An acquaintance by chance
"Are you talking about Henan Zhuizi today?" Before the class report started, a classmate who knew that I was from Henan asked curiously.
I pretended to be mysterious, "Four tiles."
My classmates were confused and said they had never heard of it. In fact, without Teacher Miao’s request to “introduce the folk art of my hometown, it is best to go to the county specifically”, I might have missed the opportunity to get to know it.
Perhaps, it is not as famous as Henan pendants, Heluo drums, , and major tunes, but it is indeed the rap art closest to me. That inexplicable sense of closeness made me want to get closer to it and understand it. But when I first searched for "four tiles" online, there was very little information about it. There is almost no relevant information about it on
Duxiu and CNKI. While smiling bitterly, I felt a sour feeling in my heart. The four tiles that once existed vigorously have fallen silent in the wave of time in less than thirty years, as if they had never been there. However, it does exist. It is clearly recorded in the "Chronicles of Chinese Folk Art: Henan Volume" that Zhao Feng, the fourth generation successor, is still working hard to speak out. However, all these cannot prevent it from being gradually forgotten in the hustle and bustle of this golden age. When I looked up what types of rap there are in my hometown, I suddenly discovered that there are more than 40 kinds of folk arts in the Zhumadian area, including Henan Zhuizi, Runan Silk String Road, Sanxianshu, Daoqing, Yingge Liu, Ruhe Dagu, etc. Regrettably, Yingge Liu, Runan Silk String Dao, and Shanshu have completely ceased artistic activities after the founding of New China, died out, and became historical heritage. After reading this information, my sense of responsibility as a local prompted me to do something to let more people know about it and pay attention to it. Through collecting information, I also further learned that the four tiles are divided into four tiles of Chinese herbal medicine, percussion instruments four tiles and four tiles of rap art. Nowadays, people are paying more and more attention to health care, and it is reasonable that Si Kuai Wa, a traditional Chinese medicine, has received more attention. And when we turn our attention to the latter two, the lack of relevant information makes people often confuse them. Now let’s make a slight distinction between the two.
Analysis of the Development Current Situation and Reasons of the Rap "Four Pieces of Wa"
The Rap "Four Pieces of Wa" is a banqiang folk art singing form that combines speaking and singing, integrating speaking, singing, chanting and reciting. It evolved from the combination of Ruhe Daoqing, Lotus Drops , Shandong Dagu , etc. Its formal formation can only be estimated from the time when Zhengyang County artist Chen Tianyi② studied as a teacher, but only about a hundred years ago. During the performance, the performer holds a steel chain in one hand to beat the knots and a bamboo board in the other hand to beat the knots. The melody is simple and smooth, and the style is simple and profound. (See the picture below for accompaniment instruments)
The third generation successor Chen Tianyi performed live
The four tiles of the percussion instrument are shaped like tiles on the roof, so it is so called. When accompanying other types of music, it can sometimes play a role similar to that of a conductor, which is very practical. Its biggest feature is that it can be integrated into the main melody without affecting other parts, and has strong musical expression. At present, the "Four Pieces of Tiles" have been included in the intangible cultural heritage of Hebei Province. Yang Zhenhua As a performance inheritor, he has taught dozens of students, and also brought "Four Pieces of Watts" to the Central Chinese Orchestra. He summarized many years of performance experience and published a book "How to Play "Four Pieces of Watts". The School of Music of Beijing Normal University also extended an invitation to Yang Zhenhua, hoping that he could go there at an appropriate time.
Compared with the current situation where the percussion instrument Four Pieces is revitalized and flourishing in the new era, the rap art Four Pieces is a little embarrassed and lonely. This can be gleaned from the process of collecting information. Even if I add "rap four tiles", the information found is extremely limited. His rap videos cannot be found on Youku, Duxiu, or iQiyi, but can be seen sporadically on Xigua Video, Douyin . Neither the private sector nor academia has paid much attention to this issue. With the active promotion of the fourth generation descendant Zhao Feng③ and the identity of the curator, it is still well-known in the local cultural circles of Zhumadian. Zhao Feng has uploaded multiple videos on Douyin and has more than 1,000 followers.As shown below:
While I faced difficulties in collecting information, Chen Tianyi also faced the dilemma of having no successors to his art. He said he was very afraid that the art would be lost in his own hands. This concern is not unfounded. Rap "Four Pieces of Watts" was used as a means of livelihood in the old society. Artists had low social status and meager income. Even today, when entertainment is developed and incomes are abundant, many people still subconsciously have prejudices against artists. At present, people's food and clothing problems can be solved through more employment channels, and naturally few people care about folk music. In addition, the impact of diversified entertainment has a small mass base, resulting in very unstable income. When Chen Tianyi returned from school, he originally wanted to repay his uncle for his kindness in raising him, but he was not accepted and recognized by his family, let alone today. Curator Zhao told me that he studied Four Pieces of Tiles as a hobby. "My child learned the violin. After sending him to college, I thought that I should learn a national musical instrument. Zhengyang is the birthplace of the four-tile tile. As the director of the cultural center, I have the responsibility and interest to learn this. Let's think about it as I go. I have to leave something for future generations."
