Zhangjiajie Folk Performing Art: Yugu
Among folk performing arts, yugu is the most popular form of entertainment singing, because it requires only one performer, no makeup, simple props, and flexible performance anywhere — suitable for large crowds or small door-to-door visits. Even more valuable is that yugu can closely align with political centers and promptly reflect Party policies, especially during traditional festivals.
This article has been compiled from historical materials on 'Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network' (33519.com · Specialty Foods / Cuisine / Customs section). Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated. Before traveling, please refer to the latest announcements from merchants, scenic areas, and local competent authorities; the parts involving folk legends and folk customs are local historical and cultural anecdotes, provided for cultural reference.
Among the folk performing arts, Yugu is the most popular form of literary and artistic singing, because the performer is only one person, does not need makeup, uses simple props, performs flexibly, and can perform anywhere. It can suit large public occasions as well as small visits from door to door. What is even more rare is that Yugu can closely coordinate with the political center and promptly reflect the Party's principles and policies. Especially on every traditional festival, Yugu is the opening highlight.
Historical records say that Yugu is also called Daoqing, or Yugu Daoqing. It is a musical instrument made by stretching a layer of snake skin (or sheepskin) over a long bamboo tube and striking it with the hand. Used together with it for accompaniment are also a pair of tube clappers, a copper cymbal, and a bamboo chopstick. It originated from the tunes sung by Daoist priests telling Daoist stories. Some say its founding ancestor was Zhang Guolao among the Eight Immortals. In "The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea, Each Shows Their Divine Powers," his Yugu was displayed to the fullest and thus passed down. Some say that in 690 AD, Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history, ascended the throne. To repay Daoism, she ordered the whole country to build temples and specially kept seventy-two handsome Daoist priests in the palace to sing Yugu for her enjoyment. Later it spread among the people and became a folk performing art in which ordinary entertainers sang stories based on folk tales; in our Zhangjiajie area there is another new legend. It is said that after Zhang Liang fled the imperial court and lived in seclusion in Qingyan Mountain, he often used Yugu to go through villages and households, expressing his feelings of caring for the world and longing for his family. Thus he became the founding ancestor of this Yugu. Opinions vary, and no consensus can be reached. Because this folk performing art was regarded at the time as "not fit for elegant halls," it was rarely recorded in historical books and classics, and its true origin cannot be verified. However, a flaw does not obscure the virtue. Yugu played an important role in enriching people's cultural life in history, and this cannot be underestimated.
According to the accounts of old Yugu artists, no matter who the founding ancestor was, learning Yugu under a master was very particular. Once the master agreed, a written pledge was made, saying: "Heaven, earth, ruler, parent, teacher; master and disciple are like father and son. Once you enter the gate, nine oxen cannot pull you out. The master leads you through the door; cultivating the art depends on yourself." Besides the "seeing-people pictures," the master's singing scripts also included formal songbooks. Some told of heroes, such as Luo Tong Sweeps the North and Xue Rengui Conquers the East; some told of love, such as The Second Plum Blossom and The Fate of Liang and Zhu. Now there are also more reflecting the contemporary era, such as heroic deeds in the War of Resistance and flood fighting. Because the Luli area is a place where ethnic minorities live in concentrated communities, Yugu has even more local characteristics of combining elegance and popular appeal and being humorous and amusing. It truly deserves to be called a rare flower in the garden of literature and art.
In the 1970s, due to the influence of the ultra-leftist line, Yugu, like other folk arts, withered and vanished like fresh flowers under ice and snow. Few surviving old artists remained. In recent years, the Party Central Committee has called for rescuing traditional culture. This withered tree of Yugu has fortunately met sweet rain and has again put forth vigorous new branches. Not only has a group of outstanding performing artists such as Yang Wanchu and Zhang Minghui emerged, but in the 1980s Yang's Yugu was even sung in the provincial capital. Yugu needs scripts, and thus a group of master Yugu lyric writers such as Cai Shangshi and Xiang Haizhou also appeared. They truly depict modern life and are deeply loved and welcomed by the people. For example, when the people of Luli were joyfully celebrating the Seventeenth National Congress in various forms, the Yugu performer Zhang Huiming brilliantly performed Cai Shangshi's Farmers Sing of the Seventeenth National Congress, winning public praise.
The opera writer Xiang Haizhou wrote the Party's good policies into Yugu lyrics, making them even more fascinating. "The spring wind blows, spring fills the eyes; today the meaning of being a farmer is new. Above there is a 'Bodhisattva' to bless you, and at every moment a deity protects you. As soon as you think of it, things are accomplished, without the slightest hesitation. Every hoe digs up gold, every plow turns up silver snowflakes. Reform and opening up give 'peace of mind'; responsibility contracts are divided into high and low shares. The Eight Immortals cross the sea, each showing their powers; it only depends on whose magic is finer. On the road to wealth people are busier than ever; everyone runs toward the gate of moderate prosperity."
The once-neglected Yugu is now again being sung on both banks of the Luli, and it has brought new power into play.
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