Datong (instrument)

The datong (大筒) is a bowed string instrument in the huqin family, and is used as an accompanying instrument in the huaguxi opera tradition of Hunan, China. Referring to this role, the instrument is also referred to huagu datong (花鼓大筒).

Traditionally the datong was constructed with a bamboo body, and covered on the playing end with snakeskin. Its neck is made of hardwood. Silk strings were used in the past, but most contemporary players use steel strings.

The datong is held upright on the lap when played.

The datong should not be confused with the datongxian (also called daguangxian), another type of Chinese fiddle that is used in Taiwan and Fujian.

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Datong

Datong (Chinese: 大同; pinyin: Dàtóng; Wade–Giles: Ta-t'ung) is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi province, People's Republic of China, located in a basin at an elevation of 1,040 metres (3,410 ft) and bordering Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. It had a population of 3,318,057 at the 2010 census of whom 1,629,035 lived in the built up area made of 3 out of 4 urban districts, namely Chengqu, Kuangqu and Nanjiao District.

History

Datong was close to the Beidi kingdom of Tai, which was conquered by the Zhou dynasty in 457 BC. It bordered on the Hu nomads and traded in horses. Tai was later a commandery or county.

The town was founded as Píngchéng (平城) in 200 BC during the Han dynasty, after the Battle of Baideng between the Han and the Xiongnu. Located near the Great Wall Pass to Inner Mongolia, it blossomed during the following period and became a stop-off point for camel caravans moving from China into Mongolia and beyond. It was sacked at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. Pingcheng became the capital of Northern Wei from 398 AD until 494 AD. The well-known Yungang Grottoes were constructed during the later part of this period (460–494 AD).

Datong (disambiguation)

Datong (大同市) is a prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, China.

Datong (pinyin) or Tatung (Wade-Giles) may also refer to:

Places

Counties

Districts

Towns

Subdistricts

Townships

Datong District, Taipei

Datong District or Tatung is a district of Taipei City, Taiwan. It is located between the Taipei Metro Red Line and eastern shore of the Tamsui River, and between Civic Boulevard and the Sun Yat-sen Freeway. The southern part of this area used to be the site of Twatutia, one of the first settlements in what is now Taipei and for a time the area's commercial center.

Overview

Taipei's commercial center has since shifted south east to Zhongzheng, Da'an and Xinyi, and Datong is far less important economically. One of the last vestiges of Twatutia's commercial importance disappeared with the closing of the Chien-Cheng Circle in 2006. The north was the site of the village of Dalongdong.

History

During the Qing Dynasty, the district was named 大浪泵 (read Daronpon/Paronpon), and was renamed Dalongtong in 1844. Following the Second Opium War, a port was opened in Twatutia for international trade. Foreign trade resulted in the economic development of the district.

In 1946, the name was changed to Datong. In 1990, the district merged with neighboring Jiancheng and Yanping Districts to create today's Datong District. The district is named after the Confucian notion of utopia.