China News Service, Fuzhou, September 3 (Ye Qiuyun) "Bangbangbang, Bangbang..." bursts of drums sounded from the century-old Xu Shunxing Musical Instrument Store in Yangzhong Road, Taijiang District, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province.
On September 2nd, Xu Ling, the representative inheritor of the "Hundred Years of Xu Shunxing's Percussion and Drum Making Skills", was holding a wolf string and slapped for an audition.
With blue and red lacquer surface, string of long ropes, and moon white drum skin, this strangely shaped folk drum is called Fuzhou wolf string, which is the most localized musical instrument among the Fuzhou Chating Shifan instruments.
Inside the store, traditional Fuzhou wolf skewers of similar size and shape are arranged neatly, which is very abrupt when set against guitars, erhu and other musical instruments and merchandise.
Xu Ling, the representative inheritor of "Hundred Years of Xu Shunxing Gong and Drum Making Skills", is introducing the drum skins.
Photo by Lu Ming
"Currently, there are still traditional Fuzhou wolf skewers, almost none." Xu Ling said that nowadays, fewer and fewer people buy wolf skewers. Except for the music of Fuzhou Chating Shifan, only Fuzhou under the jurisdiction of Fuzhou. The five districts and eight counties will only use it during festivals or celebrations.
"In order to make ends meet, we can only take care of selling some other commodities."
According to Xu Ling, Xu Yanguan, the founder of the century-old Xu Shunxing Musical Instrument Store, was born in 1888. In his early years, he learned gongs and drums from his father Xu Dengke. He learned drum skills from the Chen Hexing Drum Store on Cha Ting Street.
In 1905, Xu Yanguan set up his own business, "Xu Shunxing gongs and drums shop" came into being.
Then, because Xu Yanguan and his second son Xu Xiongzhang entered the Fuzhou Musical Instrument Factory together, Xu Shunxing gongs and drums shop announced the suspension of production.
Xu Ling was about to remove the wolf string.
Photo by Lu Ming
In 1962, Xu Yanguan passed away due to illness; until 1980, Xu Xiongzhang inherited his father's business after retiring, restored the signboard of "Xu Shunxing Gong and Drum Shop" and applied for an industrial and commercial business license.
Xu Ling is the daughter of Xu Xiongzhang. As the eldest daughter of the family, she has been exposed to the skills of gongs and drums since she was a child and is very "obsessed" with this.
Xu Ling showed the materials needed to make wolf skewers.
Photo by Lu Ming
"When I grew up, I also did other jobs, but my interest was not there. Later I chose to come back and make gongs and drums with my father." Xu Ling told reporters that his father Xu Xiongzhang persisted until the ancient years, and then she took it. After passing the baton in the hands of his father, he started to operate a century-old Xu Shunxing Musical Instrument Store.
After the unremitting efforts of Xu Yanguan, Xu Xiongzhang, Xu Ling and other generations, "Xu Shunxing gongs and drums making skills" have matured day by day.
The "Hundred Years of Xu Shunxing Gong and Drum Making Skills" is best for making wolf skewers and dragon boat drums. In 2015, it was approved as the fourth batch of Fuzhou Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Project List (Traditional Skills).
The reporter saw that the Fuzhou wolf skewers consist of four parts. The drum cavity on the left and right ends is composed of a semicircle on one side and two semicircles on the other; a bamboo tube is connected in the middle of the drum; The leather surface is divided into single layer and double layer, each is different; the left and right leather surface is also punched with 16 holes, 8 cotton threads are connected to the holes through the wire hooks, and the cotton threads are respectively buckled with a special wire buckle. Adjust the tone.
Xu Ling is adjusting the wolf string.
Photo by Lu Ming
Xu Ling revealed that the production of wolf skewers is very particular.
The thread formed in the middle cannot be made of plastic or cowhide. It is easy to be pulled and deformed when slapped, which will affect the sound of the wolf string. However, cotton thread does not have this problem, so she insists on using cotton thread.
Xu Ling also worked hard on the production of drum skins.
She pointed to the finished drum skin and said, now cowhide or sheepskin is generally used.
A drum must be durable, the quality of the skin must not be bad, and the skill of the skin is also the most important.
"It needs to be painted after the production is finished. The color of the drum cavity can be changed, but the bamboo tube in the middle is a fixed Chinese red. This is a tradition that has been handed down."
Xu Ling was interviewed by a reporter from Chinanews.com and introduced the "hundred-year Xu Shunxing gong and drum making skills".
Photo by Lu Ming
It is precisely because of Xu Ling's "attentiveness" in production that there are always customers who come here and ask her to help skin or make wolf skewers and dragon boat drums. Among them, there are many orders from overseas Chinese from the United States and other countries.
Although the gongs and drums market is not prosperous, Xu Ling still sticks to it. With a long-standing ingenuity, she does every drum well.
Xu Ling said that every drum made must be of quality and quantity.
"As long as you do something, you will continue to do it."
Talking about the inheritance of skills, 70-year-old Xu Ling let her child take over.
His son Lin Binbin has heard about it since he was a child and has mastered a certain drum making skills.
She said that to do a good job of drumming, it takes years of tempering and experience.
An original aspiration has been adhered to for generations.
Craftsmen are even more "shou artists".
(over)