In Chinese, the start of a show can be called "starting the gongs"; if someone stirs up trouble behind the scenes, we say they are "drumming on the sidelines." Everyday phrases like "with the courage of the first drum" (completing something in a single burst of effort), and "with clappers and eyes" (in a well-ordered way) have their origins in the language of percussion music. For thousands of years, the gongs and drums of folk music have been bound up with Chinese people's pleasure and anger, grief and joy.

Percussion music developed very early in China: 3000 years ago in the late neolithic age, there were percussion instruments such as clay drums, chime stones and pottery bells. Ancient texts give us a glimpse of the many different occasions when such music was played. For instance, Shan Hai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas) describes how the Yellow Emperor used the skin of a kui (a legendary beast) for a drum: "He struck it with the bones of the thunder-beast. The sound was heard 500 leagues, and terrified the whole world." This is probably the earliest recorded example in Chinese history of the use of a war drum. The verse in the Shi Jing (Book of Songs) "A fair and gentle maiden; I would welcome her with gongs and drums," describes the joyous scene of bringing home a beautiful bride. From the passage "striking and slapping stones, so that even the beasts rise up and dance," in the Shang Shu (Book of History), we can imagine the grand scene of a folk celebration.

In the Shang and Zhou dynasties, bronze artefacts reached a high state of development, and a chime of several dozen bronze bells or chime stones required a good many musicians to play them. The bells from the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC) which the National Palace Museum bought last year at great expense bear inscriptions describing a victory by Prince Wen of Jin-they were important state regalia.

Battlefield signals

Both in China and elsewhere, drums were used to boost morale on the battlefield. The expressions "yi gu zuo qi"-to do something "with the courage of the first drum" (to complete a task in a single burst of effort)-and "ming jin shou bing"-to "withdraw at the sound of the gong" (to call it a day) were both originally military expressions: soldiers would attack at the sound of the drum and retreat at the sound of the gong. In a great battle between the states of Qi and Lu in the Spring and Autumn period, the Lu commander Cao Gui deliberately held his forces still while the Qi army struck their drums three times. Not until the enemy had beaten their drums "once, twice and thrice," and their courage had begun to waver, did Cao order his own forces to beat the drums for the attack, and the Qi army was routed.

"The King of Qin strikes a jar," on the other hand, refers to the amusing tale of a quick-witted response. The kings of Qin and Zhao met at Mianchi in 279 BC to forge an alliance. During the banquet the King of Qin slyly invited the King of Zhao to play the zither. At this the Qin official historian gleefully wrote down: "The King of Qin commanded the King of Zhao to play the zither." But in an instant the Zhao prime minister Lin Xiangru snatched up a pot-bellied earthenware jar from the King of Qin's table, and asked the king to take his turn by "playing" it. This kind of jar can be said to have been a percussion instrument of the Qin, for when they were feasting they would often tap away merrily on their wine jars. Under Lin's fierce gaze, the King of Qin had little choice but to strike a few reluctant tones, and then the Zhao historian could gloat: "The King of Zhao commanded the King of Qin to tap an earthenware jar."

When lamenting that right and wrong are turned on their head, we may say: "The brass bells are broken and cast aside, earthenware pots clatter like thunder." "Brass bells" refers to costly instruments such as bells and chime stones which ring clear and true. When these are cast aside and a great ruckus is beaten out on earthenware cooking pots (when the wise are ignored and lesser counsel prevails), how can one not lament? It was with these words that the patriotic poet Qu Yuan (c. 340-c. 278 BC) lamented the foolishness of the King of Chu for taking the advice of charlatans. But Qu Yuan himself was ostracized and intrigued against, and not long after writing these words, he threw himself into the Miluo River and drowned.

The war drums of Yuyang shake the Earth

From the Han to the Tang dynasty, China had close contacts with the lands to its West, and gongs, cymbals and many kinds of drums were introduced into China. The Tang emperor Xuanzong, who loved singing and dancing, was said to be an adept drummer, and the drumsticks he had broken while practicing filled four cabinets. From this we can see what a devoted aficionado he was. But in the end, when An Lushan rose up in revolt, what Xuanzong heard was the beat of the rebels' war drums. Bai Juyi wrote in his "Song of Everlasting Sorrow": "The war drums of Yuyang approach, shaking the earth, and shatter the 'Dance of the Colored Costumes.'" Xuanzong and his beloved concubine Yang Gui Fei fled in haste, but finally, at Mawei, Xuanzong was made to order Yang to commit suicide. Naturally, "his sorrow was everlasting."

In the Song dynasty (960-1279), shuo-chang, a style of popular entertainment consisting mainly of talking and singing, came into vogue, and percussion instruments such as drums and bamboo clappers were the indispensable accoutrements which storytellers used to modulate their rhythm. This gave rise to various rhythmic storytelling styles.

The Yuan dynasty (1206-1368) saw the rise of zaju (poetic dramas set to music), and a large number of stringed and percussion instruments were developed to accompany it. In Chinese operatic music, accented beats are called ban ("clappers," because they are marked by a clapper stroke), while the unaccented beats are called yan ("eyes," marked only by a drum beat). For instance, "one clapper, three eyes"-four beats to the bar, with the first beat accented-is a rhythm often used in Peking opera. If someone does everything by the book, and is not willing to cut any corners, we say he does things "with clappers and eyes."

In the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), a kind of drum ensemble music developed among the common people. At farming slack periods or on feast days, they would get together for a lively drumming session. Zhang Dai (1597-1679) wrote in his memoirs: "As day dawned, drums and wind instruments were heard everywhere, blowing and thundering wildly. The clash of cymbals, the roll of drums, shaking the Earth and rattling the Heavens, like the roar of thunder or a boiling cauldron-you couldn't hear yourself shout." Thus he vividly describes the power of south China's wind and percussion music.

By the late Qing dynasty (1616-1911), when Western influence spread through the Orient, the pressure from internal strife and external aggression reduced folk music to the percussion troupes which played at weddings, funerals and other such occasions. It was actually the Buddhist and Taoist monks of a few large temples who preserved the tradition of larger scale performances, such as the drum music of Chenghuang Temple in Xi'an, or the wind and percussion playing of the monks of southern Jiangsu.

Shaking the Yellow Earth

But percussion music did not die out among the common people. Have you seen the powerfully raw and uninhibited waist-drum performance from northern Shaanxi, in the film Yellow Earth? Two years ago, when Ju Tzong-ching's percussion group went to perform in mainland China, in a village near Xi'an they were astounded to be greeted by a group of 5000 drummers recruited from local villages, who drummed their way from village to village.

Over the last 20 years many new drumming groups have been set up all over mainland China. Activity is most intense in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan provinces, where regular drumming competitions are a great favorite. According to Xi'an drummer An Zhishun, in some localities drumming is not merely a leisure activity, but a symbol of a high quality of life. If you wish to join a group there, they will first look at your "family background": only someone with a spotless personal and family record will be accepted. When someone gets into such a group, their whole village celebrates.

From the joyous animation of a wedding ceremony to the ominous thunder of the battlefield, from doing things by the book to the clamor of earthenware pots, percussion music has always been alive among the common people of China, and in time with their heartbeats.

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In pre-Qin-dynasty China, ritual music was highly developed. Bells and chime stones were important ritual instruments. A few years ago a chime of 64 bronze bells from the early Warring States period was unearthed in Hubei Province on the Chinese mainland. It is said to include all the notes of the chromatic scale. (courtesy of the National Palace Museum)