Hongze Lake Fishery Encouragement Prose

Fishing drum dance in Hongze Lake is a kind of Han folk dance circulating in Hongze Lake area, which is widely distributed in Xuyi, Sihong, Siyang and Hongze around Hongze Lake.

Fishing drum, formerly known as Taiping drum, was introduced into Hongze Lake basin by refugees fleeing from the north. At first, it was used as a tool for rap accompaniment when begging along the village. The percussion of the fishing drum is rhythmic and has a strong impact on people's hearing, so it was adopted by Shen Han in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, used for burning paper for sacrifice and altar prayer, and became an accompaniment tool in the hands of jumpers. After Kangxi 19 (1860) in Qing Dynasty, with the formation of Hongze Lake, fishermen in Hongze Lake widely used fishing drums in collective activities such as burning paper, Dai (Dai) Wang Hui and genealogy meetings. The fishing drum gradually evolved into a sacrificial dance.

The main prop to encourage fishing in Hongze Lake is the fishing drum. Early fishing drums were made of iron by blacksmiths, covered with sheepskin or fish skin, and the production process was complicated. The fishing drum is round, shaped like a cattail leaf fan and about 35 cm in diameter. Covered with a layer of sheepskin along the round edge, it can also be made of dog skin or fish skin. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, folk artists specialized in making fishing drums appeared along the lake, which promoted the refinement of the production technology and appearance of fishing drums. The drum face is as thin as paper, translucent, crisp and powerful, and the lingering sound is melodious. The image of red carp is added to the drum surface, which means that the years are peaceful and there is more than one year, thus forming the original fishing drum. After the Republic of China, especially during the revolutionary war years, fishing drums were dug for literary and artistic activities. After the excavation and arrangement of literary and art workers, the production of fishing drums tends to be simplified, made of thick iron wire, and the mask is changed to thick leather paper. In order to achieve the artistic effect of the stage, the drum surface is painted with colorful patterns such as tuanyu, Duiyu, water ripple and carp yue longmen, which not only symbolizes harmony and celebration, but also highlights the festive color of the fishing drum.

At present, the fishing drums used in stage performances are mostly made of thick paper. The drum has a handle, about 20 cm long and 70 cm long. There is a circular iron ring with a diameter of 15 cm at the end of the handle, and there are four iron rings around the iron ring. Two or three small iron rings are strung on each ring, and a big red ribbon is tied on the ring at the end of the handle. During the performance, the performer holds the drum in his left hand and the key in his right hand. According to the needs of the performer's movements and sound effects, he either shakes the fishing drum or beats it rhythmically with bamboo keys, making the drum thump. Drum keys are generally 4 cm long and 1 cm wide and made of bamboo sticks. Soft cloth is wrapped around the handle at the end of the key, which is convenient for hand holding. Silk whiskers or colored cloth strips are tied at the end of the handle, which makes the ribbon fly when dancing, thus increasing the viewing effect.

The performance of fishing drums has a long history. The main tunes of the initial performance were "chanting" and "chanting Buddha". Because the fishing drum that plays drums is always composed of a string of overlapping words, fishermen also call it "drum cavity" and "sissy" It is a unique folk dance performance form in Hongze Lake folk culture, with strong fisherman's style, broad mass base and wide distribution. Later, from the initial single activity of asking gods to exorcise ghosts, it gradually evolved into an indispensable form of entertainment in festivals, genealogy meetings and other activities; In the performance, in addition to drumming, from the simple chanting of God and Buddha in a low voice to the elbow drum and Allegro, which are popular in Jiangsu and Anhui, the folk dance has really formed fishing encouragement.

The fishermen in Hongze Lake are all men dressed as women's actors or men dressed as women, and their costumes are gorgeous, and the performance venues are mostly at the bow. When the audience is long, seven or eight boats are combined into a simple water "stage". The fishermen's encouragement artists in Hongze Lake are developing constantly in the practice of production and life. Their vocals are no longer superstitious chanting for gods and Buddhists, but gradually integrated into Quyi vocals and elbow-drum tunes, and also absorbed the singing and rhythm of fishing songs, changing the sissy who could only sing but could not sing in the past and groaned in pain. The dance performed is no longer a simple dance accompaniment, but a dance such as swimming back and forth and shaking from side to side, simulating fishing actions such as casting nets, lowering hairpins and rocking boats. At the peak of fishing encouragement in Hongze Lake, there were more than a thousand people engaged in fishing drum performances.

After the founding of New China, fishing drums really formed and matured. After the excavation and continuous innovation of cultural workers in the lake area, a relatively perfect stage folk dance form has been formed today. It depicts the scene of fishermen's children working on the lake and praises their happy mood of harvest with light songs and dances. The basic feature of fishing encouragement in this period has completely got rid of the original low pleading tone and joined an impassioned melody. Taking the natural landscape of lakes and mountains as the stage canopy, the spectacular fishing scene is set off. There are a variety of queues, such as dragon out of water and dragon playing with pearls, drums instead of drums and drums instead of nets, as well as dancing movements that simulate fishery production, such as rowing, pulling nets and fishing. The tail drum has also been beautified, and the drum surface is symbolically painted with carp and water waves. Drum percussion is flexible and diverse, not limited by the original seven-character and cross rhyme. According to the artistic modeling of holding the moon, drumming and knocking on the female end, various acoustic effects such as single ring, double ring and three drums have appeared, and the actors' costumes have also changed from simple towels to sky blue and pink satin dance clothes embroidered with clouds.

According to the excavation, there are more than ten traditional songs that Yu encouraged to sing, such as "Chop the Old Dragon", "Hugh Purple", "The Story of Resurrection" and "Jellyfish Flooding Sizhou City".