———— ORIGIN OF THE FESTIVE DRUMS ————
The 24 Festive Drums Origin
One drum for each solar term, one beat for each season. Born in Johor Bahru in 1988, this drumbeat turned China’s twenty-four solar terms into a stirring stage art that now resounds across the globe.
1988.6.12
Founded at the Johor Ancient Temple
2009
National Intangible Cultural Heritage
12+
Countries reached
GENESIS · INSPIRED BY “NINE DANCES”
From nine lion drums to twenty-four solar terms
In April 1988, the 9th National Chinese Dance Festival was held in Johor Bahru under the theme “Nine Dances”, echoing the “Nine Songs” of the Chu Ci. Organiser Tan Chai Puan arranged nine southern Cantonese lion drums in a row as “Nine Drums Like Thunder”. Inspired — and after reading Taiwanese poet Xiang Yang’s “Four Seasons”, twenty-four handwritten poems on the solar terms — he conceived the idea of inscribing calligraphy on twenty-four single-headed drums, each drum standing for a solar term.
FOUNDING · JOHOR ANCIENT TEMPLE
Five clans, one voice
As a committee member of the Johor Bahru Chinese Association, Tan Chai Puan proposed the idea and won the support of president Datuk Kok Hock Yeow. With joint funding from the Chinese Association and five clan associations, on 12 June 1988, just before the Dragon Boat Festival, a drum-inscription ceremony was held at the historic Johor Ancient Temple, where twelve renowned Malaysian and Singaporean calligraphers inscribed the names of the twenty-four solar terms. Tan Hooi Song then selected drummers from Foon Yew High School’s military brass band to form the world’s first 24 Festive Drums troupe.
Photo · Johor Ancient Temple
Photo · Drum-inscription ceremony
Photo · The first drum troupe
Jointly funded by: JB Chinese Association · Hakka Association · Hokkien Association · Teochew Eight Districts Association · Kwong Siew Association · Hainan Association
THREE CULTURAL ELEMENTS
A fusion of three cultures
Lingnan Lion Drums
Powerful southern Cantonese lion drums — the sound and the soul of the festive drums.
The 24 Solar Terms
Born of China’s agrarian civilisation — the wisdom and rhythm of living in tune with the seasons.
Chinese Calligraphy
Each drum bears the name of a solar term in calligraphy — drum and script become one.
FOUNDERS · THE TWO TANS
Two men, one art
Tan Hooi Song
陈徽崇 (1947–2008)
Composer · Music Educator · “Godfather of Malaysian Chinese Music”
Born in 1947 in Qiongdong County, Hainan Island, he moved south with his mother at the age of six to settle in Teluk Intan, Perak, and studied at San Min Independent High School. In 1971 he graduated from the music department of National Taiwan Normal University, and in 1973 returned to Malaysia to teach at Foon Yew High School, Johor Bahru. Working with poets such as Wan Yun Ping of the Sirius Poetry Society, he pioneered modern Malaysian poetry-songs, with classics such as “Exile is a Kind of Wound” and “Starry Night Journey”. In 1991 he founded the Johor Music Art Academy; in 2000 he co-produced the epic dance-drama “The Southern Road” with Tan Cheng Suay, Xiao Man and Yao Xin Guang. Together with cultural figure Tan Chai Puan (Xiao Man) he co-created the 24 Festive Drums, composed its score, and formed the world’s first troupe — the Foon Yew High School Festive Drums Troupe. In 2008 he was proclaimed by the Ministry of Culture as the first Chinese Malaysian “National Cultural Icon”; he passed away from cancer on 27 July 2008, aged 61.
