Tianjin Song Art Troupe: the Storytelling Accompanied with Rhythmic Drums

Plum Blossom Drum (梅花大鼓)，also known as Meihua Diao（梅花调）, the Plum Blossom Drum has been popular in Beijing and Tianjin since the early 20th century. It evolved from the Qingkou Drum (清口大鼓), which was prevalent in the northern part of Beijing during the late Qing Dynasty.

In the 1920s, professional performers mostly sang in the southern city area, referring to this as Nanban Meihua Diao (南板梅花调), while the original version from the northern area was called Beiban Drum (北板大鼓). During this time, Jin Wanchang（金万昌）, the founder of the Jin school of Plum Blossom Drum, along with renowned string musician Su Qiyuan（苏起元）, reformed the styles, rhythms and vocal techniques of the Qingkou Drum.

In the 1930s, the famous string musician Lu Chengke（卢成科） further innovated the Plum Blossom Drum, enriching the transitional music between sections (known as Shang, Xia San Fan or 上、下三番). He also trained a group of female disciples, termed the Lu School or Hua School. In the 1950s, the renowned musician Bai Fengyan （白凤岩）introduced new content to the Plum Blossom Drum, innovating its styles, singing techniques, and transitions, which included flexible key changes and the integration of various melodies and short pieces, referred to as New Plum Blossom Drum.

A common characteristic among the various artistic schools of the Plum Blossom Drum is their lyrical expression within narratives. Its slow and medium tempos are melodious and captivating, while the fast tempos are lively and powerful. The concluding slow sections are steady yet resonant. The typical sentence structure consists mainly of seven-character lines, occasionally incorporating three-character heads, and five-character lines may appear in faster sections. Some programs, such as Qie Xiu(怯绣), primarily feature melodies from Tai Ping Nian(太平年), Yin Niu Si (银纽丝), and Hu Guang Diao(湖广调), among others.

Usually performed by a single artist, traditional programs can also be sung as duets. Performers accompany themselves on the drum, with instruments such as the sanxian（三弦， a three-stringed instrument that belongs to the lute family), sihu(四胡，a traditional Chinese bowed string instrument with four strings), pipa (琵琶), and yangqin (扬琴). Many traditional pieces are derived from The Story of the Stone. New compositions include Xiu Hongqi, Er Quan Yin Yue, etc.

Beijing Rhythm Drum (京韵大鼓)， primarily flourishes in Beijing, Tianjin and northern China, historically referred to as Jingyin Trum(京音大鼓) or XiaoKou Drum（小口大鼓）. In the late Qing and early Republic of China periods, some drum artists reformed the wooden board drum from Hebei. They incorporated the sihu and pipa alongside the original sanxian for accompaniment, replacing the local dialect with Beijing Mandarin and adopting techniques from Peking opera, culminating in a unique flavour for the Beijing Rhythm Drum.

This art form combines singing and storytelling, with a performance style appealing to both elite and popular audiences. The singing often utilizes multiple melodies, emphasizing expressive and vivid representations. Once introduced, it quickly captivated audiences with its balance of strength and grace. Over the following decades, significant schools emerged, including the Bai School founded by Bai Yunpeng(白云鹏）and the Luo School by Luo Yusheng（骆玉笙， whose stage name is Xiao Caiwu). The lyrics typically consist of seven-character lines, sometimes incorporating embedded or supportive phrases, with approximately 150 lines per piece. Rhymes adhere to the thirteen tones of Beijing pronunciation, maintaining a consistent melody throughout each segment. The spoken verses are rich in intonation, blending seamlessly with the singing. During performances, one performer sings while keeping time on the drum, usually accompanied by three musicians playing the sanxian, sihu, and pipa, and occasionally a dihu, also bass erhu.

The Beijing Rhythm Drum focuses on singing, utilizing a stanzaic format and primarily featuring short works. Its repertoire includes over one hundred traditional narrative pieces and lyrical segments. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Beijing Rhythm Drum experienced significant growth, nurturing generations of young performers. However, this art form now faces a decline in successors and urgently needs preservation.

The Xihe Drum (西河大鼓)， is a representative form of drum storytelling prevalent in Hebei, extending to neighboring provinces and areas like Henan, Shandong, Beijing, Tianjin, Inner Mongolia and Northeast China.

Originating from the wooden board drum, the Xihe Drum emerged during the Qing Dynasty, particularly during the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong periods (around 1684-1799 AD), when various storytelling arts flourished in central Hebei. Local artists created a new melody based on local tunes and folk songs, using plowshares to keep rhythm, which formed the early version of the Xihe Drum, initially known as Lihua Pian(犁铧片). Later, Ma Sanfeng(马三峰) refined this performance style, leading to a new stage of development in the Xihe Drum, which became widely imitated by many artists. The name Xihe Drum was officially adopted in 1929 at the Sihai Shengping Theatre in Tianjin.

The performance format involves a solo artist drumming while reciting, with a dedicated musician playing the sanxian for accompaniment. Its singing style is stanzaic, commonly employing head, second and third stanzas. The traditional repertoire includes long, medium, and short pieces, with over 150 known longer works and more than 370 short segments.

Since its inception, the Xihe Drum has been beloved by the public. The content often revolves around historical battles and popular narratives, many of which are rich in folk literature, depicting the grand histories of various dynasties or narrating personal family stories, characterized by intricate plots and vivid language, forming part of the rich literary heritage of China.

Since the mid-20th century, the inheritance and development of the Xihe Drum have faced unprecedented crises, with a decline in performance and a break in succession, posing a significant risk of extinction. Urgent efforts for rescue and preservation are essential.