Chapter 120 Plucking

Qin is one of the most important stringed instruments in ancient my country.According to legend, both Fuxi and Shennong in ancient times "cut tung to make qin, and rope to make strings".In the first chapter of "Guanju" in the Qing Dynasty, there is a chant of "My Fair Lady, Friends of Qin and Se".Because its sound is calm, calm and harmonious, which is in line with the Confucian music aesthetics of "neutralization", it is loved by many scholars. Qin, also known as Guqin, Yaoqin, and Lyre, is one of the oldest and most important plucked string instruments in China.Qin is generally about three feet six inches five (about 120 cm-125 cm) long, symbolizing three hundred and sixty-five days a year (in other words, it is like 365 degrees of the week), generally about six inches wide (about 20 cm), and thick about Two inches (about 6 cm).The lower part of the piano body is flat, and the upper part is curved and raised, symbolizing heaven and earth respectively.The overall shape is made according to the shape of the phoenix body, and its whole body corresponds to the phoenix body (it can also be said to correspond to the human body).Generally, paulownia is used as the panel, and catalpa is used as the backboard, with head, neck, shoulders, waist, tail, and feet.

The qin has seven strings, one end of which is supported by Yueshan Mountain, and there are no frets. There are thirteen qin emblems on the surface of the qin to determine the pitch.There are many tuning methods and they are not fixed.Guqin is particularly rich in expressiveness. Different playing techniques can have different artistic features. Its scattered tones (empty string tones) are loud and clear, vigorous, like a bronze bell; different.The treble area is light, clear and crisp, like a bell in the wind; the mid-range area is bright and sonorous, like knocking a jade chime.The pronunciation is firm according to the sound, also called "real sound".The timbre of each range is also different, the low range is thick and powerful, the middle range is calm and moist, and the high range is sharp and crisp.The various portamentos in the notes are as soft as a song, and also have deep and delicate expressiveness.

In ancient times, the status of Guqin was very special. It was a symbol of elegance, but it did not belong to the elegant music system; it was loved by literati, scholars and even monks and Taoists. Vulgar music.It is a compulsory homework for literati. Confucius, Sima Xiangru, Cai Yong, Zhuge Liang, Ji Kang, Dai Kui, Bai Juyi, etc. are all masters of playing the piano. The ancients regarded the qin as a tool for self-cultivation and self-cultivation to clarify morality, beautify customs, prohibit obscenity and extravagance, and harmonize people's hearts.Today, Qin is still loved by many people.

Se is an ancient stringed instrument with a very early origin. "Book of Music" quoted "Shiben" as saying that "Fu Xi (Fuxi) made a se", which may not be reliable, but in the Zhou Dynasty, Se was already an important stringed instrument.There are many verses about Se, and there are many records of Confucius and his disciples playing Se. It is said that the earliest zi had fifty strings, but Shun thought it was too complicated, so he simplified it to twenty-five strings.That's it, probably before the seventy-two-string pipa and dulcimer appeared in the Yuan Dynasty, it was also the stringed instrument with the largest number of strings.The body of the body is mostly made of whole wood, the surface of the body is slightly raised, the body is hollow, and the bottom of the body is embedded in the bottom plate.There is a Changyue Mountain at the head of Semyeon and three short Yueshan Mountains at the end.There are four pegs at the end.There are corresponding string holes on the outside of Mt. Sumi.There are also wooden zither pillars, which are placed under the strings.

