Jingxi Taiping drum

　　Taiping Drum in the west of Beijing is a folk dance performance in Mentougou area. Although it is not the official venue of the Flower Festival, its universality is obvious to all. Every household in many villages can play Taiping Drum, and both men, women and children can participate in it. It is a group cultural and entertainment activity. Taiping drum spread in Beijing, and the earliest record so far is the Ming Dynasty. According to the Ming Dynasty people Liu Dong and Yu Yizheng’s "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital", "The boy plays drums, and the evening dawns, which is called Taiping Drum. “

　　At the end of the Qing Dynasty, playing Taiping Drum was very common in Mentougou District, and it blended with the skills of drumming in Beijing. According to Peng Songnian, an old artist in Liuliqu Village, Mentougou District, according to his grandfather Fan Baoshan, who is the fourth generation artist, Taiping Drum has a history of at least more than 100 years in Mentougou, and Peng Songnian has also been the sixth generation descendant of Taiping Drum. Many villages have the activity of playing Taiping Drum, which has been passed down from generation to generation by old artists.

　　The Taiping Drum in the west of Beijing belongs to the dynamic culture of human body, and it still has unpretentious, healthy and progressive artistic characteristics after being passed down from generation to generation. Its performance forms are mostly beating and dancing, with rich drums and harmonious vision and hearing; Dynamic rhythm shows the characteristics of dancing drums, tangling drums, and the integration of people and drums, and the change of rhythm shows different emotions; Music drums are mainly single drums (quarter notes) and double drums (eighth and sixteenth notes), which can play different priorities. Lyrics are generally based on characters, allusions, seasonal flowers and the truth. The tune is a popular folk tune in the local area, with a high voice and a strong flavor of life.

　　In Beijing folk dance, Taiping drum is representative. Dance equipment-drum, from the production process to the multi-component role of competition, fun and improvisation in dance, Taiping drum has gone beyond its simple function as a carrier of musical instruments and sound, and has become a symbol of strong regional culture in this area, a symbol of local people’s cultural identity, with historical and social value and artistic aesthetic value, which will promote the research, inheritance and development of folk dance culture in western Beijing.