The Tujia Nationality

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Tujia people's Dongdong

Applicant: Longshan County, Hunan Province

Project No.: 624

Project No.: Ⅱ - 125

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: Traditional Music

Region: Hunan Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Longshan County, Hunan Province

Protection unit: Longshan County Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center

A brief introduction of Tujia people's Dong Dong QUIN

Applicant: Longshan County, Hunan Province

Dongdongquin is an extremely old reed instrument of Tujia nationality, which is mainly spread in Longshan County, Hunan Province and other Tujia inhabited areas. According to the two bony whistles found at the Beiqiu site in the Xiangxi section of Yuanshui River in May 1994, they should have originated in the early and middle Neolithic Age 6500-7000 years ago, and experienced a long historical development process. They evolved from bony whistles that can only blow one sound to bird whistles that can blow two sounds, and finally formed the three holes and one tube sound.

Dongdongquine is a kind of bamboo with a diameter of about 1 cm. It is about 10-14 cm long. The upper end of the bamboo has a section, and the spring is cut and drilled under the section to form a pipe with three holes. The sound of Dong Dong QUIN is crisp and lively, with both playing and vibrato. It is composed of the imitation of birds, insects and the sound of wind blowing spring, forming a freehand musical vocabulary and fixed tunes. There are more than 20 kinds of popular traditional tunes in Tasha, indofang, Pojiao, miaoertan, Longtou and Jiashi areas of washihe River Basin in Longshan County, Western Hunan Province, such as "dongdongquin", "baleidong", "daduli", "naiyunai" and "lapak". The contents are mainly Tujia children's songs, with both words and songs, which can be played and sung, and a combination of blowing and singing.

When playing Dong Dong QUIN, vertical blowing is adopted. The left index finger is pressed on the third tone hole, the right index finger and middle finger are pressed on the second and first tone holes respectively, and the upper tongue spring is held by the mouth for playing. In this process, the left hand plays rhythm and the right hand plays melody. At the foot of the slope in Longshan County, someone can play double pipes. He holds one Dong Dong QUIN in each hand and presses one musical pipe in each hand. With the help of skillful skills, he can play the same tune in both hands. The unique music style of dongdongquin of Tujia Nationality in Longshan County has attracted attention from all walks of life. In the early 1960s, it was performed in Jinjing, and in 1987, it was performed in Poland, which was highly praised by Chinese and foreign music experts.

Dong Dong QUIN is an important spiritual wealth of Tujia people in Western Hunan. As a unique playing tune, it plays an irreplaceable role in Tujia people's life. At present, this ancient musical instrument playing form is facing the danger of extinction, and it is urgent to strengthen the rescue and protection work.