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Zhihua Temple is also the home of Beijing Music, which is one of the five oldest known genres in China and is regarded to be a living fossil of traditional Buddhist music. Its creation has been attributed to Wang Zhen, who, on the completion of the temple, set up a band to perform during Buddhist rituals. It is said that he secretly brought some music scores into the temple that were only allowed to be used in royal ceremonies. The musicians, made up of monks from the temple, then incorporated the imperial tunes with traditional Buddhist chants and folk music, creating a distinctive musical style that is known for its solemnity and elegance.
The band consists of nine members, playing eight kinds of percussion and wind instruments, including drums, cymbals, gongs, flutes and reed pipes. Although these instruments are played all over China, the ones used by the Zhihua band each have slight differences, such as the flute's nine holes instead of the conventional eight.
During the Ming Dynasty, this music style was mainly performed during funerals as well as various rituals conducted to bring good harvest and drive off evil spirits. Most of the music pieces feature a slow and steady rhythm and inspire a serene atmosphere that relaxes people's emotional state and aids meditation.
Over the past 560 years, the repertoire has been passed down through 28 generations. All pieces are written using pentatonic scales, which are the basis of Chinese music. The method by which the monks pass down their skills follows a traditional, predetermined format and a rigid procedure in order that the music is not influenced by other genres and can remain faithful to the original style. "We value the music in the same way we value our beliefs," a veteran Zhihua musician explains. To the monks, preserving the music's true features is an expression of their devotion to Buddhism. Even in the present day, players are still using a centuries-old music notation that combines Chinese characters and indecipherable notations.
In the Qing Dynasty, the music performed in Zhihua Temple gradually spread to areas surrounding Beijing and became a feature of Buddhist music in north China. It was during this period that it was dubbed Beijing Music so that it might be distinguished from other music genres.
However, Beijing Music is disappearing in modern times as religious rites are becoming rarer and the numbers of performers are dwindling. Zhang Benxing was the last bandsman of the 26th generation. When he was alive, he was intensely aware of the value of this living music fossil and the harsh future it would be facing. He raced against time to preserve the ancient melodies by recruiting students and recording his entire repertoire for documentaries. In 2006, his work was given a firm backing, when Beijing Music was among the first treasures to be put on China's National Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
Though Zhang had passed away in 2009 at the age of 86, his six disciples have taken up the cause, giving free performances every day in Zhihua Temple. Outside the temple, they take part in activities based around folk music and culture, hoping to let more of the public get to know and appreciate this living music fossil. |
