Buddhist Music (Zhikong Kagyu school music)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Buddhist music

Applicant: Mozhugongka County, Tibet Autonomous Region

Item No.: 637

Project No.: Ⅱ - 138

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: Traditional Music

Region: Tibet Autonomous Region

Type: new item

Applicant: Mozhugongka County, Tibet Autonomous Region

Protection unit: Administrative Committee of zhikongti temple, Mozhugongka County, Lhasa City, Tibet

Introduction to Buddhist Music (Zhikong Kagyu school music)

Applicant: Mozhugongka County, Tibet Autonomous Region

Buddhist music is the music used by Buddhist temples in various religious activities and festivals. Buddhism was introduced into China around the reign of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the long-term development process, Buddhist music from India and the western regions has a unique appearance because of absorbing the artistic factors of Chinese folk music, and has become an important part of Chinese Buddhist culture. It contains not only Chinese national music tunes, but also Indian and western minority music tunes. Music chanting, also known as "Buddhist Chanting", which is directly used in Buddhism, praises Buddha and Bodhisattva in the form of short verses. There are solo, chorus and other chanting methods. Musical instruments can be used to accompany chanting.

Zhikonggagu school music is the main music form of Tibetan Buddhist temples, which is mainly used in various Buddhist rituals, such as offering ceremony, welcoming ceremony, Qiangmu God dance and so on. Zhikongsi is the ancestral temple of zhikongsi of Tibetan Buddhist Gaju sect. It is located in Menba Township, Mozhugongka County, Southeast of Lhasa city. Zhikong Kagyu religious music team not only set a model for more than 200 Temple religious bands of Zhikong sect in Tibet, but also affected almost all Tibetan Buddhist temple bands. The founder of Zhikong sect, jueba jitiangongbu, founded Zhikong Kagyu sect in 1179, gradually formed the custom of playing religious music in the Dharma hall, and a relatively complete Temple band appeared.

Zhikonggagu school music is called "qurui", which means supporting music. It has complete performance forms and superb performance skills. There are more than ten kinds of musical instruments in Zhikong Kagyu school, including drum, cymbal, cymbal, tuba, Tibetan suona Jialin, gongs and so on. One cymbal, six drum, one or several tuba and Jialin are the main parts of the band. In addition, there are also special musical instruments such as surna, Dama drum and Xiao Ping Gong. There were more than 80 large-scale pieces of Zhikong Kagyu school music, and now there are more than 20 pieces that can be played, including a music system suitable for various Buddhist rituals, as well as a large number of special and non special music. These pieces were passed down through the "Ruici" score, namely band score, and the oral and psychological instruction of the old monks, which influenced the performance repertoire of the bands in various Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.

As an important music form of Tibetan Buddhist temples, zhikonggagu music retains the basic features of Tibetan Buddhist music and provides vivid examples for the study of China's rich traditional culture. In recent years, the old monks of the Gaju sect have died one after another, and few of them can interpret the music score of "Ruici", which is in urgent need of rescue.