Xi’an Drum Music 西安鼓乐

Men with round collar robes and futou on their heads and ladies with Tang-style dresses and high hair buns are playing Xian Drum Music with traditional drum， flute and other instruments. Watched afar， its like a wall painting from the Tang dynasty; if you listen closely， its like heavenly music that brings people back to Tangs capital， Changan.

Xian Drum Music originated in the Tang dynasty. Initially， it was played only for royal gatherings， but later on became popular among common people. Xian Drum Music is a typical representative of traditional Chinese instrumental music; in 2009， it was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

What kind of instruments can produce such graceful and heavenly music？ Xian Drum Music is a grand ensemble integrating traditional Chinese wind， percussion and string instruments， and it has been acclaimed as “symphony from ancient China”. Its history is even longer than western symphony which was formed and developed in the 18th century.

Different from the music notation used by western symphony， now Xian Drum Music adopts a Song dynasty music notation method. Meanwhile， it inherits over 1，000 qupai， or labeled melodies of various forms， from the Tang and Song dynasties. In the performance of Xian Drum Music， there is neither the score nor the conductor. All performers must keep all the tunes in mind.

穿著圆领长袍、头戴幞头的男子和穿着唐装、梳着高发髻的女子正在用传统的鼓、笛和其他乐器演奏西安鼓乐。从远处看，演奏的画面就像一幅唐代的壁画；但如果你走近听，演奏的鼓乐犹如天籁，把人们带回唐朝的首都长安。

西安鼓乐起源于唐朝。起初，它只在宫廷宴会上演奏，但后来在民间流行起来。西安鼓乐是中国传统器乐的典型代表。2009年，它被列入联合国教科文组织非物质文化遗产代表名录。

什么样的乐器能奏出如此优美的音乐？西安鼓乐是集中国传统吹管乐器、打击乐器和拉弦乐器于一体的大合奏，被誉为“中国古代的交响乐”。它的历史甚至比18世纪形成和发展的西方交响乐还要悠久。

与西方交响乐使用的音乐记谱法不同，现今的西安鼓乐采用的是宋代的记谱法。同时，它继承了唐宋时期的1000多个曲牌，即各种形式的谱曲。在西安鼓乐的演奏中，既没有乐谱，也没有指挥。所有演奏者必须牢记所有的曲子。

Xian Drum Music has been played for over a thousand years， which wont be possible without inheritance and innovation by generations of inheritors. For example， besides performing the traditional art， the Ancient Chinese Music Orchestra of Xian International University has been innovating. War Song of Kings， a theme song for an online game， is a masterpiece of their innovation. In it， musicians include not only representative instruments used in Xian Drum Music， but also other modern music instruments. In such a way， the orchestra has brought to the audience a vivid mixture of ancient and modern music with the Tang dynasty features.

Also in Dongcang Drum Music Society of Xians theme park Tang Paradise， musicians have chosen live-streaming. Their live videos have attracted more and more audiences from China and abroad， enabling them to know more about Xian Drum Music. As more and more people fall in love with the “symphony from ancient China”， this ancient art form is now injected with new vitality.

西安鼓乐有一千多年的历史，正是因为一代代传承人的传承和创新，它才能延续至今。比如，西安外事学院古乐团除了演奏西安鼓乐，还一直在对其进行创新。《王者战歌》作为一款网络游戏的主题曲，是他们创新的代表作。在这首曲子中，音乐家们不仅使用了西安鼓乐中的代表性乐器，还加入了其他现代乐器。通过这种演绎形式，古乐团给观众带来了具有唐代特色的古代和现代音乐相融合的视听盛宴。

同样，在入驻西安主题公园大唐芙蓉园的东仓鼓乐社里，音乐家们选择现场直播的方式宣传西安鼓乐。他们的直播视频吸引了越来越多的中外观众，让观众能够更多地了解西安鼓乐。随着越来越多的人爱上“中国古代的交响乐”，这种古老的艺术形式正在融入新的活力。

Word Bank

initially /?'n???li/ adv. 开始；最初

royal /'r???l/ adj. 皇家的；王室的

integrate /'?nt?ɡre?t/ v. （使）合并，成为一体

acclaim /?'kle?m/ v. 称誉某人 / 事物（为……）

The work was acclaimed as a masterpiece.

inherit /?n'her?t/ v. 继承（金钱、财产等）

She inherited a fortune from her father.

inject /?n'd?ekt/ v. （给……）添加，增加（某品质）