Beijing West Taiping Drum

Jingxi Taiping drums can be played and danced, and can also be sung in between. Dance is inseparable from the drum beat, the drum beat changes with the dance, and the drum and dance are organically coordinated. The drumming techniques include frontal strike, reverse strike, drum heart, drum edge, up and down, left and right trembling iron rings, etc., forming a crisp and colorful sound, which fully reflects the mutual integration of the drummer and the drum, vertical and horizontal clutching. The rhythm of the drummer is that people dance drums, drums wrap around people, and people and drums are one. Old artists believe that the quality of Taiping drums depends on the dynamics of the drums and the posture of the body. Because women's feet were bound in the past, the basic rhythms of female Taiping drums were "twisting" and "shivering"; the characteristics of men's rhythms were "fan Jin" and "gen Jin".
There are no fewer than dozens of villages where Taiping drums are played in Mentougou, west of Beijing, as far away as Huangta Township and Junxiang Township at the foot of Baihua Mountain. Taiping drums have been played in history, but the most common and active are in the Mencheng area. In Menli, Sanjia, Dongxixinfang, Dayu Village and other places, young women can be seen in groups of three or five "fighting cocks", "fighting butterflies", "walking the crescent moon", lifting their legs and twisting their waists. Play and bring dance skills to her husband's house after marriage. As soon as the autumn harvest ends every year, every household starts to pick up Taiping drums, inviting blacksmiths to play drum circles, and craftsmen to cover their drum skins. Every evening, as long as someone beats the drum at the head of the village, neighbors from far and near will hear the sound. Regardless of age or seniority, men and women, young and old, will "play" the drum to the fullest. Playing the Taiping Drum is also an opportunity for people to communicate with each other, to communicate feelings, and to have a harmonious relationship between people, neighbors, and villages.
Taiping Drum is a folk dance that the people of Mentougou District, Beijing enjoy for themselves, collective inheritance, and collective development. It has been popular in Beijing since the Ming Dynasty.
Taiping drums, from the production process to the organic combination with dance movements, have transcended the simple function as a sound carrier of musical instruments, and have become a strong regional cultural symbol in this area, and a symbol of the cultural identity of the local people. The Beijing West Taiping Drum is an utensil with a strong regional cultural symbol in this area.

Lanzhou Taiping Drum

Since the Qing Dynasty, Taiping Drums have been circulated in the vast areas of Northeast and North China.
The shape of the Taiping drum used is similar to that of a group fan. It is made of a circular iron ring covered with donkey skin, horse skin or sheep skin. The diameter of the cross-section is 30 to 40 cm. The leather surface is smooth or painted with patterns. A pom-pom is decorated, and the lower end of the drum handle is decorated with small iron rings or pairs of small cymbals.
When playing, the drum handle is held in the left hand, and a rattan drum whip is held in the right hand to strike the drum face, drum heart or drum edge, and at the same time vibrate the iron ring or cymbal. Both the drum handle and the rattan are bound with red tassels. Taiping drums are often tapped with dance movements, and dance while tapping. There are various forms of performance such as singles, doubles and collectives. Taiping drums are both musical instruments and props.