Ancient se of the pre-Qin and Han dynasties have been found in archaeological excavations.The Se unearthed from Chu Tomb No. 1 in Liuchengqiao, Changsha, Hunan Province (approximately in the late Spring and Autumn Period or early Warring States period) is the earliest known object.The tombs of Chu in Xinyang, Henan, Jiangling, Hubei, the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng in Suixian, Hubei, and the Han Tomb No. . Guse was lost until the Southern and Northern Dynasties.Since Tang and Song Dynasties, the ses recorded in documents and used by the courts of successive dynasties are quite different from the ancient ses in terms of shape, string tension and tuning method.At that time, there was a long Yueshan at the head and tail, and there were a corresponding number of string holes on the outside of the two Yueshan, and the strings were stretched in turn.There are twenty-five strings in total, and the pitches are arranged according to twelve rhythms.The middle string (the thirteenth string) is not played, and the remaining twenty-four strings can play twenty-four tones in two octaves.Play the "middle voice" (low octave range) with the right hand, play the "clear voice" (high octave range) with the left hand, and the left and right hands can also play high and low octave chords at the same time.The basic fingerings are to pluck the strings inward and outward with the big, food, middle and ring fingers respectively, which are called breaking, supporting, wiping, picking, hooking, picking, hitting and picking. There are eight kinds in total.The tuning method of later generations has changed slightly, and the middle string can also be played, and the strings are tuned according to the pentatonic or seven-tone scale.When necessary, the left hand can press the left string section of the column to take the changing tone.

The se in the pre-Qin period had fifty strings at first, but later Shun simplified it to twenty-five strings.According to posterity legend, Ser was divided into two halves. There is such a story recorded in "Le Dao Lei Ji": Qin Guoyou's sisters both like to play the harp, but there is only one harp in the family.One day, when they were fighting over the harp, they broke it in half, the elder sister held half of thirteen strings, and the younger half had twelve strings.When Qin Huang heard this, he was very surprised, and called this twelve-string and thirteen-string instrument "Zheng".Of course, this is just a beautiful legend.According to the "Release of Names" by Liu Xizai in the Later Han Dynasty: "Zheng, the strings are high and anxious, and the zither is natural."

The zither is a musical instrument from Qin (now western Shaanxi). It was popular in Qin as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.It first appeared in Qin Lisi's "Book of Remonstrance and Chasing Guests". He described the music of the Qin Dynasty at that time and said: "The husband hits the urn and knocks on the fou, plays the zither and beats the belly, and the song is humming and fast, the real Qin sound. "So Zheng is also called "Qin Zheng".In fact, during the Warring States period, Zheng had been widely spread to Qi, Lu, Yan, Zhao and other Central Plains regions. "Warring States Policy · Qi Policy" said: "Linzi (the capital of Qi State, northeast of Zibo City, Shandong Province today) is very rich and real, and its people all play Yu, Guzi, build and play zither." Since the Han Dynasty, zither has become more popular. Breaking through geographical boundaries, it has become a very important and popular instrument.

The earliest zithers probably had five strings.In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ying Shao's "Customs" quoted "Book of Rites·Yue Ji": "Zheng, five-stringed, built body." one piece.At the end of the Warring States period, the zither had developed to twelve strings.After more than 800 years, it was not until the Sui Dynasty that a string was added.Since then, the 12-string zither and the 13-string zither have coexisted for a long time, and the thirteen-string zither is the most widely spread.After the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, fourteen-string zithers and fifteen-string zithers appeared.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the sixteen-string zither appeared.In recent years, the production of zithers has made great progress. Twenty-one-string zithers, twenty-five-string zithers, twenty-six-string zithers, and forty-four-string zithers have been developed. Twenty-one-string zithers are the most widely used.

The appearance of the zither is somewhat similar to that of the zither, but there are string pillars (i.e. wild goose pillars) on the surface of the qin, which can be moved left and right to determine the pitch. The zither has a large volume, a wide range, and rich expressive power, especially good at expressing the kind of desolate and sad feelings, so the ancients often called it "sad zither".Of course, the zither is not only capable of expressing mournful emotions, it is also very suitable for expressing tranquility, peace, joy, enthusiasm, and even majestic works. The stringed instrument is a stringed instrument that appeared in the Qin Dynasty. Although there are no real objects left, it has a very high status in the history of instrumental music in my country.

