Talking about guqin, talking about konghou
Qi Fengchi
1. Talking about guqin
On the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year that year, the Chinese guqin master Gong Yi , carrying a guqin used by Song Dynasty poet Li Qingzhao, walked into the Golden Hall of Vienna. He played the guqin "Flowing Water" and told the story of the encounter between Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi, a close friend, to the ears of Vienna, the capital of Western art.
In the song, "A trickle of water, distant waves gradually coming, the waves crashing on the shore, rolling up thousands of piles of snow...", the music vividly expresses the various dynamics of flowing water. After that, the master played "Goose Falling on the Flat Sand", "Fishermen's Song" and so on.
These ancient songs representing Chinese civilization lingered in the Golden Hall of Vienna, leaving Europe with big noses, blue eyes, and yellow hair stunned.
I have heard people in the music industry say before that Westerners say there is no music in China. For the violin concerto "Butterfly Lovers", the patent was sold to a foreigner. In fact, Westerners don’t understand China at all. Just one song "Flowing Water" is enough for them to listen to it for a lifetime.
Master Gong Yi played the musical instrument "Flowing Water", which immediately stunned Westerners and impressed the world.
There are many types of Chinese musical instruments. There are two earliest stringed instruments, one is called qin and the other is called harp. The music played on the guqin lingers in the 9.6 million land and space of China, with lingering lingering sounds, such as "Flowing Water", "Three Plum Blossom Alleys", "Pingsha Falling Wild Geese", "Long Xiang Cao", "Xian Weng Cao" " and other songs are treasures of Chinese music.
Tu Long in the Ming Dynasty said when discussing the qin: "The qin is an elegant music in the study room, and the sound cannot be left unvoiced for a day. When laymen talk about the ancient times, if there is no guqin, a new one must be hung on the wall, regardless of the ability. Play. Even if you are not good at playing, you should still have a qin." That is to say, both those who can play the qin and those who cannot play the qin must have a qin in the room.
Literatured people often say that piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting are essential accomplishments and qualities for a literati. There are several modern poets, writers and painters who really understand music. Most walk on one leg.
Tao Yuanming of the Jin Dynasty also said: "But if you have the fun in the qin, why bother to tune the strings. We who play the qin are not interested in memorizing knowledge, but only knowing the fun of the qin, which is valuable. Ruoya Shengcao is nostalgic for the past. Yin is a symbol of ambition and virtuousness; in ancient times, people communicate with each other, talk at night under the snow window, and think about friends.
After reading these books, I understood the importance that the ancients attached to the piano and the principle of "playing one or two to cultivate one's character and self-cultivation". The literati's "Qin player, prohibition. Prohibition of evil, in order to rectify people's hearts and inspire good thoughts." This is the foundation of life. Ancient scholars, poets, poets and gentlemen were all masters of playing the piano. History records that Confucius, Cai Yong, Cai Wenji, Li Bai, Du Fu, Song Huizong, Li Qingzhao, Ji Kang, etc. are all famous qin players. I remember that there are famous lines in the Book of Songs such as "A fair lady, she plays the harp, and the harp, and she plays the harp," and "I have a guest, and I play the harp, the harp, and the harp," and other good poems.
Guqin has a history of more than 3,000 years in China. It is the most noble musical instrument in ancient China. A philosopher once said: Guqin is a philosophical art or artistic philosophy.
Guqin is also listed as the first of the four arts of "Qin, chess, calligraphy and painting". The guqin was a compulsory instrument for ancient literati, and there were countless famous qin players in history. The guqin was also one of the six important arts taught by literati, poets, poets, and gentlemen.
The guqin is three feet six inches long, which represents the three hundred and sixty-five days in a year; the curved surface represents the sky; the flat bottom represents the earth.
The guqin has thirteen emblems, representing the twelve months and leap months in a year.
The guqin originally had five strings, symbolizing gold, wood, water, fire and earth.
King Wen of Zhou added another string in memory of his dead son Boyikao. When King Wu conquered Zhou, he added another string in order to increase morale, so the guqin is also called the "civil and military lyre". Therefore, it adds cultural connotation and legendary color to the guqin.
The playing skills of erhu and violin are overtones, and the techniques are difficult to master, but the sound produced by the operation is very pleasant. The sound produced using this technique is very nice. But the guqin has more than a hundred overtones, making it the instrument with the most overtones in the world.
The guqin master Gong Yi has a guqin that Li Qingzhao personally played. Its cultural and historical value has far exceeded the guqin itself.
Walking into the study of Guqin master Gong Yi, you completely entered the "world" of Guqin. The elegant room is not big and is filled with many musical instruments, so the master named it "Five Qin Hall".
Master Gong Yi’s “Wuqin Hall” is by no means arty, but it contains five treasures from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The most expensive one is the guqin played by Li Qingzhao himself.
Master Gong Yi said: "The ancient voice is tasteless and cannot be compared to today's human feelings." The story of Xiao Fengxian and Cai E in the movie "Friends" is also about looking for a soulmate! They came together as "bosom friends".
