To older Beijingers, the term Bajiaogu denotes both a traditional instrument and a comprehensive style of folk ballad chanting indigenous to Beijing.

It is said that Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong himself ordered the instrument's creation in the middle of the 18th century, after his generals won major victories in the frontier areas.

The eight corners of the tambourine symbolized the Eight Banners (Ba Qi), which is a term for the military organizations and household registration system of the Manchu people ruling the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

With the instrument serving as the lead accompaniment, the chanting is said to have originated from Emperor Qianlong's soldiers who entertained themselves to keep up morale.

Later, court officials and aristocrats began chanting ballads for entertainment and expression.

There are two main styles of Bajiaogu ballad chanting.

The first popular style is called chaqu, literally meaning diversified tunes. Though based on a rather fixed tune, this genre has a great deal of variation, depending on the number and tones of the words.

When people are familiar with the rules they can work out the melodies of any lyrics. The key is fitting the eight verses of a chaqu into its six musical phrases.

The lyrics are often plays on words. For example, "Praising the Wind" depicts scenes caused by the wind, but throughout the work there is no direct mentioning of "wind."

"Seen through a window screen, the shadow of a candle sways with a red flame.

"After a shower it feels chilly. Swinging, the flowers and willow twigs dance.

"The lotus flowers are boisterously beaten by the rain, while the palm leaves play with their shadows and bamboo plants enjoy their own leisurely rhythm.

"In late Autumn, one can hear the bell ringing of a distant temple. A flat boat, with its sail hoisted high, is running like an arrow.

"A shepherd boy riding on a cow's back is flying a kite, and the pines sough like a river flows.

"Willow catkins dance fiercely like snowflakes. So lovely, green wheat waves through thousands of acres of land."

Because early amateurs were mostly officials and aristocrats, the lyrics of this genre were generally of a high literary level.

Emperor Qianlong's reign was the peak of the Qing Dynasty when affluence accumulated in peace.

Later Bajiaogu performers began to insert various set tunes -- called qupai in Chinese -- into the music structure, thus creating a new form of Bajiaogu music, the paiziqu (ballad-chanting to the set tunes). It is better known as the danxian-paiziqu style.

With a longer duration and more complex formation, this second genre is capable of telling long stories and expressing more complicated emotions. It often tells historical stories or makes references to Chinese classical literature, such as works like A Dream of the Red Mansions, Journey to the West and Outlaws of the Marsh. A complete story is usually performed in four parts. The activities of amateur clubs were encouraged by the government as a means to maintain social stability.

The unique culture of the descendants of the Eight Banners, of which Bajiaogu is a part, is the result of assimilation of the Manchu and Han peoples.

According to Chen Shuang, a teacher of quyi music at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing, the unmatched numbers of a chaqu's verses and musical phrases may be attributed to the characteristics of the Manchu language, which belongs to the Altaic linguistic family. Such a phenomenon can also be found in the music of the Kazaks, who speak a language of the same family.

After the Manchus established the Qing Dynasty, people of the Eight Banners began to live in the Han-inhabited area and gradually accepted the Han culture. Therefore, chaqu is sung in Chinese but with the influence of traditional Manchu music, Chen observed.

"Jixianchengyun is a window through which modern people can get a peek at the culture of the Eight Banners," says Chen, who often takes her students to visit the place.

"Here the students can feel for themselves the atmosphere of an amateur club, which I can't teach them in class."

(China Daily February 5, 2004)