What is a flying cymbal? As a means of communication adopted by ancient fishermen, it is similar to the mobile phone today. In those days, when the fishermen went fishing on the sea, they needed to keep in contact and transfer information to one another. Then the smart fishermen resorted to the flying cymbal. With clear sound and a wide range of transmission, the cymbal was very useful on the sea. As a result, there were flying cymbals in every fishing family of Hangu District, Tianjin. It was through the flying cymbal that a fisherman either sent his family a message of safety or expressed his happiness with harvest.
Being Passed Down for Hundreds of Years
The flying cymbal of Hangu originated during the reign of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty. Originally, it served as a means of communication on which the fishermen relied when fishing on the sea. For hundreds of years, the flying cymbal in the coastal fishing villages remained unchanged.
Coming from Gaozhuang Village of Hangu District, Liu Hongchen is a folk artist who has engaged himself in performing the flying cymbal for 40 years. The reporter has learned from him that although hundreds of years have passed, the form of the flying-cymbal performance remains simple in Gaozhuang Village. It has hardly changed, because people play the flying cymbal for nothing but fun. When the villagers play the flying cymbal together, not only will they have fun, but they can also exercise the body. Therefore, the movements in the performance here are basically symbolic ones which can be seen when the fishermen are working.
Source:
http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/17Traditions3836.html