The theme music in the movie is still lingering in my mind. But the clear spring of music is still trickling down the long river of time, and the guqin faintly penetrates the eternal years!
2. Talking about the harp harp
Anyone who has listened to the violin concerto "Butterfly Lovers" knows that the melodious sound of the piano flowing out like spring water is guided by the melodious flute. It just flows out. The curling flute floats in the quiet and empty, clean and deep fairy tale world, and the long harp is trickling below.
The sound flowing out like a mountain stream was played by a woman holding a harp in her arms. The strings of golden notes that do not break even when they hit the rocks are like spring streams, emitting a spiritual charm. It's like playing with my nerves and flowing through my soul. It's so comfortable and wonderful!
The master’s fingers and soul have gradually awakened in the spring breeze blown by the silver flute. On the four metal paths, the light souls of two butterflies fluttered. The harp is flowing with a trickling stream, and the sound is purer than the musical notes. Two butterflies quickly transformed into beautiful figures on the flute. The reflection of the butterfly was in the stream of Konghou, clean and tidy. The two butterflies chased each other one after another, jumping and playing, and quickly flew into the flowers to find the marriage and love in the previous life.
The instruments used to play "Butterfly Lovers" include violin, viola, cello, bass, trumpet, trombone, French horn, clarinet, oboe, bassoon and percussion. A solo from any of these instruments sounds particularly good. However, the combined performance of these instruments is not as bright, mellow and strong as the sound quality of the harp. I like the sound of the harp, especially when I see a beautiful woman on the stage running on the upright strings with her slender fingers to make a moving sound, I am even more fascinated.
When I heard the sound of the harp, a winding river seemed to appear in front of my eyes. The water was clear and bright, and it made the sound of ding-dong-ding-dong. Because of my fascination with the harp, every time a large symphony orchestra plays "Butterfly Lovers", I want to touch the harp with my own hands on stage to see what kind of sound it makes when playing the harp with my fingers.
One time I really tried it, and it turned out that the sound I made when I played the harp was the same as the sound made by the master. I was really excited. Later, I checked a lot of information about the harem, so I not only had a deep understanding of the harem, but also learned a lot about its history.
The harp is a plucked instrument of the ethnic minorities in northern my country in ancient times. There are vertical-headed harps and barbed harps. The harp has various shapes, including the angular harp that resembles the Western musical instrument harp, and the phoenix-headed harp and dragon-headed harp with the head of the instrument decorated.
The harp has a wide range of sounds, soft and clear timbre, and strong expressive power. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was used in music in Xiliang, Qiuci, Shule, Gaochang and Korea, and was spread eastward to Japan. It was rarely used after the Ming Dynasty. In 1984, our country successfully developed the transposed harp. Finally, the thousand-year-old ancient music has become another magical flower among Chinese musical instruments. And became an important member of the Chinese National Orchestra. /pgt;
The earliest name for the harp was Kanhou or Konghou, and it had two types: horizontal and vertical. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the state of Chu already had a sleeping harp and a harp that resembled the harp and harp. Liu Xiang's "Shiben? Zuopian" of the Han Dynasty has a record: "Konghou, created by the Duke of Kongguo, has the sound of Mimi. It came from Pushang and took the name of the Marquis of Kongguo." Pushang, that is, above the Pu River, was in the territory of the ancient Wei Kingdom, which is now the area of ??Puyang, Henan.
It shows that Wo Konghou has a history of more than 3,000 years. Yingshao's "Customs and Customs" of the Eastern Han Dynasty says: "Kong Hou, I would like to follow the "Han Shu? Suburban Sacrifice Chronicles": "Emperor Xiaowu came to Nanyue and prayed to Taiyi and Houtu in the temple. It is said that the ridges and ridges correspond to the rhythm, and the surname of the lord is Guanzhang'er. Or it can be said that the harp is in the air. The piano and the harp are all empty, so how can it be the only kanhou?'" "Historical Records? Fengchan Book" states: "( Emperor Wu) Sai Nanyue, Prayer Temple Taiyi and Houtu began to use music and dance, Yizhao songs, composed twenty-five strings, and played Konghou, and the harp and harp began from this time. "This account of Sima Qian shows that in ancient times, the sleeping harp had pillars. stringed instrument. In the Han Dynasty, the Wohuanghou was included in the "Qing Shang Music" as a representative instrument of "Chinese Zhengsheng". At that time, it had five strings and more than ten columns, with bamboo as a groove and a wooden plectrum. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, a kind of horn-shaped konghou was introduced to the Central Plains of my country from Persia via the Western Regions. In order to avoid confusion, they have been named separately since the end of the Six Dynasties, and they were distinguished by lying and upright. The sleeping harp was used in Goryeo music in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Du You of the Tang Dynasty's "Tongdian" contains: "The konghou, the old one was made according to the Qin system. Now it is shaped like a harp but small, with seven strings, and it is played with a pluck, just like a pipa." Later, it gradually disappeared in our country, so that the instrument Lose your voice. It was replaced by the expressive Qin and Zheng. However, Wo Konghou was passed down in North Korea and South Korea. In Japan it is called Baekje Qin. (Baekje is the ancient name of Korea). Today, we can see images of its musical instruments from the brick paintings of Wei and Jin tombs in Jiayuguan, Gansu, the caisson murals of the Northern Wei Dynasty tombs in Ji'an, Liaoning, and the murals of Goguryeo ancient tombs in Ji'an, and we can also get a glimpse of the performance of the sleeping konghou. /pgt;
