In a candlelit Buddhist hall painted with Buddha figures, a monk in a red robe and crown rings a bell before the altar. Kneeling monks join palms, one striking a large wooden fish and another a bronze bowl, as worshippers bow nearby.
A verse of fanbai chant over the beat of the wooden fish
Introduction
The chant and ritual-instrument music of Han and Tibetan Buddhist monasteries at daily services and great rites
Buddhist music is the fanbai chant and ritual-instrument music used by Han Chinese and Tibetan monasteries at morning and evening services, great rites and repentance liturgies. It is mainly sung hymns, verses and mantras, marked by the wooden fish, bells, chimes, small cymbals and other ritual instruments, and Tibetan monasteries also keep full hall ensembles. Tradition says Cao Zhi created fanbai after visiting Mount Yu at Dong'e in the Wei; in 489 Xiao Ziliang, Prince of Jingling, gathered the capital's best-voiced monks to compose chant, Emperor Wu of Liang wrote ten Buddhist pieces, beginning with Shanzai, called the 'correct music', and he is said to have held the first water-and-land rite at Jinshan. The national item Buddhist music (II-138) covers thirteen traditions, among them the Yushan fanbai, the chant of Tianning Temple, the Buddhist music of Daxiangguo Temple, the music of the Jinshan water-and-land rite and the Daode'er hall music of Labrang Monastery; the temple music of Qianshan (II-67) is a separate item, and the Buddhist music of Wutaishan belongs with sheng-and-guan ensembles.
Timeline
- 489OriginHuijiao's Biographies of Eminent Monks says Cao Zhi of Wei, who loved music, was moved by the sacred sounds of Mount Yu and reworked the Ruiying and Benqi chants, becoming the founder of fanbai (legend); the reliable record is that in the second month of 489 Xiao Ziliang, Prince Wenxuan of Jingling, gathered the capital's best-voiced monks, among them Puzhi, Daoxing and Sengbian, to compose chant.
- 505EvolutionEmperor Wu of Liang, a devout Buddhist, wrote ten pieces such as Shanzai and Dale, called the 'correct music', all on the Dharma, and used boy musicians and boys singing fanbai at his great open assemblies; according to the Song Shimen zhengtong, in 505 he held the first water-and-land rite at Zexin Temple on Jinshan.
- 1743EvolutionIn 1743, under the second Jamyang, Labrang Monastery at Xiahe, Gansu, began its hall music known as Daode'er, played by a full ensemble at monastery rites and handed down to this day.
- 2008ImpactIn 2008 Buddhist music (II-138) entered the second national ICH list with seven traditions, among them the chant of Tianning Temple, the Yushan fanbai, the music of Daxiangguo Temple, the music of the Drigung Kagyu and the Daode'er of Labrang; six more were added in 2011 and 2014.
Heritage Listings
- 2006National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage1st batch · II-67 Temple music of Qianshan · no. 98 · Anshan · Liaoning
- 2008National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage2nd batch · II-138 Buddhist music [no. 637: chant of Tianning Temple · Yushan fanbai · Buddhist music of Daxiangguo Temple · music of the Drigung Kagyu · Daode'er hall music of Labrang Monastery · Tibetan sutra-chant tunes of Qinghai · temple music of Beiwudang · Changzhou · Jiangsu · Dong'e · Shandong · Kaifeng · Henan · Maizhokunggar · Tibet · Xiahe · Gansu · Xinghai · Qinghai · Pingluo · Ningxia]
- 2011National list extension items3rd batch · II-138 Buddhist music: temple music of Lengyan Temple · Jonang chant · Buddhist music of Yangxian · Huajia music of Kumbum Monastery · Zuoyun · Shanxi · Zamtang · Sichuan · Yangxian · Shaanxi · Huangzhong · Qinghai
- 2014National list extension items4th batch · II-138 Buddhist music: ritual music of the Jinshan Temple water-and-land rite · Jolu of Shugseb Nunnery · Zhenjiang · Jiangsu · Qushui · Tibet