The kite is swirling
Yang Guangying
The first time I knew the word "guzheng" was when I read Li Bai's poem "Watching Prostitutes in Handan Nanting", "Qing Zheng He is swirling, and the song is green and cloudy", followed by seeing a guzheng solo on TV, and later watching a young colleague play "Fishing Boat Singing Evening" at the school art festival. My colleague's beautiful Hanfu, long flowing hair, elegant plucking, beautiful demeanor and charm in every gesture, and the timbre, range and charm of the zither are so beautiful, I secretly decided to learn to play the guzheng.
I just retired in the city of the University for the elderly to sign up to learn the zither, before the start of school to buy the zither, the teacher who sells the qin introduced: the standard zither is 1.63 meters long, 21 strings, close to the player of the first string is the highest note of the zither; The advantages and disadvantages of the guzheng depend on the material texture and production process of each part of the wooden speaker. I dialed it a few times, and it all sounded good.
The author, Yang Guangying, is playing a guzheng song
In the first class of the University for the Elderly, the teacher introduced the history, characteristics and cultural connotation of the guzheng.
Guzheng is a plucked stringed instrument, also known as Han Zheng, Qin Zheng, Yao Zheng, is an ancient national musical instrument of the Han nation, popular all over China. After thousands of years of development, and with the integration of local opera, rap and folk music, the main forms of Hakka Zheng, Chaozhou Zheng, Shandong Zheng, Henan Zheng and other genres. Because of its wide range, beautiful timbre, rich performance skills and strong expressiveness, the guzheng is known as the "king of music" and also known as the "oriental piano", and is one of the unique and important national musical instruments in China.
The history of the guzheng dates back to about 2500 BC. The earliest form of the guzheng was a simple musical instrument made of bamboo, wood and other materials, and later gradually evolved into the Yangzhou lyre known today, that is, the prototype of the guzheng. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, the twelve-stringed and thirteen-stringed zhengs had been developed, and before that, in the Han and Han dynasties, there were still five-stringed zhengs. It is the thirteen-stringed zither that is really widely used. It was not until 1958 that Mr. Wang Xunzhi of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music successfully trial-produced the 21-string S-shaped zither, which was a major breakthrough in the zheng-shaped system.
The main features of Guzheng –
First, the appearance is simple and solemn. Guzheng is usually made of wood or bamboo, which inherently carries a sense of simplicity and naturalness. After grinding and polishing, the surface presents a warm luster, which is more beautiful, and also reflects its solemn and elegant temperament.
The second is to pay attention to workmanship. The craftsmanship of the guzheng reflects the exquisite level of production of traditional Chinese musical instruments. From material selection to cutting, assembly and tuning, every link is meticulous to ensure the perfect combination of sound quality and feel.
Third, the strings are unique. The strings of the guzheng are usually made of silk, nylon, or metal, and these materials give the strings a specific tone and texture. The silky strings have a soft, delicate timbre and a warm and melodious sound; Nylon strings have great elasticity and tone; Metal strings are brighter and crisper.
Fourth, the music is elegant and beautiful. The timbre of the guzheng is pure and high-pitched, giving people a sense of tranquility and loftiness; The performance skills and expressions of the guzheng are also full of elegant beauty. Guzheng has a variety of playing techniques and a variety of performance forms, making its music beautiful, both deep and infectious.
Fifth, openness. The Guzheng has a wide vocal range, and can play music with ups and downs, layered music, giving people an ethereal and free feeling, and can express a variety of emotions such as joy, sadness, and passion. At the same time, the timbre of the guzheng is mellow and full, and it has a strong expressiveness. This kind of refreshment can relax and purify the soul, trigger deep reflection and emotional resonance.
At that time, the teacher only made notes on these characteristics, and it seemed that he did not understand them, but in the next few years of practice, he gradually understood them. In the process of studying, I bought books about Guzheng to read, listened to the teacher's lessons on the Internet, and liked Guzheng more and more.
Guzheng is the inheritance of culture and an important carrier of Chinese culture, which not only represents the ancient music and art, but also embodies the spiritual pursuit of ancient literati.
In ancient times, there were many poets who preferred the guzheng. Because the guzheng is not only a musical instrument, but also a cultural symbol. It can not only express the poet's love and appreciation of music and art, but also express people's emotions and moods. There is a natural and close connection between guzheng and poetry.
Bai Juyi is a zither music lover, and when he was degraded, he took it as fun to listen to zheng music to relieve the depression in his heart. According to relevant records, Bai Juyi has created more than 20 ancient poems about the zheng, such as "Listening to Cui Qi's Prostitute Zheng": "The flower-faced cloud beard sits in the jade building, and the thirteen strings are sad for a while. Pingjun bounced to Daoxiu, and wiped out Sima Tou in Jiangzhou. Another example is Li Bai's "Listening to Shu Monk Playing the Piano": "Shu monk huggs Luqi and goes west to Emei Peak." Wave your hand for me, like listening to ten thousand songs. The guest heart washes the water, and the rest rings into the frost bell. I don't feel that the blue mountains are twilight, and the autumn clouds are dark. This poem describes the poet listening to the scene of the Shu monk playing the guzheng at the foot of Mount Emei, the poet uses "green qi" to describe the color and texture of the zither, "ten thousand pines" to describe the sound and momentum of the zither, "flowing water" and "frost clock" to describe the clarity and distance of the zither, and "Bishan" and "autumn clouds" to describe the artistic conception and atmosphere of the zither. Through the specific description of the guzheng, the author's praise and perception of music art are expressed. There is also Li Shangyin's "Pengshan has no way to go, and the blue bird is diligent to visit." Here, "blue bird" and "visit" are both imagery related to the guzheng, "blue bird" is an object that decorates the strings of the guzheng during the Tang Dynasty, and "visit" is a common playing during the Tang Dynasty.
