Chapter 35 Section 4 "The Sound of King Xiang's Self-Cutting" and "The Sound of Gooses in the Hall"

Among the many pipa classical music handed down today, there is one that is often performed on the literary stage and is well-known in the music circles at home and abroad. Several paragraphs respectively record "arranging the camp (opening the door and firing the cannon)", "playing", "ordering the general", "arranging the formation", "walking the team", "ambush", "small battle", "big battle", "Xiang Wang's defeat ", "Wujiang Self-proclaimed", "Army Plays Victory", "Generals Fight for Merit", "Victorious Return to Camp" and other subtitles, this is the narrative pipa martial arts piece "Ambush on Ten Sides" describing the historical fact that Han Gaozu Liu Bang defeated Chu Overlord Xiang Yu "(Figure 42).

It is unknown when "House of Flying Daggers" was produced, but there is a pipa solo piece titled "Chu Han" in the Ming Dynasty that is very similar to it.According to the "Tang Pipa Biography" written by Wangyou (you You) of the Ming Dynasty: During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (1578-1619 A.D.), there was a man named Tang Yingzeng who played the pipa at a very high level, so he was called "Tang Pipa".He can play more than 100 classical pieces, among which he is "especially proud of "Chu Han"".When he played the "decisive battle between the two armies", the tune "moved the world, and the roof seemed to be falling", and "the sound of gold, drums, swords and crossbows, and the sound of men and horses breaking down" was a masterpiece; King Xiang's sad song of generosity, "Farewell My Concubine", "chasing horsemen", "Sound of King Xiang's suicide, and Yu Qijian's strife for King Xiang". Its song is deeply touching.Comparing this narration of "Tang Pipa" playing "Chu Han" with the current biography "House of Flying Daggers", the music content and form structure of the two are indeed very consistent, so many people today think that "Chu Han" is "House of Flying Daggers". "The predecessor of.

In the Ming Dynasty, there was another pipa master named Zhang Xiong, who was very good at playing the famous song "Hai Qing Na Swan" handed down from the Yuan Dynasty.Li Kaiyuan (1501-1568 A.D.) talked about his playing in "Ci Jian": Zhang Xiong of Henan Province, "is even more outstanding", once a guest listened to his pipa performance at his home, "a temporary play is amazing. Shocked!" When he started to play the famous classical piece "Haiqing Takes the Swan", the sound of the music changed so much that the five couplets (yingying) hall where the host and guest sat were "full of the sound of geese", and his technique was amazing.

Judging from the superb performance skills of Tang Yingzeng and Zhang Xiong mentioned above, as well as the artistry of "Chu Han" and "Hai Qing Na Swan", the art of pipa performance in the Ming Dynasty has indeed reached a very high level.In the Qing Dynasty, the art of pipa developed more rapidly, and there were music scores specially published for pipa in the society. In 1895, he edited and published "Thirteen Sets of Daqu Pipa New Scores of the South and North School", which was also a relatively famous compilation of pipa repertoires at that time.It is worth noting that these versions have begun to divide many traditional repertoires into "Daqu" and "Xiaoqu" according to the characteristics of the music structure; according to the music style and performance techniques, they are divided into "Wuqu" and "Wenqu".For example, in Hua Qiuping's "Pipa Spectrum", the 12 pieces of Xiban noted by Wang Junxi of Zhili in the north included in the volume, "Zhengban" and "Suchuan" that belong to "Wenban" (that is, "Wenqu") are listed separately. Five pieces including "Wuban" (that is, "Wuqu"), such as "Grape Wheel" and "Going Luo" and other seven pieces; the biography of Chen Mufu of the Zhejiang School included in the volume also lists those belonging to "Wenban". 18 songs such as "Thinking of Spring" and "Zhao Jun's Complaint", and 12 songs such as "Sunny Sky" and "Fan Yangzhou" belonging to "Wuban".

"Wu Qu" is also called "Wu Tao". Its music is characterized by majesty, majesty, boldness and heartiness. When playing, it often uses techniques such as sweeping, brushing, squeeling, twisting strings, pushing double strings, clapping, lifting, and full round, as mentioned above. "Chu Han" and "Hai Qing Na Swan" belong to Wuqu; "Wenqu" is also called "Wentao". , playing, long round, overtone and other techniques, such as the aforementioned "Sunset Xiaogu" which was adapted into the silk and bamboo ensemble "Spring River Flower and Moon Night" belongs to Wenqu.Wuqu and Wenqu have different music styles, so the performance techniques will naturally be different. The "Thirteen Sets of Daqu Pipa New Spectrum of the South and North School" emphasizes that "Wenqu should be quiet and have a lingering sound; Wuqu should be powerful and majestic. Press the board to transmit sound, wide and tight, with appropriate urgency" is a summary of the historical experience of the pipa performance art of "wen" and "wu" since the Ming and Qing Dynasties.