Chapter 56 Tang Yingzeng/Adept at playing the famous pipa song "House of Flying Daggers"

Anyone who has heard the pipa must know the famous song "House of Flying Daggers" which describes the battle between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu at Gaixia.This is an ancient song, which has been passed down for at least seven hundred years.It is said that Tang Ying of the Ming Dynasty was good at playing this song. Tang Yingzeng (approximately 1585-1625), a famous pipa player in the Ming Dynasty.A native of Pixian County, Xuzhou District, Jiangsu Province.He was born in a poor peasant family, but he is talented, diligent and studious. He especially loves the wind music in his hometown. He worshiped the local pipa master Jiang Shanren as his teacher, and devoted himself to practicing the pipa. In just a few years, he learned a superb pipa performance. The skills are self-contained and highly respected by the local villagers, who call it "Tang Pipa".

Tang Ying once accompanied the army to Jiayuguan, Zhangye, and Jiuquan to "work the army" with his pipa skills.There, he not only witnessed the tragic war scenes of gold and iron horses, but also appreciated the unique music style of the local ethnic minorities, which injected new rhythm into the pipa music he created later.He was nearly sixty years old, resigned from the military and returned to his hometown where he had been away for decades, and lived a life of wandering as a performer.In his later years, when the Ming Dynasty was in decline, disasters and famines were everywhere, the people were in dire straits, and rebel armies all over the country rose up one after another.At this time, Tang Ying felt the tragedy of the war, and based on the theme of the "Battle of Gaixia" in the early Han Dynasty, he created a set of pipa opera "Chu and Han" describing the scenes of ancient wars.

Ming Wang Youding once wrote "Tang Pipa Biography", which described Tang Ying once played "Chu Han" and said: (Tang Yingzeng) is especially proud of the song "Chu and Han". When the two armies are in a decisive battle, the sound moves the world, and the tile roof seems to fall.Xu Er observed it, there were sounds of gold, drums, swords, slaves, men and horses, but there was no sound in Russia.For a long time, those who have resentment but are difficult to understand are the voices of Chu's songs; those who are sad but strong are the voices of King Xiang's tragic song of generosity, the voice of Farewell My Concubine, and the voice of chasing horses.As far as Wujiang, there was the sound of King Xiang committing suicide, and Yu Qijian was trampling on King Xiang.It makes those who hear it feel excited at first, angry at the end, and weeping at the end. It is so touching.

Judging from the description in the article, the content of "Chu Han" is very similar to "Ambush from Ten Daggers", and it is likely that they have the same tune but different names.Tang Yingzeng's performance is also very good.