Jingxi Taiping Drum is a traditional form of dancing. With its display of profound cultural elements, it 【小题1】 (include) in the first batch (批次) of China’s national intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) items in 2006.

The 【小题2】 (early) historical references of this art date back to the Spring and Autumn Period. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, it started to gain 【小题3】 (popular) in and around the capital, and then it was introduced to Mentougou District of Beijing.

In ancient times, the drums were played 【小题4】 New Year’s Eve at the imperial palace to bring peace. As a result, the performance also became known as the “New Year Drum” by Beijingers. This type of drum dance is commonly seen 【小题5】 (perform) during the last and first month of the lunar year in many local festive activities, thus expressing 【小题6】 (people) hope of a peaceful and prosperous year to come.

During a given performance, drummers perform various dance moves while 【小题7】 (hold) the drum in their left hands and a mallet in their right hands. Traditional Chinese aesthetic (美学的) concepts are reflected in the drum playing, all of 【小题8】 represent distinctive local features.

In the past decades, efforts 【小题9】 (make) by Mentougou District to preserve this signature folk dance culture. Today, the time-honored folk art of the Jingxi Taiping Drum is being taken up by the young people 【小题10】 is presenting its lively artistic charm (魅力) on a global stage.

Yingge Dance, a traditional folk art combining dancing, Chinese martial arts, and Chinese opera, is popular in the Chaoshan area of Guangdong province in South China. Yingge, written with the characters for “hero” and “song”, 【小题1】 (mean) heroic song in Chinese and Yingge dancers, as their name implies, are the avatars (化身) of 【小题2】 (hero). The dancers each hold a pair of short sticks and strike the sticks with force 【小题3】 (create) strong beats — an 【小题4】 (art) display of masculinity (男子气概). In 2006, the Puning Yingge Dance 【小题5】 (list) among the first batch of national intangible cultural heritages in China.

However, as young people move out of the villages, so are local folk arts 【小题6】 (gradual) disappearing all around China. In Puning, Yingge is still danced during holidays such as the Lunar New Year and its performers are generally amateurs — farmers 【小题7】 have put down their tools and put on costumes. Some of the parts are passed 【小题8】 in the family, from father to son, and so far some villages have started giving performers a basic salary.

【小题9】 (dress) in colorful clothes and wearing heavy makeup, ordinary villagers have created a song of cultural confidence. The performance, 【小题10】 must-watch for the local people, graces the village square one more time.

Chinese chime bells are an ancient Chinese musical instrument consisting of a set of bronze bells, 【小题1】 (play) melodically. They are also called bianzhong. These sets of chime bells were used 【小题2】 polyphonic (多音的) musical instruments and some of these bells have been dated at between 2, 000 to 3, 600 years old. They were hung in a wooden frame and struck with a wooden hammer.

They have 【小题3】 lens-shaped section, the bell mouth has a distinctive profile, and the outer surfaces of the large bells feature studs. The sound of this musical instrument is heard by 【小题4】 (hit) the bell. The one produced depends on 【小题5】 you hit the bell. The center is the source of the primary tone. The right and left corners give the secondary tone in a 【小题6】 (high) pitch. Chime bells in ancient China 【小题7】 (reserve) for the nobles and symbolized power and wealth. In the Song Dynasty, musicians used this instrument for grand 【小题8】 (performance). In modern times, the standardized bianzhong are used by music and dance groups. A great example of the range of tones produced by these ancient instruments 【小题9】 (be) the bells of Marquis Yi, which were unearthed in 1978. These bells are still fully playable after long years and thanks to 【小题10】 (they) twin-tone capability, they can sound a complete 12-tone scale.