The extensive use of guzheng imagery in Tang poetry adds infinite charm and artistic conception to the poems, and also endows the guzheng with rich connotations and emotions.
When the teacher at the old university took a few classes, she played "Mountains and Flowing Water", and she said: "You insist on practicing the piano three days a week, at least three years, before you can play it proficiently and understand the meaning." I didn't believe it at the time. A year later, under the guidance of my teacher, I learned to play this song, watched the teaching video on the Internet repeatedly, and practiced countless times, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph. Four years later, I played this piece to the calligraphy teacher at the Mid-Autumn Festival poetry meeting of the District Writers Association, and the effect was not bad!
The music of the guzheng song "Mountains and Flowing Water" is simple and elegant, and the artistic conception is far-reaching and long. Yu Boya fuses his affection for his best friend Zhong Ziqi with his love for mountains and rivers to achieve a state of selflessness, and the music also wants to express the realm of "towering like a mountain, like a river". The whole piece is mainly composed of two parts: the rich and beautiful timbre of the first half, which depicts the majesty of the mountains; The second half delicately depicts the different forms of flowing water: from a trickle of water to a majestic momentum. I have watched the video of Professor Wang Yat-sen of the China Conservatory of Music performing "Mountains and Flowing Water" many times, and he is full of emotion, sometimes tactful and soft, sometimes surging and passionate with the music. With his flowing fingering and melody of melody and frustration, he creates a kind of reverberating musical texture, presenting the magnificent beauty of mountains and flowing water in front of everyone's eyes, inspiring our high respect for nature, thinking about life, and longing for a better life, reflecting the spiritual exchange of the unity of characters.
I like Mr. Wang Yat-sen, who is both virtuous and artistic, he is the "ceiling" of the guzheng world and enjoys the title of "Holy Hand of the Zheng Altar". Some people have commented that his performance is an organic unity of loyalty to the original work and creative second creation, a fusion of a sense of history and a sense of the times, and a unity of technique and musical expression. Wang Yat-sen believes that the guzheng is a musical instrument with oriental wisdom, which is warm, subtle and restrained, and it has many sounds, one string with multiple tones, one tone with multiple rhymes, and has infinite changes. The beauty of this is difficult for Westerners to understand. We must confidently follow our own path, so that Zheng music and the Chinese philosophy it contains can be popularized in the world.
Teacher Wang Yat-sen is playing guzheng music
Yuan Sha, an outstanding guzheng performance artist in contemporary China, and a professional tutor of guzheng at the Central Conservatory of Music, I often listen to her guzheng teaching video lessons, and I especially like to watch her performance of "Spring River Flower Moonlight Night". This guzheng song is based on Zhang Ruoxu's poem, "spring, river, flower, moon, night" five imagery, will lead people into a quiet and distant night scene. Repeatedly appreciating the performance of Teacher Yuan Sha, in the beautiful and simple lyrical melody, her smooth and varied rhythm, and a variety of colorful performance techniques, let us feel the typical taste of the moonlit night in the south of the Yangtze River: light, tactful, empty, clear, and even with the rhythm of the music, we seem to see, in the color of the river and the sky, a round of bright moon slowly rising, and hear the heavenly questions and sighs issued by the poet on the riverbank: who first saw the moon on the riverside, when did the river moon shine at the beginning of the year, life has been infinite from generation to generation, and Jiang Yue looks similar every year......
Teacher Yuan Sha is playing guzheng music
Each guzheng song is a tribute to and inheritance of Chinese history and culture.
Playing the kite is a hobby for me and a way of self-expression. In the world of Guzheng, I can indulge in the "high mountains and flowing water", or I can stroll in the "spring dawn in the snowy mountains". Those profound tunes seem to be ancient literati and artists telling their joys, sorrows, and sorrows to the silence of time and space, and I found a way to dialogue with them in them. In this wonderful retirement time, at home, it is often my husband who practices calligraphy, and I play the guzheng. I sit in front of the window or by the flower stand, when my fingers jump on the strings, I think of "the fishing boat singing at night, the autumn moon in the Han Palace, the water lotus, the moonlight on the lotus pond" and other pictures, the beautiful melody is like a clear spring, nourishing my heart, gradually entering the illusion, forgetting the two things. Beautiful! Hurry......
Guzheng music can heal people and can also be a gift. After retiring, I taught in Xuyong Mountain, and I played "True Hero" and "A Smile in the Sea" to comfort two rebellious left-behind children; On Mother's Day, I gave the video of "Understanding You" to my mother; During the Mid-Autumn Festival, I played "Bright Moon and Thousands of Miles to Send Acacia" to distant relatives and friends; At the National Day Gala, I played the exciting "Wanjiang......
The charm embodied in the guzheng is not only the music itself, but also a kind of spiritual inheritance, a respect for history and culture, and it has become a treasure of traditional Chinese music culture with its unique timbre, performance skills, and historical and cultural connotations. By learning and appreciating guzheng music, we can better understand and feel the charm of the traditional Chinese culture.
The content of this article is original
Please indicate: "Source: Fang Zhi Sichuan"
Source: Sichuan Provincial Office of Local Chronicles
Text/Photo: Yang Guangying (a native of Luxian County, Sichuan, a senior middle school teacher, a member of the Sichuan Writers Association, a member of the Luzhou Literary and Art Critics Association, and a researcher at the Dragon Culture Research Institute of the China Oriental Culture Research Association. He has been creating amateur works for more than 30 years and has published more than 600,000 words. Co-author of the anthology "Passing Water and Fragrance" and "Reading Longqiao in Luxian County". Published a collection of personal essays, "Warm Mood" and "Walking Like a Stream")