The stringed instruments in the pre-Qin period were all played on tables or stands (or placed on stones or even laps). There were no stringed instruments played in the arms, so it was almost impossible to play while marching or immediately. It is said that when Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall, the migrant workers worked very hard and missed their hometown and relatives. They composed and sang many folk songs to express their anger and feelings.Without an accompaniment instrument, they converted a drum called a 鼗 into a musical instrument. The drum is the modern Balang drum, but much bigger.It has two biggest features: one is that it has a long handle, and the other is that there are short ropes on both sides of the drum, which are tied with beads (called two ears).Its percussion method is to hold the long handle and turn it left and right, and the beads will strike the drum.The migrant workers who built the Great Wall transferred the tambourine drum, used the drum surface as a sound box, and put strings on the long handle, and a new musical instrument - the stringed tambourine, was born.

The appearance of stringed drums has changed the phenomenon of Chinese stringed instruments being played without holding them in their arms. It has great significance and influence. Since then, the Ruan Xian, Sanxian, Yueqin, Qinqin and other instruments have all evolved from stringed drums. "Thirteenth is learning weaving, fourteenth is learning tailoring, fifteenth is playing the harp, and sixteenth is reciting poems and books." This is a line from the famous Yuefu poem "The Peacock Flies Southeast".The "konghou" mentioned in the poem is a very important and beautiful stringed instrument in ancient my country. There are two types of konghou: horizontal and vertical. The lying konghou appeared around the time of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. It is said that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered the musician Hou Hui (one said Hou Tiao) to make it according to the piano.The konghou at that time was similar in shape to Qin and Se, with 5-7 strings and pillars (qin bridges), but it was played with a plectrum, which was different from Qin and Se. The vertical harp was introduced to China from Persia (now Iran) via the Silk Road during the Eastern Han Dynasty.It was originally a horn bow-shaped musical instrument, shaped like a harp but small, easy to play on horseback.After it was introduced into China, it was also called "Konghou".Song Chenyang's "Book of Music" said: "Standing konghou, Hu Yue also. Its body is curved and long, and its strings are twenty to three. Plant it in your arms and use both hands to hold it together. It is commonly called 'breaking konghou', and it is also called 'Hu Konghou'." In "Holding in the Bosom", the small konghou should be played, and there is also a big konghou, which is played on the ground.Volume 3 of Song Wu Zimu's "Meng Liang Lu" says that the big harp is "about three feet high, shaped like a half-sided wooden comb, with a black lacquer and gold-painted pedestal, with twenty-five strings. One person kneels and breaks it with hands."Another kind of harp was introduced from Tianzhu (India) in the early years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Because it was carved with a phoenix head, it was called the phoenix-headed harp. After the vertical harp was introduced to China, it was loved by people in China. "The History of the Five Elements in the Later Han Dynasty" records that "Emperor Ling (Han) was fond of Hu clothes... Hu konghou, Hu flute, and Hu dance, and all the nobles and relatives in Kyoto competed for it."In the Tang Dynasty, it was an important musical instrument for Yan Yue, Qing Yue, Xiliang Music, Gaoli Music, Baekje Music, Tianzhu Music, Gaochang Music, Qiuci Music, Shule Music, Anguo Music and popular music (including Wo Konghou and vertical harp).In Xiantong of the Tang Dynasty, in the first section of Jiaofang, there is Zhang Xiaozi who is good at playing the harp, which is the best in ancient and modern times.There is also Li Ping in the middle Tang Dynasty.Even Tang Minghuang, who was well versed in melody, liked to play the harp. Xie Dashan sang in the teaching workshop, and tried to sing "Wu Yecry", and the Ming emperor himself played the konghou to accompany it. In the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the use of konghou was still quite common, but by the end of the Ming Dynasty, its use gradually decreased, and it was basically lost in the Qing Dynasty. In the 1930s, the Shanghai Datong Music Association produced large konghou, small konghou and Fengshou konghou according to the ancient system.After the founding of the People's Republic of China, a vertical harp was developed based on the principle of the harp and referring to the