Tan Chai Puan · Xiao Man
陈再藩 (born 1953)
Political Cartoonist · Poet · Cultural Creative · National Cultural Icon
A second-generation Malaysian Chinese born in Johor Bahru in 1953 with ancestral roots in Chaoan, he graduated from Foon Yew High School and the Business Administration faculty of Nanyang University. From 1978, under the pen name “Xiao Man”, he created political cartoons. In 1986 he initiated the Johor Bahru Mid-Autumn Carnival and, with Tan Hooi Song, Tan Cheng Suay and Yao Xin Guang, advanced southern Malaysian culture — together known as the “Three Tans and a Yao”. In 1988, after co-creating the theme song “Awakening” for “Nine Dances” with Tan Hooi Song, he conceived the idea of the 24 Festive Drums. He went on to co-create with Tan Hooi Song many notable cultural theme songs, including “Evergreen Foon Yew”, “The Southern Road”, “Song of Flower Trails” and “Like the Wind, Like the Sun” in memory of Lim Lian Geok. He also initiated Johor Bahru’s Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Street, and served as chairman of the street and of the Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage Museum. In 2018 he was named a “National Cultural Icon”. He currently serves as President of the Malaysia 24 Festive Drums Association and Director of the Southern University College Art Gallery.
MILESTONES
From Johor Bahru to the world
1988
The world’s first 24 Festive Drums troupe is formed at Foon Yew High School, Johor Bahru.
1989
Performs at the opening of the Malaysian Chinese Cultural Festival in Malacca.
1990
First overseas troupe formed at The Chinese High School, Singapore.
1992
The first National 24 Festive Drums Showcase is held in Kuantan.
1996
Southern College forms the world’s first tertiary-level troupe.
1997
Reaches China; Huaqiao University in Quanzhou forms China’s first troupe.
2003
Reaches the USA; Oklahoma State University forms its M24D troupe.
2008
Added to Chinese primary-school textbooks; co-founder Tan Hooi Song passes away.
2009
Listed as Malaysia’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
2010
The US troupe performs at an NBA game; Johor Bahru hosts the first International Festive Drums Festival.
2015
The National 24 Festive Drums Association of Malaysia is officially registered.
2018
30th anniversary celebrated at the Johor Ancient Temple; Tan Chai Puan named a National Cultural Icon.
2026
Nominated to UNESCO for inscription as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Today
Advancing toward recognition as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
THE 24 SOLAR TERMS · SEASONS ON THE DRUMS
One drum for every solar term
From Beginning of Spring to Major Cold — twenty-four drums, twenty-four solar terms, each inscribed in Chinese calligraphy.
———— 2025 — 2026 · A STRUCTURAL BREAKTHROUGH ————
The 24 Festive Drums Enter Malaysia’s Education System
From official recognition to concrete action — thirty-eight years after taking root on campus, the 24 Festive Drums achieved an institutional breakthrough in 2025–2026. The Ministry of Education is driving nationwide school development on four fronts: competition, census, teacher training and resources.
annual official calendar
school invitational
of 10 schools
Added to the Ministry’s official calendar
On 19 October 2025, Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh announced that the Malaysia 24 Festive Drums National Elite Championship would be listed on the Ministry of Education’s annual official calendar from 2026, formally entering the national education system.
Nationwide school census
The Ministry carried out a national survey collecting data on each school’s drum troupes, student participation, teaching staff and development — the first systematic picture of school drum troupes, providing a basis for outreach, training and resource planning.
Teacher and coach training
The Ministry is working with the 24 Festive Drums Association Malaysia to train teachers and coaches, raising drumming standards while building a larger pool of instructors able to lead students in carrying the tradition forward.
A national primary school invitational
Outreach extended to primary schools. The first National Primary Schools 24 Festive Drums Invitational was held on 8 August 2026, attended by the Deputy Education Minister, with 16 teams and 417 students taking part — a new milestone for the art in schools.
Drums donated to campuses
The Ministry launched a drum donation programme, giving 10 lion drums each to 10 schools across different states and school streams — hardware support that speeds up the founding of new troupes.
FROM GRASSROOTS TO INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORTThese two years mark the shift of the 24 Festive Drums from grassroots transmission on campus to institutional support within the national education system.
“One day, when the world speaks of Malaysia, it will think of the 24 Festive Drums.”
— Tan Chai Puan, Founder