Dragon Boat Race

Introduction

Drafted by He Bozhong and revised four times by his grandson He Liutang into a dragon-boat race piece.

Dragon Boat Race is a signature piece of Cantonese music that depicts crews straining to win a dragon-boat contest. An article in Lingnan Music relates that the first draft is traditionally credited to He Bozhong of Shawan in Panyu, and that his grandson He Liutang reworked it four times before it reached the public. He Liutang inherited his grandfather's pipa art, drew several famous pieces from the family's manuscript scores, published a lithographed pipa collection in 1931 and died in Shawan in 1933. According to the Guangzhou Daily, it began as a silk-and-bamboo piece and was later arranged for wind-and-percussion ensemble, with gongs and drums heightening the excitement of the race. No reliable date for its completion has been found, and the Chinese Wikipedia list of Cantonese music marks its date as unknown.