Heluo Dagu (Heluo Big-Drum Storytelling)

Heluo dagu is a sung storytelling art popular around Luoyang. Around the turn of the 20th century it grew out of Luoyang qinshu, absorbing the 'single big-drum' form and tunes from Henan zhuizi, and was given its present name in the early 1950s. Rooted in the Heluo land between the Yellow River and the Luo, it is a representative folk storytelling of the region.

Heluo dagu uses a metrical 'banqiang' singing system rich in rhythmic patterns; the performer beats the storytelling drum and is accompanied by the zhuihu fiddle, alternating speech and song, and excels at long sagas of court cases, chivalry and historical romance. Masters have appeared in every generation — the second-generation Zhang Tianbei was hailed the 'storytelling champion' — passed down by mouth and heart into a system of its own.

Heluo dagu is a national-level item of intangible cultural heritage. As one of the most representative quyi arts of the Heluo region, it recounts tales of loyalty and folk history in the local dialect and tunes, carrying the language, ethics and entertainment life of the Luoyang area with lasting influence.

At quyi venues, cultural-center performances and the stages of temple fairs and festivals in Luoyang, Heluo dagu can be heard — the most direct way to experience the resonance of this local storytelling.