In fact, looking at it from another perspective, after people's food and clothing problems are solved, the spiritual and cultural needs that will follow will be highlighted, and the number of people who love literature and art will increase. Wherever you look, whether in the city or in the countryside, in summer evenings, in squares, or in open spaces in the countryside, you can always find people dancing in the square, and you will always hear one or two "Brother Liu speaks". Why is Si Pai Wa facing development difficulties?
Curator Zhao told me: "It is easy to learn Si Pai Wa, but it is difficult to learn well. Most people can master basic performance skills after learning for about half a year. But when you perform on stage, To achieve the same use of mouth, hands and brain, a performance of only about seven minutes requires more than a thousand lines, and it is impossible without hard work. As far as the accompaniment of instruments is concerned, it is divided into single point and double point. In stage performance, the first type of arrangement is called flower point. The method is, when leading the board, strike the single notes "Heaven to Yang, Earth to Yin", "Big Dipper to Nanchen", "Jade Emperor to Lingxiao Palace", "Buddha to Temple Thunder". When the upper rhyme and lower rhyme end, in order to enhance the atmosphere, use flower dots to match the lotus board to create emotional changes, replace the music and pave the way for the following four sentences. The second way to play is to walk through the door with a steel chain and a lotus plate. The steel chain is a flower point and the lotus plate is a single point. "We won't talk about gossip" and "show one to show the hero Wujiro" Dang, Dang, Dang, Dang, Dang, Dang, Dang, Dang, Dang, Dang. The third way of playing is to sing the Henan Dagu Book with Shuanglianzi, with one hand leading the single tone and the other hand walking the double tone, "War Drum Urging", "Copper Plate Splashing", "Dear friends, listen to me talk", "In the past, you had to know what I sang" "It's always hard to hear my singing" Dong Dong Dong, Dong Dong Dong, Dong Dong Dong Chi Dong, Chi Dong Dong Dong Chi-dong-chi-dong. Chi-dong-dong. The fourth way of playing is to use double chains to play double notes, one to lead the board, and the other to walk through the door, stimulating the changing form of the music and making the rhythm clearer. Chi dong chi dong Chi dong dong. During the second step, make sure that no matter how many words you write, they won't fall off the board. Straightforward, that's what I'm talking about. "Four Pieces of Tiles is just Director Zhao's hobby, but he has to practice for more than three hours every day after work. For ordinary people, few would consider this as a career. As a hobby, few people are willing to put in the effort. People are faced with so many entertainment choices that there is no need to choose a pastime that requires sweat. In fact, before Zhao Feng, Mr. Chen Tianyi had already had two apprentices, but they couldn't bear the hardship of practicing "four tiles" and switched to storytelling. As the fourth generation descendant of "Four Pieces of Tiles", Zhao Feng hopes to make some efforts of his own and pass on this skill.
In addition, Mr. Chen Tianyi’s rap is a slow storytelling style, which cannot well adapt to the needs of stage performances and the needs of the audience. In the past, there was only one way of entertainment, and his rap was quite popular.He would hum the ditty "Four Pieces of Wa" when enjoying the cool weather in the summer or at the village dining table in spring. His masterpiece "The Legend of Hai Rui" once fascinated many audiences, sometimes more than two thousand people at a performance. Folks from all over the country affectionately called him "Chen Pie Wa". Sometimes, in response to the large-scale celebration of weddings and funerals in rural areas, he also composed and sang more than ten "Allegro for life" in three categories: "New things, new things to do, good marriages", "Praise for those who nourish well but bury them poorly", and "Thrift and thrift to make a revolution"; in response to the booming development of the individual and private economy, he composed and sang more than twenty "Economic Allegro" in five categories, including "Fair Trade Live Market" and "The Small River Has Water and the Big River is Full". The content of the work is close to the reality of production and life. It can not only criticize current shortcomings but also praise some phenomena. It was deeply welcomed by the masses at the time. However, this time, that time. Today, when spiritual and cultural life is extremely rich, both the older generation and those born in the 1990s and 2000s have put forward higher requirements for entertainment in both form and content. When it comes to celebrity artists, they must not only have good looks, but also be proficient in singing, dancing, and musical instruments; there must be no mistakes in the coordination of hosting, lighting, and band. (As shown below) Chen Tianyi, who is in his seventies, can only fight against them with a steel chain in one hand and a bamboo board in the other, like a lonely warrior.
