Chapter 26 Cao Miaoda/Musician crowned king with pipa skills

Cao Miaoda, a pipa player from the Northern Qi Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty. One day in 570 A.D., in the resplendent and resplendent palace of Empress Gao Wei of the Northern Qi Dynasty, an artist in a Hu suit was playing a pipa.Gao Wei leaned on the dragon couch, sometimes closed his eyes slightly, patted lightly, and sometimes shook his head and praised.The civil and military ministers and court ladies and eunuchs in the hall also held their breath, intoxicated by the beautiful music.At the end of the song, Gao Wei straightened up suddenly and said loudly: "Well played! I will reward you very much. I will make you king!" The player bowed down to thank him, and all the officials shouted long live.Taking advantage of the pleasure, the Empress stepped down from the dragon couch, took the pipa from the player, played and sang the "Song of No Sorrow" composed by herself, and all the ministers and attendants also sang along.Later master Gao Wei was called "Son of No Sorrow" by later generations because of singing "Song of No Sorrow".

The pipa player who was crowned king was Cao Miaoda. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, along with the integration of people of various ethnic groups, the integration of music culture of various ethnic groups appeared.Musicians from the Western Regions, who were attracted by the culture of the Central Plains, came to the Central Plains to perform and settle in the Central Plains from Qiuci, Khotan and other places.Among them, Cao Miaoda, a musician in the Northern Qi Dynasty, was a pipa player who came from Cao Guodong in the Western Regions. Cao Miaoda is a native of the country of Cao in the Western Regions. He was born in a pipa family. His grandfather Cao Brahman once learned the Kucha pipa from a businessman, and passed on the art to his son Cao Sengnu, and then to his grandchildren Cao Miaoda and Cao Zhaoyi brothers and sisters.They are collectively called the "Four Caos".

Cao Miaoda is the best among the "Four Caos". He was highly valued as early as Emperor Wenxuan (Gao Yang) of the Northern Qi Dynasty.The postmaster Gao Wei even "only appreciates Hu Rong's music, and loves him endlessly".He especially liked Cao Miaoda's pipa, and even made him king, which is almost unique in the history of Chinese music. After Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty unified China, he attached great importance to the construction of culture and established the "Qibu Music".Cao Miaoda was still a music official in the Sui Dynasty and was still very famous.He and Wang Changtong, Li Shiheng, Guo Jinle, An Jingui, etc. are all excellent orchestral, good at composing, new voices are changing, changing from time to time, which played a great role in promoting the development of music in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.