In 2017, contemporary Taiwanese zheng composer and musician Min-Chin Kuo was commissioned by the Chinese Music Department of the National Taiwan University of Arts to compose the zheng concerto The Dance of Zhong Kui for the Festive Series of Banqiao Music Festival. The work was written using Zhong Kui as the theme and image, and was debuted on May 8, 2017. “The Dance of Zhong Kui ”is performed in the folk custom and religious ritual of songgu (literally “sending off suffering souls”) to send away ghosts and expel malevolent forces. Instead of using music to directly portray the scene, the composer focused on capturing the image and atmosphere of the dance according to the impressions and reflections that arose after watching the performance of the ritual.

After reviewing the historical background, Daoist rituals, and Beiguan accompaniment qupai (literally “tune”) of the traditional“Dance of Zhong Kui”, this study detailed the religious and ritualistic content of the dance. In-depth interviews with folk artists and musicians were then conducted, with their performances transcribed and videotaped. Finally, this study analyzed the piece in terms of its structure, rhythmic features, special acoustics, zheng playing techniques, and the use of timbre. To faithfully present the original sound of the zheng, the composer excluded the suona from the instrumentation and introduced a variety of acoustic playing techniques unique to the zheng, including wood sound (created by knocking, tapping, etc., on the wooden instrument itself), nail strumming, rapid palm strumming, and scraping the strings on the left of the bridge. The middle and final parts of the piece are loaded with sections that require virtuoso techniques, challenging performers to exercise their playing skills and imaginations about the ritual of the Dance of Zhong Kui.

The analysis showed that the overall compositional process of the zheng concerto The Dance of Zhong Kui is based on a set of rhythmic motifs in the opening ritual performed by lead generals. Inspired by the images and steps of the dancing Zhong Kui, the piece unfolds without any element or qupai from Beiguan accompaniment music for interludes or any plot. Free from ritualistic rigidness, this image-based zheng concerto develops surrounding the central motif, showcasing the instrument’s diverse acoustic effects and characteristics of point music to the full. In this piece, the composer derived his creative concepts from zheng performances and expressed them using independent musical languages.