instrument made of bronze, should be classified as "gold" according to the classification of ancient Chinese musical instruments; according to the classification of modern musical instruments, it should be classified as "body-sounding".Its shape is like a round "stomp", with a solid top and a hollow bottom, and some patterns are cast all over the body, and there are several small toads (frogs) standing on the edge of the drum surface (Figure 20).When playing, it is either placed flat on the ground, or hung high on the frame, or lifted by two people, and both beat the drum surface with drumsticks.Sometimes, someone will open and close a container behind the drum to change the pronunciation and resonance to enrich its sound effect.

The bronze drums of the southern minorities that have existed since the Han and Wei dynasties have shown a variety of uses in the social life of various ethnic groups.It is a musical instrument, but it can be used for other purposes at the same time. Therefore, from the perspective of music history, the bronze drum has the characteristics of early human musical instruments and multiple social functions. For singing and dancing entertainment.First of all, the bronze drum is an important accompaniment instrument used in the singing and dancing of various ethnic groups.During major festivals and important ceremonies, people use bronze drums to accompany group singing and dancing, which can show the solemnity and splendor of the scene.For example, on a shell container unearthed with the bronze drum in Shizhai Mountain, there is a bronze drum singing and dancing scene of "Dian people" printed and cast: two people are carrying a bronze drum, and one is dancing with rings (ornaments) on both hands. , and two other people were playing drums and singing at the same time. The performers were all dressed in costumes, which shows the splendor of the scene.Later, people called this widely circulated song and dance "Bronze Drum Dance" or "Bronze Drum Music". "Tang Shu Nanman Biography"), the fact that "Yi people...relative banquets, that is, take gourds and bronze drums for fun" ("Taiping Huanyu Ji" Volume 169) is the successor of the so-called bronze drum music and dance of the frontier peoples in the Han and Wei Dynasties. continue.

Used for major sacrifices.Bronze drum is also a kind of instrument of ritual and music that is closely related to religious ceremonies.The lids of some shell containers unearthed in Shizhai Mountain are often cast with models of sacrificial scenes.In these sacrificial scene models, not only are there many bronze drums, but there are also images of sacrificial people beating the hanging bronze drums.Today, we can still see the scenes of the Zhuang, Yao, Buyi and other ethnic groups in the south offering sacrifices to their ancestors by beating bronze drums. Used to convey information.The sound of the bronze drum is loud and has spread far and wide. It is an ideal communication tool among ancient tribal groups without modern communication technology.In battles, gatherings, gatherings, calling the police, communicating, etc., people use bronze drums to beat different rhythms and timbres to convey information. This is what musicologists call "music language" and "talking instruments". ". "Sui Shu Geography Zhi" said: "If you want to attack each other, you should sound this drum, and those who arrive are like clouds", which records this musical function of the bronze drums of ancient southern tribes.

Since the Han and Wei Dynasties, the bronze drums that have frequently appeared in various ethnic areas in southern China have been examined and studied by scholars.Now, its birthplace and the earliest relics have been initially confirmed, that is, six bronze drums unearthed in Dabona, Xiangyun, Yunnan, and Wanjiaba, Chuxiong, in 1960 and 1975. A batch of ancient bronze drum relics dated to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods around the 5th century BC.The eternal mystery of the historical origin of the bronze drum draws a new conclusion.