Beijing dagu shu (singing-storytelling or ballad-signing performance, also known as quyi), popular in the beginning of the 20th century, originated from two directions: Beijing's east, which is the birthplace of Jingdond dagu, and the south of Beijing, including Langfang, Bazhou, Cangzhou, and Jianhe, which produced Xihe dagu and Cangzhou Muban dagu.

In the last stage of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Leting dagu and Xihe dagu spread to Beijing and attracted many audiences. The original Muban dagu that passed to Beijing did not become deeply rooted because of its strong local dialect. However, with the effort of some Beijing and Tianjin's actors, like Hu Shi, Song Wu, and Huo Mingliang, the former Muban dagu became Jingyun dagu, which brought up two great artists, the king of drum, Liu Baoquan, and the lord of Jingyun dagu, Bai Yunpeng.

That splendid period has been gone for more than one hundred years.

Wuyin Dagu

Location: Wumudi of Miyun County

Artists: Qi Dianzhang (79 years old), Qi Dianming (71), Li Maosheng (60), Chen Zhenquan (63), Jia Yunming (64)

Wuyin dagu, also called " Miyun's Naxi guyue"(Miyun's Naxi Ancient Music), was created at Wumudi in rural Beijing's Miyun County, where this endangered folk art is transmitted from generation to generation.

According to experts, Wuyin dagu originated in the countryside of present Hebei Province of North China in the time of the Qing Emperor Daoguang's reign (1821-1851). Wuyin dagu is a part of the dagu family, a division of shuochang or singing-storytelling performance in which the singer accompanies himself or herself with a drum and ban (a percussion instrument made of two wooden boards).

The most famous of the other schools of dagu include Jingyun dagu and Xihe dagu, where the performer sings and talks in local Beijing dialect.
In the early 20th century, Jingyun dagu and Xihe dagu became established in Beijing and Tianjin. However, Wuyin dagu remained based in the countryside and untouched by modern methods of distribution. Therefore, Wuyin dagu has not left behind recordings or stories of well-known performers, as have its urban brothers and sisters.

As with most genres of Chinese folk music, traditional Wuyin dagu singers adopted an oral method of teaching and studying, using neither scores nor books of lyrics.
At present Wuyin dagu has been lost in other places; only in Miyun County are there 5 old actors, all aged 60 or above. Their band is the only that can perform original Wuyin dagu. The oldest, Qi Dianzhang, is 79 years old, while the youngest, Li Mosheng, has just turned 60.

In order to save this precious folk art inheritance, the government of Miyun County listed Wuyin dagu as a national folk culture protection project in 2003 and carried on two years of hard work covering rescue, excavation, and rearrangement.

In the first half of the 20th century, there were many semi-professional musicians in Wumudi, who often toured nearby villages to perform Wuyin dagu during the slack season. There was a time when Wumudi and its musicians had such renown that roaming performers from other places would usually bypass the village.

The works were mostly adapted from historical novels, such as Warriors of the Yang Family of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The main characters of such works are usually legendary heroes whose lives have been retold again and again for generations. Folktales are another textual source for Wuyin dagu. Works of this kind are usually of medium length, lasting several hours, and include Shuiman Jinshan (Golden Mountain Flooded), part of Baishe Zhuan (The Legend of the White Snake), and Santang Huishen (Joint Inquest by Three Judges). There are also short pieces in Wuyin dagu.

Qi Dianzhang said that the daqin (instrument with two beaters attached via strings) he plays was bought in 1949 from a nearby village for 37.5 kilograms of rice. Qi said the original owner was said to be a distant relative of the imperial family and an instrument collector, but added he doesn't know how old the daqin is.

Cangzhou Muban Dagu

Tang Guifeng is playing Cangzhou Muban dagu

Location: Cangzhou of Hebei Province

Artists: Tang Guifeng（67）

Cangzhou Muban dagu is one of the original roots of Jingyun dagu. There are four schools in China's quyi, including Qing, Mei, Zhao, and Hu. No matter what kinds of quyi, they all belong to these four groups.

According to Cangzhou's actors, they are the offspring of the Qing school. Among all the living Muban dagu performers, Tang Guifeng enjoys the highest position, as he can sing more than one hundred ballads.

Cangzhou Muban, with a history of 3,000 years, is a unique form of music in the whole country. During the Qing Dynasty, Cangzhou Muban was active in Hebei. As the story goes, the Cangzhou actor Li Chaochen even performed for the emperor Qian Long, and received high praise.

At the end of China's Culture Revolution (1966-1976), Cangzhou Muban reached another peak. At that time, there were more than twenty teams to perform in different villages. However, history not only recorded the bloom of Cangzhou Muban, but also its desolation. In the 1980s, many young actors switched to other jobs, and Cangzhou Muban faced its swansong.

Tang Guifeng said that at present only 8 people between the ages of 50 and 60 are able to sing Cangzhou Muban, adding no other people, especially young people, want to learn this old music.

Therefore, people in the cultural circle of Cang County gave taken the initiative to collect and save this traditional folk music.

Because most of the old actors cannot read or write, the work of sorting out information is not an easy task. But researchers understand the importance of their job. Therefore, in the past several years, information covering 300,000 characters has been recorded.

Leting Dagu

Location: Leting of Hebei Province

Artists: Han Zhixue (75), Wang Liyan (70)

This ballad-singing art, popular in Hebei, originated in Hebei's Leting County where locals are said to be good at singing. Its repertoire includes many classical Chinese literature works like Journey to the West.

During the Qing Dynasty, Leting dagu always held the main statue in the quyi circle and had a profound influence in China's north countryside. In history, many artists, such as Wen Rong, Zhao Yonghuan, Lv Zhanshan, Chen Junshan, Zheng Yunlai, and Wang Peichen made a great contribution to the development of Leting dagu.

Leting dagu enjoyed a good reputation in the capital due to the famous actor, Wen Rong. It is said that he obtained recognition from a prince, who bestowed the official name of "Leting Dagu" for Wen's performance. From then on, Leting dagu has been an important branch of old Beijing's traditional talking and singing art.

The one who put Leting dagu to a new peak was the famous actress Wang Peichen. She created a new school of Leting dagu with a Beijing dialect. Therefore she was influenced by Leping's local force and changed the name of her disc (are you referring to compact disc?) to Tiepian Dagu.

Han Xiangpu was one of the successors of East Leting dagu. By absorbing others' strongpoint, he became a great master of his time.

However, over time, people's taste changed and Han Xiangpu's performance were no longer welcome. The only record he left became Leting dagu's extinct music.