records and pictures of ancient history. In 1980, the Yanzhu style imitation Tang harp was successfully developed.This harp has a magnificent appearance, with a shiny black bow-shaped body and a golden phoenix head.It has two speakers, seventy-two strings, arranged according to the C major scale, the range is five octaves from A1-a3, and it has the same transposition function as a harp.Its timbre is beautiful and expressive, and it has become a treasure among the national musical instruments of our country. This is a northern Mongolian musical instrument.The name is a bit strange, but it is actually a transliteration of Turkish, indicating that it is a foreign musical instrument, so it is also translated as Hunbusi, Hubosi, Wubosi, etc.Regarding Huobusi, there is such a beautiful legend among the folks: During the Western Han Dynasty Emperor Yuan (49-33 BC), Wang Zhaojun married to the Huns, and her pipa was broken. Said: 'It doesn't look like muddy.'" Later, it became "Huobusi". According to "Yuan Shi·Li and Yue Zhi": "Fire does not think, made like a pipa, straight neck, no frets, small grooves, round belly like half a bottle, with leather as the surface, four strings of skin, the same solitary column." It The appearance is somewhat similar to some plucked plucked instruments in Xinjiang, such as Tanbuer and Dutar. The Komzi of the Kirgiz nationality in Xinjiang and the Sugudu of the Naxi nationality in Yunnan are similar in shape and name to Huobusi. They belong to musical instruments of the same origin.The biggest feature of Huobusi's shape is that the four tuners are all on the same side. In 1905, in Zhaohahetun (ancient Gaochang area) west of Turpan, Xinjiang, an ancient painting of Gaochang in the Tang Dynasty in the early 9th century was unearthed. Playing a stringed instrument", should be Huo Busi. Huobusi was very popular in the Yuan Dynasty, and it was still used in the "Fan Le" ensemble in the Qing Dynasty. Ruan, also known as Ruan Xian, is named after a person. When Qin Shihuang was building the Great Wall, the common people put strings on the tambourine drums in order to vent their sorrows, and it became the earliest stringed instrument played in the arms of our country - the stringed tambourine.There is also a kind of stringed instrument played in the arms. It is said that Princess Wusun He Fan was sent to marry Kunmi (a minority in the northwest) in the Western Han Dynasty. Afraid that she would be lonely, workers were asked to make instruments such as Zheng, Zhu, and Konghou. A musical instrument that is easy to play on horseback. It is said to be four strings, twelve columns, and may be a wooden speaker.Although this instrument was called pipa (called Han Pipa) in the Han Dynasty, its shape is completely different from today's pear-shaped pipa. It is a round resonance box with a long handle and twelve pillars on the handle. .It is actually the predecessor of the descendants Ruan and Yueqin.Why was Han Pipa later called "Ruan"? In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there were seven famous literati, collectively known as the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest". Ruan Xian, the son of the elder brother of the great writer Ruan Ji, was also one of them. He was good at playing the pipa and was a famous musician at that time.The pipa he plays is actually a Han pipa with a round straight handle.This kind of pipa was impacted by the quxiang pipa introduced from the Western Regions during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and almost disappeared in the late Southern and Northern Dynasties. During the time of Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty, a man from Shu dug up a bronze musical instrument with a round straight handle in an ancient tomb, which was very similar to the musical instrument played by Ruan Xian in the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove" painted by the Jin people. This kind of musical instrument is called "Ruan Xian", and it is imitated with wood according to its shape, and the sound is surprisingly good. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Ruan was a relatively popular musical instrument.In the Song Dynasty, a smaller Ruanxian called "Shuangyun" appeared.During the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Ruan did not develop, on the contrary, it gradually declined. Not only did it not improve in shape, but it became three strings or two strings.It was not until the 1930s when the Shanghai Datong Music Club was copying ancient musical instruments that Mr. Zheng Jinwen made Ruan according to the Song system.Later, under the guidance of art director Yang Yinliu, the Wuxi Huaguang Chinese Orchestra produced the sixteenth-fret Daruan and Zhongruan for the first time arranged in twelve equal temperaments.After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the