At a press conference in 2009, the vermilion drum shells and golden star emblems intertwined on stage, forming a new benchmark for Chinese percussion music. When the metal stand of the five-tone drum set was firmly placed on the red carpet, the eight figures gathered around it represented the "intimate group portrait" of this musical instrument innovation.
In the camera shot, Jin Jiguang (President of the Chinese Percussion Society), from the left, smiles warmly. As an industry promoter, he is witnessing the practical breakthrough of traditional drum music. Fang Guoqing, who stands beside him, seems to still feel the tremors of the drumhead on his fingertips - this "drum speaker" on stage knows too well: the burden of carrying separate frame drums used to disrupt the rhythm of many performances.
Liu Guangsi (Professor of Western Percussion at the Central Conservatory of Music) and Wang Lingxin (Chairman of Guyun) stood side by side in the middle. The former's perspective on Western percussion and the latter's innovative thinking in industry are the underlying threads that gave birth to the "Integral Frame": this set of instruments, jointly designed by Wang Lingxin and Liu Hanlin (Honorary President of the Chinese Folk Percussion Society), integrates separate drum frames into a detachable and installable overall structure. This not only cuts the time required to move onto the stage in half, but also greatly reduces wear and tear during long-distance transportation. The presence of the uniformed Major General adds a touch of solemnity to the press conference - drum music is inherently a part of military culture.
On the right side, Li Zhengui (former president of the Chinese Folk Percussion Society), Liu Hanlin, and Lu Ronggen (founder of Suzhou Drum Art) are epitomes of three generations of "drum artisans": Li Zhengui's "Drum Poetry" once allowed the world to hear the rhythm of Chinese drums, Liu Hanlin's reputation as the "Drum King" embodies the depth of traditional skills, and Lu Ronggen won a silver medal at the International Exposition in 1991 for his five-tone drum performance. At this moment, as he looks at the overall framework before him, he must be pleased that the old craftsmanship has finally kept pace with the new stage.
The golden cymbals reflected on the red silk drumhead, and the red flag and red star in the background, made this scene resemble a "confluence of drum music." Later, people said that this set of overall-mounted drums not only relieved the performers of the pain of constant travel, but also transformed the five-tone drum from a "backstage heavy instrument" into a "regular performer on stage" - and the smiles in this photo are a vivid footnote to the step taken by traditional instruments towards the contemporary stage.
