Review Article
On Drum and Gong Music in Chinese Opera
Yin Haojie, Ji Lingzhu
Middle East Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences; 138-147.
https://doi.org/10.36348/merjhss.2025.v05i05.001
Chinese opera music is a very unique, time-honored genre in the music field. Percussion music is the most important component, and runs through the plot of the whole play. It plays a leading role in the opera band, and it is an important vehicle of opera role shaping. The present article studies roles of drum and gong music in Chinese opera from its historical evolution, resources from the folk festival performances, Taoist, Buddist and Chinese folk God worshiping and spirit entertaining religious music, anf its various functions in the opera. The study shows that the use of gong and drum percussion has reached a considerable level of achievement in traditional Chinese opera music, such as rich and diverse rhythmic variations, a highly systematic and organized approach to band organization and instrument combination, and a high level of proficiency in the performance capabilities of individual instruments. It occupies a distinctive position and plays a unique role in traditional Chinese opera, maintaining an inseparable connection with its performative forms and representation methods.