The Wildest of Shennongjia's Treasures Isn't a Wildman, But a Resonant Wooden Clapper - a Messenger of Love and Rhythm
Come to Shennongjia, the Shennongjia Gongbu (wooden clapper) must not be missed!
When we arrive at Shennongjia, we will find: here there are no grand mountains and rivers, and no Buddhist temples and monastic schools; there is also a lack of poets and writers singing praises. She has only mountains high and roads far, difficult for birds to cross; she only has the stillness of extinction and the high-altitude grasslands where nothing can be solved. It is a desolate and enigmatic place.
The vast and wild scenery stretches silently, without any traces of people, without names, without carvings.
Contemplating the 30th parallel north, Shennongjia itself is a huge, unsolvable mystery source, and people's following and explanation in front of her are so pale and powerless. However, Shennongjia thus restored the nature's original state: sunrise in the east, rain in the west, flowers bloom and fade, always concerned. More surprisingly, the Shennongjia that originally lacked a systematic interpretation system actually has a robust and most expressive cultural and artistic form – Shennongjia Gongbu (wooden clapper).
And this artistic form comes entirely from the people, born of nature.
Initially, Shennongjia Gongbu was just a primitive percussion instrument that mountain villagers used to protect their fields and crops from damage. The villagers discovered that striking hollow wooden pieces produced a very loud sound, so they made clappers.
Later, the clappers gradually developed into the villagers' method of communicating over the mountains. Because it's dangerous to travel through the mountains at night, it's easy to get lost, and there were no such things as WeChat or mobile phones back then. Of course, communication could rely on shouting, but if it didn't succeed, it wouldn't be a disgrace. So they used clappers instead. 'Dong dong dong,' a series of strikes, if there's a response of 'dong dong dong' from the opposite side of the mountain, then the message would be conveyed. If there's no response, they can just go to sleep.
It is said that in Shennongjia, every romantic interest has a fixed rhythm of striking, to whom you want to target, just strike it and they will appear. They can spend the night together.
Later, with the construction of roads to the village and the spread of televisions and mobile phones, the communication function of the clappers was gradually replaced by text messages and phone calls. Look, the progress of technology is making human life more convenient, but also destroying many romantic things – letters replaced by emails, telegrams by telephones, postcards by text messages…
Can love without the waiting still be romantic?
Fortunately, the clapper didn't disappear. She turned over a new leaf and returned powerfully, becoming an indispensable tool for Shennongjia residents to mobilize emotions and create atmosphere during festivals. In the booming and deep sound of the clapper, there are not only the hopes and aspirations of the Shennongjia people over thousands of years, but also the wild and unrestrained style of the original mountain villagers. The passionate and unrestrained performance of the clapper re-presented the beautiful natural scenery and the heavy human history of Shennongjia, and vividly portrayed the lively pictures of Shennongjia people's labor, life, love and courtship.
From this sculpture, we can see the important position of Shennongjia Gongbu. The clapper is made from night-blooming cereus, which is a legendary tree in the Shennongjia forest area, known for its glowing white juice at night. It is said that this tree houses the spirits of love, so young men would cut it down and make it into clappers, using the singing of the clappers to scare away wild animals that tried to damage the crops. The performance of male groups showcased their wildness and intensified emotion.
The modern stage clapper performance added sound and light backgrounds, further highlighting the original characteristics of the clapper.
The girls of that time were the direct beneficiaries of the clapper culture. With the clapper, they communicated with their sweethearts, and a simple love story flowed joyfully in the deafening sound of clappers. The whole mountain and earth were shrouded in romance.
The young girls who struck the clapper were beautiful, with a touch of wildness in their purity.
The clapper communication ended, and the young man and girl climbed over mountains and valleys to meet each other. Thank you, clapper.
Brothers, the girls are few, quickly grab them.
It is, the girls choose the stronger ones.
Not just the girls are bargaining, good men are also rare resources.
'Girl, who to marry, I'll make the decision.'
They decided the winner and everyone cheered for him. We envy, not resent.
They chose a lucky day to marry, and the young man would brightly and sincerely take the girl home.
Centuries of happiness require solemn promises
Let's celebrate together with the sound of the clapper, for the 30th parallel north, for Shennongjia, for our good days to come.
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