Sacrificial Parade of King Min Drum

King Min Drum of Yanqian Town, Sanming City, a folk activity of sacrificial parade, echoes down the ages and remains popular across Sanming City from its urban districts of Sanyuan and Meilie to the surrounding counties including Yong’an, Mingxi and Shaxian, etc. Rooted in the unique regional culture, King Min Drum is famous for its distinctive local characteristics. 

It is said that King Min Drum can be traced back to the period of Five Dynasties and Ten States (902-979). The arrival of King Min, Wang Shenzhi brought the culture of Central Plain and the heroic war drum of the Yellow River Valley into the area of Min (Fujian). However, King Min Drum has either been differently named or even been no longer mentioned in most places with the passing of years, while it is still relatively well-preserved in Yanqian Town due to the inconvenient transportation there. Deriving from the war drum, it used to be a kind of music accompanied by drumbeats serving as a morale booster for soldiers during the war in ancient times. Being a symbol of celebrating victory, it was also called as the “victory drum” which gradually evolved into King Min Drum with the decrease in wars during Wang Shenzhi’s stay in the area of Min.