In view of this, Director Zhao Feng changed the musical instrument to accompaniment with a steel chain held in both hands. Before a performance, drums are sometimes played to attract the audience, and then switched back to bamboo boards or steel chains.
Zhao Feng, the fourth generation successor, performed a four-tile performance for the public in the park.
The single form of performance limited its development. As far as rap content is concerned, the slow update of tracks and the single content also hinder its development. Mr. Chen Tianyi's cultural level is not high, which limits the update of the repertoire to a certain extent. "Ode to Peace and Zhengyang", "Praise for My Good Branch Secretary", "Praise Meeting", "The Party is the Sunshine and I am the Miao", these are mostly created around the mainstream consciousness. When "Four Pieces of Tiles" changed from a means of livelihood to a means of entertainment, the first thing it needed to consider was the leisure and entertainment needs of the audience. This is not to say that literature and art have no educational role, but that we need to study how to better achieve the purpose of education and realize the purpose of literature and art serving people. When the audience does not buy it, the value and dignity of literary and artistic workers cannot be reflected, and naturally it will be difficult to attract more people to join them.
Zhang Jiulai, a member of the Henan Provincial Intangible Culture Expert Committee, once mentioned, “There are more than 300 types of music in our country, and there are 47 types of music in Henan Province, including Henan pendants, major tunes, Sanxian Shu, Heluo Dagu, Yongcheng 's big cymbals, Wangwu Qinshu, etc. "Ashamedly, as a native of Henan, the only ones I can name are Henan Zhuizi and Heluo Dagu. When I was a child, I always listened to " Li Huozi's Divorce ". When I looked up the information, I found out that it was in a major key. In the 1990s, "Li Huozi's Divorce" by teacher Hu Xihua could be said to be listened to by every household, men, women, old and young, and everyone could sing a few lines of "My County Magistrate". And when I visited my uncles and asked them if they had ever heard of four tiles, they all said they didn't know. The official data states that it is "popular in Zhengyang, Xincai , Pingyu, and Runan areas." It can be seen from this that the four tiles radiate outwards with Zhengyang as the center. My hometown, Shangcai County Shaodian Township, is less than 20 kilometers away from Runan County, but no one knows about it. The narrow audience paved the way for its decline today.
Efforts to survive under the protection of intangible cultural heritage
Fortunately, in 2005, the Si Pai Wa rap art inherited by Mr. Chen Tianyi was included in Zhumadian City and Zhengyang County Chinese Folk Art Cultural Heritage. In order to promote this rare folk art, Mr. Chen Tianyi was recommended to participate in the recording of CCTV's "Rural World - Entering Zhumadian" and appeared on the CCTV stage to showcase the spirit of folk artists. In June 2018, the large-scale documentary "China Image Local Chronicles", which aims to interpret local chronicles from the perspective of Chinese civilization, came to Zhengyang County for filming. The column team observed and appreciated the "Four Patches" rap art, which to some extent also expanded the influence of the Four Patches.
The column team is appreciating the "Four Pieces of Wags" rap art.
The fourth generation inheritor Zhao Feng also made full use of his identity as the director of the cultural center to actively promote the Four Pieces of Watts in related publicity and performance work. He wrote the party's principles and policies into rhyming lyrics and promoted them to farmers in the form of four-piece rap. For example, "Targeted Poverty Alleviation" (excerpt):
Farmer friends listen to me and
poverty alleviation policies will be promoted.
Poverty alleviation policy is a treasure,
everyone must listen carefully.
There are two things to worry about, four guarantees,
don’t forget to beautify the environment.
Don’t worry about eating.
First look at the kitchen, secondly look at the oil, and thirdly look at the food.
Don’t worry about wearing
First, look at the clothes, secondly, the quilt, and thirdly, whether there is a wardrobe!
...
These lyrics rhyme, sound catchy, and are very popular among the people. In addition, according to Director Zhao, he is invited to perform every year at city and county Spring Festival galas and July 1st galas. There were more than 100 events around 2018 and more than 50 events in 2019, which to a great extent increased the popularity of “Four Pieces of Tiles” and expanded its influence. At the same time, on the basis of inheriting the tradition of his teacher, he changed the accompaniment to steel chains held in both hands to adapt to the needs of fast-paced playing. This rock and rap-like performance method is loved by many people, especially attracting some young people to learn from him.
