Gu Jingzhao, born in 1946, is a native of Zhouzhi, Shaanxi. He is the representative inheritor of the Xi'an Drum Music Project, a member of the Xi'an Musicians Association, and a member of the Shaanxi Folk Literature and Art Association. In 1962, Gu Jingzhao was taught by veteran Xi'an drum artists Wang Shuntang, Wenming, Chen Youwei, Li Shigen, etc., and mastered the drum beats of Xingle and sitting music, as well as all singing scores and performance methods, so that the drum music maintained the original ancient rhyme and ancient tune, and was responsible for the management of music club affairs. He has participated in many domestic and foreign music performances and won awards.
Gu Jingzhao plays Xi'an drum repertoire, paying equal attention to delicacy and enthusiasm, and is good at turning music into emotion and cultivating feelings with music. His interpretation of the works is unique, the technique is majestic, unique, and has distinctive stylistic characteristics. He often follows the progress of the melody in his performances, using different drums at any time, and he leads all the performers with the fast and slow, light and heavy, dense drum beats and changes in different parts of the drums, which is full of strong appeal and exudes the unique temperament and charm of Xi'an drum music. Over the past decades, he has actively explored the essence of Xi'an drum music, compiled a large number of drum repertoire, and made useful explorations in many aspects, promoting Xi'an drum music to a broader world.
During the Spring Festival of 1962, a meeting was held in Jixian Village to call on young people to learn drum music. Gu Jingzhao, who had been waiting for a long time, couldn't wait to sign up, and firmly proposed to learn to play drums. The master in charge of registration said to him: "The year is in charge of the moon flute, and I learn to play the drum for three winters." It's hard to play the drums, you have to think about it!" Gu Jingzhao said, no matter how difficult it is, you have to learn to play the drums, you have to learn it well. The next day, when I heard that Gu Jingzhao wanted to learn to play the drums, someone in the village said something cool: "He also dares to learn to play the drums?" If he can learn the drums, I will ......." Gu Jingzhao did not regret his choice, and the cool words of others stimulated his enthusiasm for learning.
Since then, except for farm work, the rest of the time, Gu Jingzhao has almost been taught by his master, memorizing drum scores by heart, and any item in his hand can become a drumstick for him to practice drums. A year later, during the Spring Festival, Gu Jingzhao appeared on the stage for the first time in his life, with apprehension, stage fright, and excitement. When he saw the expression on the face of the master sitting next to him with a teapot after the performance, he knew that he had succeeded.
"Learn to play the drums for three winters!" Gu Jingzhao only took a year to sit in the middle of the band. However, at the age of seventeen, he had not yet shown his talent in the role of drummer, and the times played a big joke on him: the drumming activities stopped, and a number of skilled old artists passed away one after another, and the drum music was almost in a state of withering. More than ten years later, with the adjustment of national policies and the government's emphasis on folk cultural heritage, drum music has regained the attention of the society. However, at this time, some of the members of the drum club have passed away, and some have lost the enthusiasm of the past, and it is not uncommon for the gongs to be uneven.
"None of us in the drum club live together, so we used to have to ride our bikes and call them one by one when we had a performance, unlike now when you just make a phone call. Some people can't communicate when they're not at home, and they have to find a way to find themselves. Some people not only do not receive the support of their families, but they are also told coldly. Although there are many difficulties, many times not understood and supported, but Gu Jingzhao did not give up, he knew that he could not relax, because he was a drummer, if he relaxed, the drum club would be like a carriage that was going uphill, and it would slide down if he was not careful, "Even if I am not a national-level inheritor, I must manage the drum club well and pass on Xi'an drum music in my lifetime, because I can't bear the reputation of 'sinners through the ages', and I don't want future generations to mention Xi'an drum music and say that it was interrupted in my hands."
Source/Hua Jie "Sanqin Intangible Cultural Heritage Artists"
Editor/Liu Jun