Beiguan
Encyclopedia
Beiguan is a type of traditional music, melody and theatrical performance between the 17th and mid-20th centuries. It was widespread in Zhangzhou
(the southern part of China's Fujian
province) and Taiwan
. By the early 21st century its popularity had declined precipitously.
Beiguan usually uses the following instruments: two suona
(oboes), bangzi
(woodblock), daluo (large bossed gong), xiaoluo (small gong), bangu
(high-pitched drum), tonggu (small drum), xiaobo (small cymbals), and dabo (large cymbals). It may also use dagu (large drum), various huqin
, and plucked instruments.
Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. Located on the banks of the Jiulong River , Zhangzhou borders the cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou to the northeast, Longyan City to the northwest and the province of Guangdong to the southwest.Zhangzhou...
(the southern part of China's Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
province) and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. By the early 21st century its popularity had declined precipitously.
Beiguan usually uses the following instruments: two suona
Suona
The suona ; also called laba or haidi is a Han Chinese shawm . It has a distinctively loud and high-pitched sound, and is used frequently in Chinese traditional music ensembles, particularly those that perform outdoors...
(oboes), bangzi
Bangzi
Jaguar/Sandbox/3 is a township-level division situated in Tangshan, Hebei, China....
(woodblock), daluo (large bossed gong), xiaoluo (small gong), bangu
Bangu
Bangu may refer to:-* Bamileke, a Semi-Bantu ethnic group of people from Cameroon.* Bangu , a district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.* Bangu Atlético Clube, a football team in Bangu, Rio de Janeiro...
(high-pitched drum), tonggu (small drum), xiaobo (small cymbals), and dabo (large cymbals). It may also use dagu (large drum), various huqin
Huqin
Huqin is a family of bowed string instruments, more specifically, a spike fiddle popularly used in Chinese music. The instruments consist of a round, hexagonal, or octagonal sound box at the bottom with a neck attached that protrudes upwards...
, and plucked instruments.