research and development of ruan has been greatly developed. Now there are mainly four kinds of ruan: small ruan, middle ruan, big ruan and bass ruan. Among them, the middle ruan is the most beautiful and often used for solo. Modern Ruan, wooden circular speaker, straight handle, four strings, generally played with a plectrum. Yueqin is a musical instrument evolved from Ruan.It has been popular among the people since the Jin Dynasty, and it has been named Yueqin since the Tang Dynasty, because it looks like a full moon and sounds like a qin.But then it might be a different name for the same thing as Nguyen.Song Chen Yang's "Book of Music": "Yueqin, round in shape and long in neck, with four strings and thirteen frets on the upper part, like the emblem of the qin, and the turning and rhythm, it was made by Ruan Xian in the Jin Dynasty."In the Qing Dynasty, the Yueqin was completely different from the Ruan. It was simpler than the Ruan, with a shorter bar and a round speaker. It was widely spread among people of all ethnic groups. The modern yueqin has a smaller sound box than Ruan, and is round, or hexagonal or octagonal, with a short handle. Yueqin can be used for solo performances, and it also plays an important role in ethnic bands.It is one of the important accompaniment instruments of Peking Opera, and together with Jinghu and Jingerhu, it is called the "Three Great Pieces".Among the ethnic minorities in Southwest China, Yueqin is a very important musical instrument. Among the musical instruments evolved from the chord, the shape of the sanxian may be the closest to the chord.Mao Qiling of the Qing Dynasty said in "Xihe Cihua": "Sanxian originated in the Qin Dynasty. It was originally the system of three generations of drums and changed its shape to make it easy to sound. It is called Xiantao." He clearly believes that Sanxian is Xiantao. It was officially named Sanxian in the Yuan Dynasty.Ming Yang Sheng'an said in "Sheng'an Anthology": "Today's Sanxian began in Yuan Dynasty. Xiaoshan (Yuan Sanqu master Zhang Kejiu)'s word cloud: "Sanxian jade refers to double hooks, and cursive inscriptions are given to Yu'er." Sanxian was used in Yuan and Ming In the dramas and legends of the period, it is a very important accompaniment instrument.Among the various folk arts that flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Sanxian occupies a very important position.It is the main accompaniment instrument in northern drum books such as Jingyun Drum, Meihua Drum, Xihe Drum, Shandong Drum, Northeast Drum, Tianjin Time Tune and Sanxian Book popular in Henan, while the single string popular in Beijing and Tianjin, Sanxian is the only accompaniment instrument; Tanci such as Suzhou Tanci and Yangzhou Tanci, which are very popular in southern Jiangsu and Zhejiang, are generally divided into single-stage and double-stage. Play the pipa, and one person plays the sanxian duet.Sanxian is also an important accompaniment instrument in Peking Opera, Quju, Lvju, Yuju, Shanxi Bangzi and other operas.In national instrumental ensembles and local music such as Jiangnan Sizhu, Shifangu, Shifanluogu, Guangdong music, Fujian Nanyin, Changzhou silk strings, etc., Sanxian is also one of the most important instruments. The band seemed very active. There are two types of Sanxian: large and small.The big sanxian has a thick tone and is mostly used for the accompaniment of northern drum books; the small sanxian has a clear tone and is mostly used for the accompaniment of southern Tanci. Sanxian, as the name suggests, is of course three strings. Its speaker is generally made of python skin on both sides, with a long handle and no frets. It is played with a plectrum. In ancient times, it was called pipa, but it is actually two musical instruments of different systems. One is called "Han pipa", which is a native instrument of the Han nationality, such as Ruan, which evolved from the stringed bell; lute.After the Tang Dynasty, Pipa only refers to the latter. After the Tang Dynasty, the sound box of the pipa is pear-shaped, and the upper part of the piano is bent backwards, so it is called "quxiang pipa". Xiang", the old-fashioned pipa has four phases.The back of the speaker part is curved, and the front is a thin paulownia board with bamboo sound grids called "pins".The old-style pipa has nine to thirteen frets and four strings. The pipa was first played with a dial.Bai Juyi's "Pipa Xing" describes the playing of the pipa with the poem "Careful to draw at the end of the song, and the sound of the four strings is like cracking silk". It can be seen that the female pipa is played with a pluck.The form of playing the pipa with hands (strictly speaking, nails) appeared in the Tang Dynasty, which was called "pipa" at that time. "Old Tang Book Music History" said: "Old pipas