There are quite a few related thesis and researches based on the topic of Beiguan, which mainly focus on the artistry or cultural meaning of an individual (artist) or a group of people (ensemble). When discussing about artistry, their discussions are more on the tune or the analysis of scripts. And when talking about culture, most writers start from an anthropological aspect, discuss the interactions between Beiguan Tsú-Tē-Thuân (北管子弟團) and society. To a Beiguan tsú-tē thuân, the playing of gong and drums (bú-tiûnn武場) are important, but it is difficult to record or describe the hand gestures, therefore there are few researchers in this field. In light of this, this thesis is based on the writer’s own experience as being a Thâu-Tshiú (頭手) in a Beiguan Tsú-Tē-Thuân, to describe the management of drama and how it put performance into practice from the perspective of an emic; moreover, to probe and examine the development of a Beiguan Tsú-Tē-Thuân in a constant changing society.
This thesis is written based on the emic perspective of a participant in a Beiguan Tsú-Tē-Thuân, mainly separated into two parts: The management and performance of a drama by the Tsú-Tē-Thuân. In the part of drama management, the writer focuses on various Kóo-Kài (鼓介) controlled by the Thâu-Tshiú. Kóo-Kài (鼓介) is the name indicates to various combinations of Chinese gong and drums, is a percussion accompaniment in a performance, led by the Thâu-Tshiú, the chief conductor in Beiguan music. Except of knowing well the features of each kóo-kài, thâu-tshiú also gives signals by different beats and hand gestures in the beginning, variation and end of the music, which correspond to the changing atmosphere in the performance. Thâu-tshiú alone uses different hand gestures and beatings as the hint of the following kóo-kài, which is called kài-thâu (介頭). Kài-thâu is for stabilizing the tempo and giving hints to the ensemble by other instruments, it is essential in an ensemble or drama. In the second part of the thesis, the practicing of performances, it examines the interaction between a Beiguan tsú-tē thuân and the society from an emic’s perspective; a tsú-tē thuân is a non-profit orchestra or troupe, its obligation is the same as a temple or a god worshipping community, but a tsú-tē thuân interacts with the society by performing pak-kuán drama.