Posted 2017/11/23
As a precious cultural heritage in southern China, the various kinds of extant copper drums, produced over a thousand years from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), can be regarded not only as an encyclopedia on Chinese folk arts but also as a historical literature on the development of Chinese science and technology.
Copper Drum in Wars
The coppers drum used to play an indispensable role in ancient Chinese wars; therefore, they were also called war drums. Thanks to its full and resonant sound, beating the war drum was considered as an order for the army to move or stop.
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Actually, as early as over a thousand years ago the copper drum began to be taken as the war drum by the ethnic groups in the south of China, who used to be belittled as "uncivilized people" by their Han neighbors in the north. The war drum was usually beaten with specific beats conveying different orders from the leader. Meanwhile beating the war drum rhythmically was also helpful in synchronizing the movements of the army, so as to maintain the military formation of their troops and improve their fighting capability.
In later contacts, the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) in the north borrowed the tradition of the southern ethnic people. In their expeditions against the minority rivals in the southwest of China, they also regarded capturing the war drum as a military victory.
Copper Drum as a Mirror of Social Conventions
Not merely confined to the functions of a cooking utensil, a musical instrument, or a war drum, the copper drum was also deemed holy, symbolizing the divine power of the gods and the authority enjoyed by the tribal leaders. When ancient tribes held a ceremony marking their alliance, agreement, or so on, the copper drum was worshiped as a divine witness to the covenant reached by the parties involved.
Although its divinity gradually faded away, the copper drum is still used as an important musical instrument to observe established festivals like the Spring Festival, and to celebrate such occasions as weddings and funerals in many ethnic groups in the south of China. The following are some examples:
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The Bai nationality observes funerals by beating copper drums to the accompaniment of a mournful tune or song, and both the Shui and Buyi nationalities beat copper drums to celebrate their festivals, too.
Yet, the copper drum plays an even more important role in the life of those Zhuang people who inhabit the Red Water River delta in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as it is an indispensable feature of the widely popular "Frog Festival" there.
Because the frog symbolizes the spring and a good harvest for the Zhuang people, in a tradition that still exists, they go out together into the fields on the first day of the Spring Festival, beating their copper drums and looking for frogs. Whoever catches a frog will enjoy good luck all over the year.