were all played with wooden plucks. During the Zhenguan period of Emperor Taizong, there was a hand-playing method, which is what is called pipa today." Modern pipas do not need plucks at all. The expressiveness of the pipa is very rich. It can not only express the majestic momentum of iron horses and golden arms and violent storms, but also express the indifferent and gentle singing of Xiaopu Yeyue and Yuzhou Wansong.Therefore, the pipa repertoire can be divided into Wenqu and Wuqu.Wenqu is delicate and soft, while Wuqu is bold and vigorous.Li Fangyuan, a pipa performer in the late Qing Dynasty, said: "Wenqu should be quiet and have lingering sounds; Wuqu should be powerful and majestic." Skills, martial arts pay attention to the rolling, wheeling, double, sweeping and other techniques of the right hand.What Tang people said "Cao Gang has a right hand, and Xingnu has a left hand" actually refers to the difference in their playing styles. The structure of the pipa is relatively complicated. The four-phase thirteen-fret pipa used in the past did not have all the semitones, so it was very inconvenient to transfer.The current pipa has six phases, the 21st, 23rd, and 26th frets, and has all the semitones. It is not only easy to transfer, but also greatly enhances the expressiveness of the pipa. Liuqin should be a later instrument imitating pipa.Its shape is simply a shrunken lute.The length of the Liuqin is 65 centimeters. At first it had only two strings, but now it has three strings.There is no phase, there are seven to ten grades.The voice is high pitched and crisp. Liuqin was originally a folk instrument popular in Shandong, Anhui, and Jiangsu. It was used as an accompaniment to local operas such as Liuqin Opera and Sizhou Opera, and to play simple songs.After a long period of development, it has now developed into a solo instrument, and it is also an important instrument in the middle and treble part of the national band. Dongbula, also known as Dongbula and Dongbula, is a traditional plucked string instrument in Central Asia, especially popular among Kazakhs in Kazakhstan and Xinjiang, China.The piano bar is slender, and the speaker has two types: scoop-shaped and flat.It is generally made of pine or birch, and the neck is the fingerboard. In the past, it was mostly made of whole wood.There are small holes for pronunciation on the speaker, two strings, and the body of the piano is tasteful. Dombula is the most used musical instrument of the Kazakhs. It is not loud but has a beautiful timbre.The basic method of playing is playing and picking. Generally, playing is used for heavy beats, and picking is used for light beats.It can be used for solo or instrumental ensemble, and it is very expressive.The reformed Dombra has increased taste, changed to steel wire strings, expanded the range, and increased the volume. There are also many types of dombula, such as the highest note dombra with four strings and twelve frets, the high note dombra with four strings and fifteen frets, the alto dombra with two strings at thirteen or fourteen frets, and the tenor dombra with two strings and seventeen frets. And ten fret bass Dombula and so on. Dutar, a Uyghur plucked stringed instrument.The speaker is scoop-shaped, covered with thin wood, and has a striped pattern on the back.The piano bar is thin and long, and there are twelve to twenty grades wrapped with silk strings on the bar.Two strings, the strings are silk strings, tuned according to fourth or fifth degrees.The vocal range is generally f-a2.When playing, the body of the piano is tilted in front of the chest, the big finger of the left hand presses the inner string, the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger press the outer string, and the right hand plays with fingers.Dutar has a soft timbre and a louder volume, and is often used for self-playing, singing and instrumental ensembles. Rewafu, a Uyghur plucked stringed instrument.The body of the piano is made of wood, the speaker is hemispherical, covered with sheepskin, donkey skin or horse skin, and covered with python skin after reform.There are horn-shaped ornaments on both sides above the speaker.There are more than 20 grades wrapped with silk strings on the piano bar.There are five Zhang strings, which are generally divided into three groups, that is, two inner strings form a group with the same pitch, and two outer strings form a group with the same pitch. The strings are resonant strings.When playing, place the body of the piano horizontally on the right shoulder, press the strings with the left hand, and play with the plectrum in the right hand. Rewafu's vocal range is g-g2.It is generally used for solo and instrumental ensembles.After processing and improvement, the body of the piano is enlarged, and three strings are stretched to make a bass rewafu.