Nanguan (; also nanyin, nanyue, xianguan, or nanqu) is a style of Chinese chamber music from the southern Chinese province of Fujian. Nanguan was first brought to Taiwan during the Ming dynasty by the Han Chinese immigrants who later settled predominantly in southern Taiwan, where they established quguan music societies to maintain and transmit their cultural practices. However, over the centuries, Nanguan evolved separately from its mainland counterpart, shaped strongly by Taiwan’s unique socio-political conditions and local influences.
Historically, Nanguan was played for the elite, including Emperor Kangxi, which allowed for its status to be elevated within society. Participation in quguan societies was once strictly regulated, with membership restricted from individuals who were seen as ‘improper’ - barbers, stage performers, or geisha entertainers. It became popular in Taiwan, particularly Lukang on west coast, as well as among Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia.
Fujian is a mountainous coastal province of China. Its provincial capital is Fuzhou, while Quanzhou was a major port in the 7th century CE, the period between the Sui and Tang eras. Situated upon an important maritime trade route, it was a conduit for elements of distant cultures. The result was what is now known as nanguan music, which today preserves many archaic features.
It is a genre strongly associated with male-only community amateur musical associations (quguan or "song-clubs"), each formerly generally linked to a particular temple, and is viewed as a polite accomplishment and a worthy social service, distinct from the world of professional entertainers. The temples provide the venue and funding support for these clubs and are thus regarded as spaces of divine worship. They also contribute to the artistic quality of temple fairs and serve as important mediums for cultural expression.
Nanguan music embodies a philosophy of introspection and inner cultivation. It is typically slow, gentle, delicate and melodic, heterophonic and employing four basic scales. Performers adopt calm and focused postures, and the music expresses some form of restraint, designed to evoke a meditative state and convey controlled emotion. In the same way, Nanguan not only serves to be a musical performance, but also a disciplined spiritual practice, one that continues to resonate within the evolving cultural landscape of contemporary Taiwan.
While Nanguan was traditionally male-dominated due to ritualistic and Confucian norms, recent decades have witnessed a growing presence of women within the art form, reflecting broader shifts in gender dynamics and increased accessibility. Nanguan music continues to thrive today. Contemporary groups like XinXin Nanguan are adapting the tradition through theatrical performances and cross-art collaborations.
Nanguan was inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
Repertoire Nanguan repertory () falls into three overlapping styles, called , and (, and in Mandarin), differentiated by the contexts in which they occur, by their function, the value accorded them by musicians and by their formal and timbral natures.
() or () literally means "finger set", is the longest repertoire: it is normally half to one hour in length, of two to five sections usually, each section being known as a or ("piece"). There are currently 48 sets of , consisting of the original 36 sets (inner sets) and the 12 sets (outer sets) added later. It runs through long pieces with a strong timbre, contains a lot of high and long notes, and has no resting sections. Each is associated with a lyric that alludes to a story. The content of the lyrics mainly comes from historical stories, mostly describing the joys and sorrows of love between men and women. Although, this may denote origins in song or opera, today is an important and respected instrumental repertory. However, the song text significantly eases the memorising of the piece. () or () literally means "notation", more formally as ("refined notation"), are purely instrumental and typically performed by a 5-instrument ensemble. These are pieces that have no associated texts and are thus written down in gongchepu notation. There is no interruption between chapters during performance. There are currently 16 sets of , consisting of the original 13 sets (inner sets) and the three sets (outer sets) added later. It is an instrumental style that uses a wider range than and that emphasises technical display. The content tends to describe the scenery and objects, and express feelings through objects. is considered to be a representative of the elegance and solemnity of Nanguan. () or () "verse", is a vocal repertory: two thousand pieces exist in manuscript. The singer is the main character during performance. The tune of each comes from the tune of the Nanguan tune system (). It is lighter and less conservative in repertory and performance than . Most popular pieces today are in a fast common metre and last around five minutes.
Instruments A nanguan ensemble usually consists of five instruments. (), the wooden clapper consisting of five pieces made from sandalwood is usually played by the singer.
The other four, known as the () or four higher instruments, are the: (), the four-stringed lute which forms the backbone of Nanguan music with its sonorous tones and directs the tempo of the music (called Pipa in Mandarin), (), the three-stringed, fretless, snakeskin-headed long-necked lute that is the ancestor of the Japanese shamisen (called the sanxian in Mandarin), it has a low timbre and strong resonance to complement the main sound of the . (), the vertical flute which will guide other instruments into the next musical phrase (also called () or in Mandarin), and a (), the two-stringed "hard-bowed" instrument usually appearing in the interval of the tōng-siau sound to help the lingering sound of tōng-siau and harmonize other instruments. It is slightly differing from the Cantonese .