As early as the Eastern Han Dynasty, the vertical seal was introduced from Iran to the Central Plains of my country via the Western Regions along with the merchants on the "Silk Road". "Book of Sui Dynasty Music Records" contains: "The modern pipa and the upright harp are from the Western Regions and are not old Chinese instruments." Regarding its shape, Du You's "Tongdian" of the Tang Dynasty said: "The harp harp is upright. , Hu music, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty (Liu Hong) liked it. The body is curved and long, with twenty strings. It is held upright in the arms and played with both hands. It is commonly known as the arm konghou. "Fan Ye of the Song Dynasty "The Book of the Later Han". It is recorded in the "Zhi": "Emperor Ling likes Hu costumes... Hu harp, Hu flute, and Hu dance, all nobles and relatives in Kyoto compete for it." This kind of harp with more than 20 strings is popular in our country's music scene. From the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Tang and Song dynasties. Wu Zimu's "Meng Liang Lu" (Volume 3) of the Song Dynasty once described it this way: "It is about three feet high, shaped like half a wooden comb, with a black lacquer carved gold painted pedestal, twenty-five strings, and a person kneeling and crossing his arms." It is a large vertical konghou, and there is also a smaller vertical konghou, which is held by the left hand and played by the right hand. It is mostly used in ceremonial music. Today, although the actual objects of the ancient harp harps no longer exist, they can be seen in the reliefs of music playing in the Yungang Grottoes of Datong from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Tang and Song Dynasties, the "Sui Dynasty Band" murals in Dunhuang, and the reliefs of the tomb of the former Shu emperor Wang Jian of the Five Dynasties in Chengdu. The images of playing harps are exactly like the harps seen on Assyrian reliefs. Persia is the origin of the Assyrian harp.
In ancient royal music, the harp is indispensable, and it is also one of the main instruments in performance. Because it has an array of strings, it can not only play melody, but also chords, making it superior to other instruments in terms of soloing or accompaniment. The introduction and ending of the violin concerto "Butterfly Lovers" are made of its clear sound like running water, which has been floating in the music.
In ancient poetry, the harp and harp are also common. In the Han Dynasty, there was a Xiaojia Biyu, Liu Lanzhi, the wife of Jiao Zhongqing, who was extremely intelligent and was recited in a poem: "The peacock flies southeast, wandering for five miles. At the age of thirteen, it can weave, at the age of fourteen, it learns tailoring, and at the age of ten it is Five players played the harp and sixteen poems were recited."
This shows that the harp was a popular musical instrument for women at that time. Li He, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in "Li Ping Konghou Yin":
"Wu Si, Shutong and Zhang Gaoqiu, the empty mountain condensed with clouds and stagnant. Jiang E cries about the sorrow of women with bamboos, and Li Ping plays Chinese The phoenix of Kunshan screams, the hibiscus weeps and the fragrant orchids smile. The cold light melts in front of the twelve gates, and the purple emperor moves in the sky. Dancing on the thin dragon dance. Wu Zhi sleeps and leans on the osmanthus tree, flying wet and cold with his feet exposed. "
This is not only Li He's masterpiece, but also one of the famous poems describing music themes.
It uses an autumn rain as a clue, explicitly describes the weather changes, implicitly describes the performance process, and uses mythological characters to describe the audience. It is full of strong romanticism.
The poet uses strange fantasy and extreme exaggeration to describe the power of music that breaks through clouds and rocks, so that the sound of the harp played by Li Ping, a palace instrumentalist thousands of years ago, can still shock readers today. soul.
Song Dynasty poet Han Cai's "Wearing the Harvest": "The ethereal fairy clouds and mist windows. Talking about Suzhou, it has not broken the heart. With the smoke of the lake, the moon falls into the vast sky. Awakening Chang'e, the spring bamboo shoots are slender. Immediately play the pipa with half makeup on the forehead . The twelve witchy suns drift into Xiaoxiang. The jade-colored luan blows the heavenly fragrance, which is fascinating.
I think that if the violin concerto "Butterfly Lovers" did not have the introduction of the harp and flute, the artistic conception of the music would definitely be inferior. If there were no gurgling water from the harp, the fragrance of birds, and the fluttering butterflies at the end, the ending of the music would appear blunt, and the visual language of the music would not be so beautiful and eternal.
It is the harp that adds many beautiful and magical images to the imagination of the audience. A harp gives music full wings to soar. It not only flies over the ancient land of China, it has already flown over the magical and wonderful city of Vienna. Music paradise!