How to make more people feel the artistic charm of "Four Tiles" and attract more people to devote themselves to learning is a question that Director Zhao is concerned about, and it also arouses my thinking. The development dilemma of
is somewhat similar to that of Nanjing Baiju. The origin of Nanjing Baiju is only more than a hundred years old, and the audience also reflects obvious regional characteristics. After being listed as an intangible cultural heritage, its development has shown a gratifying situation. At present, it not only has a fixed performance venue, but also appeared on the stage of Hunan Satellite TV's " every day, ", using this platform to expand its influence. In terms of inheritance, the "Nanjing Baiju Enters Campus" activity not only cultivated a group of loyal young audiences, but also discovered a number of good talents who love and devote themselves to Baiju art. If Four Pieces of Tiles wants to reach a higher level under the current protection of intangible cultural heritage, the first thing it needs is to expand its popularity and influence. As Director Zhao said: "If Four Pieces of Wags can have the opportunity to appear on the provincial and central stages, I am confident that people will fall in love with this rap art."
An interesting phenomenon caused me to think deeply. When the CCTV column team came to Zhengyang, there were many recording options, and they finally settled on Four Pieces of Watts, mainly because its content closely matched the official mainstream ideology, which was consistent with the purpose of the column team. Serving the publicity and interpretation of policies, we are committed to bringing the latest developments of the party and the country to the public, which provides a lot of convenience for Si Pai Wa to obtain official performance opportunities. However, we should also see that the sustainable development of a rap form requires more recognition and acceptance by the people. The singularity and strong political overtones of rap content also limit its audience to a certain extent.
In 2019, the popularity of the Beijing opera ditty "Exploring Qingshui River" inspired rappers. Traditional articles do not mean they are outdated. We need to think about how to stimulate the vitality of classics in the present. Zhang Yunlei changed it into the current folk song style, coupled with his good voice and handsome appearance, instantly turned an ordinary ditty into a soothing and affectionate ballad. When Yue Yunpeng sang it, when he sang "The peach leaves are pointed, the willow leaves cover the sky", he actively interacted with the audience, and the audience collectively sang for him. At this time, the audience is no longer a bystander, they participate in the theater and become a part of the rap. The role of this interactivity in bonding audiences and cultivating loyal listeners is worthy of further exploration. Although, they also have many regrets when innovating traditional repertoire. But his sense of innovation and hard work are worth learning. Therefore, the compilation of classic and traditional pieces, the creation of new tracks, criticism of social hot spots, and the cultivation of loyal fans can be said to be the direction of Four Pai Wa's efforts in the future.But it is more than just four tiles. The art of rap can embrace a better future only by striving to strengthen its internal strength and at the same time relying on intangible cultural heritage and external forces.
"At that time, I rapped "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness" and "Liu Yong's Three Visits to Nanjing". The stories were gripping and intoxicating. Sometimes I could sing all night long." When talking about the scene back then, Mr. Chen Tianyi was very excited and hoped that the efforts of all of us can recreate the grand occasion of that year. (The author Xu Zixian is a graduate student majoring in ancient literature at Nanjing University)
Notes: ① Miao Huaiming is currently a professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Liberal Arts at Nanjing University. Teacher Miao launched the course "Research on Popular Literature and Philology" in the fall semester of 2019, requiring students to choose a rap art in their hometown and make a report on its current situation and future development. This investigation report is part of a class report.
②Chen Tianyi, born in 1944, is blind and his parents died young. In order to make a living, he went out to study art at the age of fifteen. His teacher Chen Ligong (1916-1976) studied under He Zhichen (1870---1897). In his early years, He Zhichen learned to sing Taoism from Li Yuanqiao, a native of Xincai County. He was influenced by "Lotus Falling" and "Shandong Dagu" during the performance, so he gave up singing. For Yugu, the Daoqing simple board held in the left hand was changed to hold the steel chain of the Shandong drum to beat the joints, and the bamboo board of Lianhualuo was held in the right hand to beat the joints. The singing style was still mainly Daoqing singing, and also absorbed the singing style of Lianhualuo (several boards). The four-piece tile rap form was formed.
③Zhao Feng, currently the director of Zhengyang County Cultural Center in Zhumadian City, Henan Province, learned singing and singing Four Pieces of Wags from Chen Tianyi.
