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Reimagining the Ancient |
The article by Mark Hiew, photo by Andrew Garde Goia was first published in Chengdoo Citylife Magazine issue 7
Local musicians re-envision traditional instruments for a new musical age
The article was first published in Chengdoo Citylife Magazine issue 7, Text by Mark Hiew, photo by Andrew Garde Goia
Music, one of the four ancient arts, has a 7,000-year history in China.
Despite the widespread popularity of Western-style pop music in China, often from Hong Kong or Taiwan, classical Chinese instruments remain relevant today, says Douglas Lee, 26, who has been playing the erhu, among other Chinese instruments, since the age of 16.
In mass-targeted, mainstream pop and rock music, he says, bands often use traditional Chinese instruments to perform songs written in a Western melodic tradition. Away from mass culture, underground "folk rock" groups, many of whose members are not formally trained, also play traditional instruments, transposed onto a modern Western framework.
In Beijing, one of the mainland's major music hubs, Lee says there is a successful cross-pollination of formally trained, technically advanced classical players and untrained, improv-focused musicians, whose agency is loosely comparable to the Western rock or punk traditions. In Chengdu at present, these two groups remain largely separated from one another, a divide which he is keen on bridging.
"I'm trying to get more [trained classical musicians] mixed in with people in bands, writing their own songs," he explains. He thinks this will at first lead to rock-influenced bands playing classical instruments in a folk style, as has already begun, but eventually will also lead to music that is "more original and interesting."
American-born Lee grew up in Oklahoma and has lived in Chengdu for over three years, where he plays with a variety of improvisation-based ensembles, many of which involve Chinese instruments. During this time, he has witnessed the rapid rise of the city's budding independent music scene. "It's definitely growing," he acknowledged. "It's not huge or extremely diverse [at the moment], but it's growing," he said.
Lee was inspired to learn the two-stringed erhu upon hearing a family friend play. He has since gained proficiency in playing a number of other Chinese instruments, including the pipa, a four-stringed lute; the hulusi, bawu, and dizi, all originating from Yunnan province; and the suona, a reeded trumpet.
When asked about the development of his interest in Chinese classical music, he expressed uncertainty. "I had very few Chinese friends, even though there was a pretty big Chinese community in Tulsa. Maybe it was because my peers were not Chinese at all that I became more interested [in Chinese culture]. ... I had this other side to my personality that I was trying to nurture."
Classical Chinese Instruments
Chinese classical instruments, like Western instruments, fall into three main categories according to the way they generate sound: string (bowed and plucked), wind, and percussion. Chinese mythology held that music is an expression of harmony existing among heaven, earth, and man, and that nature has provided man with eight kinds of materials with which to build musical instruments. Therefore Chinese instruments are also traditionally classified by material: stone, metal, silk, bamboo, wood, skin, gourd, and clay. Here is a brief overview of the some of the most common instruments.
Bowed-stringed. These instruments are played with a horse-hair bow and gained popularity during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD).
Erhu (Huqin): one of the most widely known instruments, this upright, two-string fiddle possesses a tone that evokes sorrow and drama
Jinghu: also a two-string fiddle, but higher-pitched than the erhu; performs the melodies in the Beijing opera
Matouqin: two-string fiddle originally from Mongolia, often used to accompany folk singers
Plucked-stringed. Used extensively in the traditional Chinese orchestra, Chinese plucked-stringed instruments are played with picks or fingernails, except for the yangqin, which is played by striking the strings with a pair of hammers.
Pipa: brought to China in the fourth century from Central Asia; pear-shaped lute with four or five strings and up to 30 frets; possesses a clear, bright, mellow tone
Liuqin: commonly used in Chinese operas; looks like a miniature pipa, with a high-pitched tone similar to a mandolin
Guzheng: popular as early as the Warring States period (475 BC); a harp with between 24 and 26 strings
Guqin: like a small guzheng; popular among ancient literati, including Confucius
Blown-woodwind. Chinese woodwinds trace back to the Shang Dynasty (1100 BC).
Dizi: a bamboo flute introduced during Emperor Wudi's reign (141 to 88 BC) from western areas; bound with bands of silk to prevent cracking
Xiao (Dongxiao): also from bamboo, with six finger holes; used for both solo and duet performances with the qin zither or in traditional chamber music
Sheng: a mouth organ said to have been invented by one of the followers of the ancient goddess Nuwa; popular during the Tang, Ming, and Qin dynasties; contemporary version has 17 to 37 individual pipes and chromatic scale
Suona (laba): a reeded trumpet from the Wei and Jin period (220 to 420) with a piercing tone; used commonly as accompaniment to theatre and to solo at weddings and other occasions
Percussion. Chinese percussive instruments have the longest history of all traditional instruments, dating to the Shang Dynasty (1562 to 1066 BC).
Luo (Gong): traced back to the Western Han period (206 BC to 24 AD); the largest version is over 120 cm in diameter, the smallest only 8 cm
Bo: pair of bronze cymbals, of which the Jingbo is used in Beijing opera
Bianzhong: set of bronze bells; a single bell can generate two tones, allowing for a full range of five octaves across the set
Lion Drum: single-headed drum with a thick goatskin head and wooden body, used for lion dancing
More information
www.chinesemusic.co.uk
www.chineseculture.about.com