When the four instruments are played together, the players sit opposite each other, forming a horseshoe shape. The is in the center, the and are on the right hand side, and the and are on the left hand side. The players will sit on the golden lion chair and play the music leisurely. The saying "sitting on five golden chairs" () describes a musical all-rounder who is proficient in singing and playing the four instruments. Each of the four differs somewhat from the most usual modern form and so may be called the "nanguan pipa" etc. Each instrument has a fixed role. The provides a steady rhythmic skeleton, supported by the sam-hiân. The siau, meanwhile, supplemented by the jī-hiân, puts "meat on the bones" with colourful counterpoints.
Nanguan performance begins with , which includes: (), the oboe-like woodwind instrument (called in Mandarin), or (), the transverse flute (called the or in Mandarin) are often used instead of .
These instruments are essential to the genre, while the () or four lower instruments are not used in every piece. These are the percussion instruments: (), a small gong placed in a bamboo basket and struck with a small mallet made of bamboo strips and paper, (), consists of a small gong () and a wooden fish (), (called the Muyu () in Mandarin) which are connected by a rope, () or (), a pair of small copper bells () held by two hands, striking each other to produce sound, and (), a four-bar of bamboo xylophone, two pieces are held in each hand (called the sibao in Mandarin). When all six combine with the basic four, the whole ensemble is called a () or "ten sounds".
Notation System Nanguan’s sheet music is traditionally written in a vertical format and is divided into three main types: 指(zhi), 曲(qu), and 譜(pu).Yang, Yihua, and Chienchang Yang. “想像臺灣?臺灣當代音樂創作中的南管 Imagining Taiwan? Nanguan in Taiwanese Contemporary Music Compositions.” National Taiwan University, 文學院音樂學研究所 Graduate Institute of Musicology, Jan. 2015, https://tdr.lib.ntu.edu.tw/bitstream/123456789/4850/1/ntu-104-1.pdf. 指(zhi) sheet music is a set of musical forms composed of two to eight single compositions. Even though the music contains lyrics, they aren’t sung during performances. 曲(qu) sheet music is the most common, consisting primarily of Sanqu, which is a poetic form of songs, with the current market publishing this form of Nanguan sheet music the most frequently. 譜(pu) sheet music is a set of musical forms solely for instrument players, containing only notations and no lyrics. The sheet music includes three main notations, with three lines per row, including:
音符 (yin fu, notes) are in Kongche notation (工╳譜), which is similar to the Gongche notation used in traditional Chinese; they are featured on the left line of the sheet music. The five basic notes, which are Do, Re, Mi, Sol and La, are represented by ㄨ, 工, 六, 士 and 一.Shi, Binghua. “南管音樂之美.” Taiwan Ministry of Culture , 台中教育大學, Oct. 2005, themefile.culture.tw/file/2018-08-15/9c93900e-ad4e-4670-9677-2ef945b42be8/%E5%8D%97%E7%AE%A1%E9%9F%B3%E6%A8%82%E4%B9%8B%E7%BE%8E.pdf.
指法(zhi fa, fingering), this includes the rhythmic patterns and how long notes are played for, featured on the middle line. 拍板(pai ban, clapping), this is for the clapper to determine the tempo of the music, featured on the right side of the row.
Aesthetic Nanguan was originally a refined pastime of the literati and gentry. Its aesthetics are profound and abstract, making it challenging for amateurs to fully understand. Many musical forms that attempt to emulate Nanguan often fail to grasp its essence., Robert Hans van Gulik. The Lore of the Chinese Lute: An Essay in the Ideology of the Ch'in.2015 Some of the aesthetic aspects of Nanguan are outlined below:
Rhythm The main repertoire of Nanguan often features an extremely slow tempo.Tsang-Houei Hsu Cultural and Art Foundation. “南北管音樂藝術研討會論文集.” National Center For Traditional Art, 2004. However, the rhythm is not rigid; it typically begins with a slow, profound character, gradually becoming brisk and bright, before finally easing into a calm conclusion. These macro-level transitions are so subtle that they are often imperceptible during performance. Generally, slower Nanguan pieces demand higher artistic skill and technical proficiency. For instance, in the suite Yizhi Xiangsi (A Piece of Longing) from the “Five Great Zhi Suites,” the opening four characters alone require over four minutes to perform,, Lin Po- Chi. “百拍大倍齊雲陣套曲.” Changhua Country Cultural Affair Bureau, 2012. embodying the literati ideal of “extending a single word over several breaths” Page text.朱昆槐. “崑曲清唱研究.” 大安出版社. 1991 Such slow pacing aims to showcase the resonance and timbre of the instruments or the vocalist. Timbre in Nanguan is the harmony of sounds in a wide range of vocal ranges, and is more detailed and changeable than the melody and vocal ups and downs. However, it requires keen auditory recognition, which is more difficult for beginners to perceive, and performers also need to have plenty of experience to master it finely.
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