Zhangjiajie Folk Art: Three-Stick Drum
Sanbanggu, called Sanzhanggu in the Tang Dynasty, was introduced to Zhangjiajie around the Ming Dynasty and gradually became a beloved folk art. Every Spring Festival, performers travel from village to village paying New Year calls, visiting every household regardless of wealth. If they meet a poor family, they give them gifts received elsewhere, so that everyone may share in the festive joy—fully reflecting the warmth of the Tujia people.
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 Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated.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.
Sanbanggu, called Sanzhanggu in the Tang Dynasty, was introduced to Zhangjiajie around the Ming Dynasty and gradually became a folk art form loved by the masses. Every Spring Festival, performers go in groups from village to village to pay New Year calls. Regardless of whether the household is rich or poor, they must visit every home. If they encounter a poor family, the performers give them gifts presented by other families, meaning that everyone should be happy during the festival. This fully embodies the Tujia people's warm hospitality and kindhearted ethnic character. It also plays a certain role in strengthening unity among ethnic groups. Sanbanggu is usually composed of three to five people: one beats the drum and sings the lyrics, one plays gongs and drums for accompaniment, and one plays flower sticks. There are three flower sticks, each one chi long. The dancer holds one in each hand and throws the other into the air, shooting left and right, striking the airborne flower stick to keep it from falling to the ground. There is also the skill of using knives instead of sticks, or five knives instead of three sticks. Steel knives leap joyfully in the air, flashing silver light, shuttling left and right. Those with high skill suddenly throw the knives very high, make a leap and flying kick, turn and swing outward, and continue catching and tossing the knives, dazzling the eyes and making people marvel. Sanbanggu usually has four sets: "Spring Plowing Revelry," "Harvesting and Threshing," "Celebrating a Bountiful Harvest," and "New Year Greetings," divided into items such as "Carp Leaps Over the Dragon Gate," "Jade Girl Shuttles," and "Slate Rapids." Sanbanggu is highly technical. During performance one must be highly concentrated, use appropriate force, maintain a continuous flow, and coordinate tacitly with the singer.
Sanbanggu is named for throwing three sticks and beating gongs and drums. It is a form of cultural and sports activity seen everywhere in Tujia mountain villages, combining percussion instruments, oral literature, and performance skills.
Sanbanggu is usually composed of three to five people. The master beats the drum and sings the lyrics, one person beats the gong, and one person plays flower sticks and flower knives. When performed by one person, the drum stand is placed in front, the gong is hung below the drum stand, and the gong stick is tied with a thin rope and slipped over the footboard. During performance, the performer sings lyrics with the mouth, beats the drum with the hands, and steps on the gong with the feet. The rhythm of the gong and drum is determined by the speed needed for tossing the flower sticks and flower knives. The lyrics of Sanbanggu are composed of five-character lines in four lines with half a line repeated. That is, five characters per line, four lines per section. The fourth line of each section repeats half a line. In each section the gong and drum are struck four times. The first three lines are each followed by three strikes after singing, and after the last line is sung, that is, at the end of each section, ten strikes are sounded. For example, sing: "Learning to play Sanbanggu," strike "qiang qiang qiang"; sing "Learning it is also bitter," strike "qiang qiang qiang"; sing "From three years old I learned until fifteen," strike "qiang qiang qiang"; sing "Learn it, learn to roam the rivers and lakes," strike "qiang qiang qiang, qiang, qiang, qiang qiang qiang qiang qiang - qiang." In this section, each character sung is one beat, "qiang" is the sound of the gong and drum sounding together, each sound occupies one beat, and punctuation marks also occupy one beat. The speed of each beat depends on the speed at which the flower stick falls. Each fall of any flower stick is one beat. Therefore, if the flower stick is tossed low, the falling frequency is fast, and the time occupied by each beat is short; conversely, if the flower stick is tossed high, the time occupied by each beat is long. The second and fourth lines of Sanbanggu are required to rhyme; the first and third lines may or may not rhyme.
Sanbanggu is highly technical. One must concentrate intensely, use moderate force when tossing knives and sticks, and move agilely and accurately. A slight negligence will not only cause the performance to fail, but may also cut one's hands and feet with the knives or accidentally injure others. Therefore, anyone learning Sanbanggu must constantly practice flying toss-and-catch techniques until they can toss and catch knives and sticks even with their eyes closed. For this reason, Tujia young people often practice toss-and-catch techniques with three cobblestones. Over time, practice makes perfect, and they can not only toss sticks but also toss knives.
The gong and drum tunes of Sanbanggu do not change, but the lyrics are varied. Apart from fixed lyrics such as "Twelve Months Flowers," they are all improvised and sung casually. Those who sing Sanbanggu songs are all quick-witted and eloquent.
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