武吵子是京城區獨有的傳統民俗舞蹈，是集合了健身、娛樂和表演功能的民間藝術。太子務武吵子的特色是由文吵子、大秧歌和武術混成，既有文吵子的曲牌樂器合奏，有秧歌的開揚舒展，又有武術的粗獷風格。

 

有說太子務村民張鴻儒於乾隆年間曾受御師教授武功，後回村開設鏢局。1728年成立少林會教授村民習武練功，成一時之風。當時一位村民是太監，曾將宮中樂譜抄寫帶回村裡，張便以此為少林會表演之伴奏。經過創新與發展，少林會的武術、伴奏的文吵子和民間的大秧歌，集合成一套聲色藝全的集體舞蹈。而太子務村吵子會成立於約1730年，早期只有十餘人，後隊伍不斷擴大發展，在三十年代全盛時期多達一千人。

 

太子務武吵子主要用海笛、箵（星）、鏜、大鼓、鐃、鑔、大鈸等樂器奏出伴樂。鑔、鈸表現嘹亮激昂的聲音和氣勢，亦是武吵子的靈魂；鼓用作指揮，海笛領出主旋律，鑔用作舞打，鈸、鐃是襯托和場的，箵、鑔補充聲音，充實曲子。而現存的傳統曲牌有《文朝鳳》、《開山虎》、《小金山》、《龍虎葉》等，曲風激昂。至於動作是以套計，一般先編音樂，再設計鈸眼，最後演練動作。花鈸隊會伴著鼓樂，打出蹬健、蹦健、對打、節節高、金雞鬥亮扇、翻身打、蘇秦背劍等。表演者執四斤大鈸舞動，力氣十足。

 

政府關注太子務武吵子的承傳，除了大興區文委派專員對保護及整理二十多個老曲牌，2007年將之放入北京市級非物質文化遺產保護名錄，2014年又舉辦了「首屆武吵子大賽暨第二屆鼓舞邀請賽」，市內十一支隊伍同台獻技以展示市民其活力與傳承價值，太子務吵子會獲特等獎。可惜武吵子舞藝青黃不接，隊伍欠缺活動資金，場地與道具老舊，令承傳與宣傳工作更難。

 

由北京市大興區申請，「太子務武吵子」於2014年列入第四批國家級非物質文化遺產代表性項目名錄。

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Wuchaozi (武吵子), a type of martial arts folk dance from Beijing. Originating from the village of Taiziwu (太子務), Wuchaozi is a mix of wenchaozi music (文吵子, a kind of folk percussion orchestra), yangge, (秧歌, a form of Chinese folk dance) and martial arts.

 

It is said that Zhang Hong-ru (張鴻儒), a villager from Taiziwu who lived in the reign of Qianlong (乾隆), learned martial arts from the emperor’s teacher. He started an armed escort business after returning. Later in 1728 he founded “Shaolin Club” (少林會) to teach villagers his martial arts. There was another villager who was a eunuch who transcribed the music he heard at the imperial court, bringing the music back home.  Zhang found that this music could be used in the battle performances of Shaolin Club. With development and innovation, the martial arts performances mixed with wenchaozi music and yangge dance, thus becoming its own style of group folk dance. The Chaozi Club (吵子會) of Taiziwu Village was established around the year 1730. From its humble beginnings of less than 20 members, it grew to more than a thousand members in the peak period of the 1930s.

 

The major musical instruments of Taiziwu wuchaozi are: haidi (海笛; also known as a suona, or double-reeded horn), xing (星; bells), tang (鏜; brass gong), dagu (大鼓; big drum), nao (鐃; big symbals), cha (鑔; small symbals), and dabo (大鈸; also large symbals). Cymbals give impassioned resonance and energy, and are the soul of wuchaozi.  The drum commands the tempo, and the haidi produces the main melody. Small cymbals are used by the dancers, and cymbals and bells can be used to complement and augment the music.  The current number of existing tracks for Taiziwu Wuchaozi are less than thirty, including “Wen Chao Feng” (文朝鳳), “Tiger Cutting into A Mountain” (開山虎), “A Golden Hill” (小金山), etc. As for the choreography, the series of movements are decided after the music and the beats of the cymbals have been arranged. The performers will kick, jump, and spar with each other. Since the performers need to dance with heavy cymbals, strength and endurance are essential.

 

The government is attentive to the preservation of Taiziwu wuchaozi. In addition to appointing a commissioner in charge of protecting and sorting out more than 20 old pieces of music, in 2007 the dance was included in the Beijing municipal list of intangible cultural heritage.  In 2014 the first Wuchaozi Competition was held for 11 teams, showing the public the vigor of the local residents who participate, and also the value of passing on this tradition.   The Chaozi Club of Taiziwu Village was awarded. However, wuchaozi is facing the major challenge of attracting young people to join the club or learn it.  With insufficient money, obsolete props and performance venues, the work of inheriting and promoting wuchaozi is hard.

 

Since 2014, Taiziwu Wuchaozi has been included in the fourth batch of the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China, applied by Daqing district in Beijing.