Zhu Kaifu - Representative Inheritor of Bulang Bee-barrel Drum Dance Project in Shuangjiang County, Lincang

Zhu Kaifu (1948 – ) is a provincial-level representative inheritor of the Bulonggu Drum Dance (布朗族蜂桶鼓舞), a provincial intangible cultural heritage of Dananzhi Village, Bangbing Township (邦丙乡大南直村), Shuangjiang Lahu, Wa, Bulang, and Dai Autonomous County (双江拉祜族佤族布朗族傣族自治县), Lincang City (临沧市), Yunnan Province (云南省). His artistic career spans the critical period when this traditional western Yunnan dance moved from being endangered to systematic cultural preservation. As the third-generation inheritor, Zhu has devoted over 70 years to preserving and innovating this ancient art, bringing it from remote villages to national cultural stages, earning the title “Guardian of the Drum Spirit in the Depths of Bulang Mountains”.

1. Family Background and Early Training

• Born into a family of Bulang Drum Dance practitioners, Zhu was influenced by his father, Zhu Anzhang (朱安章), the second-generation inheritor.

• At age 6, he began participating in sacrificial rituals, and by 12, he systematically studied the core techniques of the Bulonggu drum.

• He inherited the family’s Three-Step and Five-Step Dance System, excelling in using the drum’s rhythmic variations (e.g., “dong – weng – ta”) to convey mystical ceremonial atmospheres.

• In 1985, representing Shuangjiang County at the Lincang Arts Festival, he won First Prize with Rhythms of Creation (《创世鼓韵》), marking the start of his professional career.

2. Core Skills and Artistic Breakthroughs

a) Living Guardian of Traditional Rituals

• Ritual Procedures: Strictly follows Bulonggu Drum Dance ceremonial protocols.

  • During the Dragon Worship Ceremony (祭竜) before spring plowing, he leads 12 steps including Welcoming the Drum, Purification, and Inviting Deities. Each movement of the Three-Step Dance (e.g., right leg kicks 25°, right hand circles drum) embodies the Bulang legend of bees saving humanity.

  • In funerals, he created “Yin-Yang Drum Beats” (阴阳鼓点) simulating dialogue between life and death, documented in Chinese National Dance Compilation: Yunnan Volume (《中国民族舞蹈集成・云南卷》).

b) Innovator of Modern Dance Styles

• Expanded traditional Bulonggu narrative, creating new works like Border Trade Song (《边贸欢歌》) and Happy Bulang (《幸福布朗》).

• In Border Trade Song, combined Bulang “jumping song” with modern tap dance steps and Pa-Jie towel dance innovations, depicting frontier trade prosperity. This piece won the Caiyun Silver Award (彩云奖) at the 2019 Yunnan Ethnic Folk Arts Festival.

• Innovated “Layered Drum Music” technique, separating Bulonggu, elephant-foot drum, and cymbal rhythms to enrich melodic textures.

3. Multi-Layered Transmission System

• Family Transmission: His son Zhu Zhihua (朱志华) trained under him, now a key member of Shuangjiang County Intangible Heritage Protection Center, skilled in drum-making and performance.

• School Outreach: Long-term Bulonggu courses at Bangbing Township Central Primary School, adapting traditional works like Story of the Bees (《蜜蜂的故事》) into “Bulonggu Rhythm Exercises”, cultivating over 300 young inheritors.

• Community Teaching: Established the Zhu Kaifu Bulonggu Drum Dance Workshop (朱开富蜂桶鼓舞传习所) in Dananzhi Village, using hearth-side teaching, training over 80 apprentices, including Feng Wenjun (俸文军), now the fourth-generation inheritor, capable of performing core works like Battle of Chiyou (《战蚩尤》).

4. Cultural Promotion and Modern Innovation

a) National-Level Cultural Ambassador

• Official Recognition: In 2017, selected as a Yunnan Provincial representative inheritor; performances featured on CCTV’s Xiangtu program (《乡土》), TikTok teaching videos exceeded 2 million views.

• Awards: Led a team in the 2019 Yunnan Ethnic Folk Arts Festival; performance Beacon Fire at Baicaoling (《百草岭烽火》) won the Caiyun Silver Award, and he received Best Performance Award.

b) Cultural Tourism Integration

• Scenic Application: Designed Bulonggu Drum Dance Immersive Experience Center at the Bangbing Bulang Cultural Ecotourism Area, offering drum instruction, costume trials, and simple performance participation for over 20,000 visitors annually, increasing local income by 1,200 RMB per capita.

• Festival Empowerment: Organizes Bangbing Bulonggu Cultural Festival (邦丙蜂桶鼓文化节) during the annual Bulang Flower-Planting Festival (插花节), creating cross-genre plays like Yi-Han Harmony (《彝汉同辉》), attracting over 800,000 online viewers.

5. Heritage Protection and Policy Engagement

a) Systematic Preservation Projects

• Digital Archiving: Partnered with Yunnan Minzu University to create a 3D scanned digital archive of 20 core Bulonggu actions; developed a VR teaching system on Study Xi (学习强国).

• Play Revivals: Led restoration of endangered pieces, enhancing stage lighting and set design for modern performances.

b) Policy and Social Support

• Funding: Secured provincial heritage protection funds for workshop construction, equipment purchase, and monthly stipends (800 RMB) for apprentices.

• Mechanism Innovation: Established Bangbing Bulonggu Propaganda Team, integrating Party policies into drum performance; produced Carrying the National Emblem into Yi Villages (《背着国徽进彝寨》), recognized by Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture.

6. Challenges and Innovative Solutions

Challenges:

• Talent gap: learning cycle 10–15 years; average apprentice age 48, only 3 under 30.

• Market limitations: high-end ceremonial performances limited by ritual constraints; cultural products popular but low-profit.

Innovative Responses:

• Technology Empowerment: Collaborated with Huawei’s Digital Intangible Heritage project, developing VR teaching systems with over 3 million views.

• Cross-Genre Integration: Combined Bulonggu rhythms with modern music, releasing New Rhythms of Bulonggu (《蜂桶新韵》); single Night Tales by the Hearth (《火塘夜话》) exceeded 6 million TikTok views.

• School Engagement: Weekend workshops at youth centers using fun games + scenario acting, training over 120 students.

7. Cultural Value and Contemporary Significance

• Historical Research: Preserved drum scores and ceremonial rituals provide evidence for Bulang migration history and indigenous religious practices.

• Cultural Cohesion: In multi-ethnic Shuangjiang County, Bulonggu Drum Dance fosters unity among Bulang, Dai, Wa communities, earning Yunnan Model Team for Ethnic Unity and Progress recognition.

• Educational Innovation: His “traditional skills + modern education” model has been promoted in 16 prefectures by the Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

As Zhu Kaifu says:

“Bulonggu is not just the sound of bamboo—it is the cultural DNA engraved in the bones of the Bulang people.”

Through balancing tradition and innovation, he has spent half a century bringing Bulonggu Drum Dance from mountain valleys to the international stage, exemplifying the diverse unity of Chinese civilization.