Classic drum thrives after taking a beating

Lanzhou residents now had their drum back, and 16 years later it was designated as an item of national intangible cultural heritage.

However, by this time, the dance - usually performed by men because of the extreme physical demands - faced a further threat because men were swarming to big cities to find work. So the torch that would keep this art alive had to be passed to young students.

Stoking interest

Shidong Primary School in Gaolan was a pioneer. To ensure that young people would continue to carry the drums, Wei made a batch of smaller ones, each weighing about 3 kilograms - less than half the weight of the regular versions. Learning to play the drums became part of the school's curriculum, and Wei became an instructor.

The idea needed the backing of parents, as well as sufficient funding. These often were lacking, but Wei pushed on with efforts to revive the tradition.

"It's like killing three birds with one stone," said Zhang Lai, principal of the school, in talking of the benefits of reviving the dance. "Traditional culture is safeguarded, students improve their strength and physical stamina, and it nurtures students artistically, which is extremely important considering how exam-oriented our education system is."

The Ministry of Culture set up a program to include cultural heritage in formal education in 2015. As part of that program, the drumming course at the school has survived and thrived.

Experts are even compiling a drum teaching textbook to make the program more reliable and systematic, according to Wei Yujie, director of Gaolan's culture and sports bureau.

Since 2015, Wei's drum company - with the financial backing of the program - has sent out 10 professional drummers as coaches to different schools in Gaolan on a daily basis for lessons.

"We have an abundance of young successors now. We are extremely fortunate, as the cultural heritage has been preserved," said Wei Huaidong, Wei Yonghong's son and the company manager.

Eyeing commercial prospects, he said his dream is to build a drum theme park.

"It would bring together various forms of drum playing. If it comes off, it will be the first drum theme park in the world. The tradition of the Taiping Drum Dance is set to live on and will never die."

shenwendi@chinadaily.com.cn