Fish-drum
Encyclopedia
In Chinese music, there are a few different types of instruments known as a Fish Drum. There is the pao pei ,a membranophone, where sounds is made by striking a stretched out skin or membrane, played by Elder Zhang Guo
, one of the Eight Immortals
. This drum is a long and slender piece of bamboo with a dried fish skin stretched over one end. Two smaller pieces of bamboo resembling golf clubs are used as Castanets.There is also the yu gu . This type of fish drum is used to accompany performers of changben or Chinese narrative ballads. They would accompany their singing on a yugu drum. It is also used as a drum to accompany cantonese opera. This drum is an idiophone, where the whole body of the instrument vibrates to produce sound. The yugu also known as a mu yu is a small piece of wood carved into the shape of a fish, with a slit along the length of the body. This drum is then struck by a mallet to produce sound. A much larger version, with much more ornate decoration, symbolizing a mythical fish, whose sounds is supposed to attract divinity, is used in taoist and Confucian ceremonies. This version of the drum, also struck by a mallet, is hit at regular intervals during confucian and taoist ceremonies to mark the intervals of prayer. It is connected with the use of rain prayers and prayers connected to death rights.
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Elder Zhang Guo
"Elder Zhang Guo" or "Zhang Guo Lao" is one of the Eight Immortals. Of the Eight Immortals he, along with Chung-li Ch'uan and Lu Yen, was a real historical figure; the rest exist only in legend...
, one of the Eight Immortals
Eight Immortals
The Eight Immortals are a group of legendary xian in Chinese mythology. Each Immortal's power can be transferred to a power tool that can give life or destroy evil. Together, these eight tools are called "Covert Eight Immortals" . Most of them are said to have been born in the Tang Dynasty or...
. This drum is a long and slender piece of bamboo with a dried fish skin stretched over one end. Two smaller pieces of bamboo resembling golf clubs are used as Castanets.There is also the yu gu . This type of fish drum is used to accompany performers of changben or Chinese narrative ballads. They would accompany their singing on a yugu drum. It is also used as a drum to accompany cantonese opera. This drum is an idiophone, where the whole body of the instrument vibrates to produce sound. The yugu also known as a mu yu is a small piece of wood carved into the shape of a fish, with a slit along the length of the body. This drum is then struck by a mallet to produce sound. A much larger version, with much more ornate decoration, symbolizing a mythical fish, whose sounds is supposed to attract divinity, is used in taoist and Confucian ceremonies. This version of the drum, also struck by a mallet, is hit at regular intervals during confucian and taoist ceremonies to mark the intervals of prayer. It is connected with the use of rain prayers and prayers connected to death rights.
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