A Musical Trip to the Pearl of the East

 

A Musical Trip to the Pearl of the East

Chinese Folk Music

 

Image source https://d31kydh6n6r5j5.cloudfront.net/uploads/sites/392/2020/06/208524_orig-scaled.jpg?resize=960,540

 For this musical trip blog, I am going to share about the folk music from China, my motherland. While exploring this topic during past week, I got emotional and felt so proud of my native folk music…Hope you will also find it as a precious pearl in the East, just as I will. 


History of Chinese Folk Music

According to Wikipedia (2021), China developed music culture over 9,000 years ago based on archaeological evidence. Some of the ancient instruments include clay music instrument Xun, bamboo flute (Di Zi), and bronze bell set (Bian Zhong). A formal system of royal court and ceremonial music was established in Zhou Dynasty around 1,000 BC. The Imperial Music Bureau was established in Qin Dynasty around 200 BC. In subsequent dynasties, Chinese musicians developed a large assortment of instruments and playing styles, including one of the most popular instrument ancient zither (Gu Zheng).

Chinese music was also influenced by Central Asia and India, including introduction of the popular instruments lute (Pi Pa) and Chinese violin (Er Hu), which are widely used in modern folk music. The earliest known folk music in China was from the 12th century when flute solos were written to portray traditions and tales of various regions in China. A more modern appreciated form of Chinese folk music is Guangdong music or Cantonese music, which began around the 1920’s in Shanghai ballrooms. Chinese folk music started to prosper again since the end of 20th Century with the development of economy and culture of the nation.

Instruments of Chinese folk music

Musical instruments in China can be classified by their material: metal, stone, silk, bamboo, gourd, clay, animal skin and wood. Some of the ancient indigenous instruments include long zithers, flutes, panpipes, Sheng or mouth organ, and percussion instruments (cymbals, drums, and gongs). Other instruments include various lutes and fiddles introduced to China from Central Asia or Middle East.

In this Blog, I chose two sample pieces played with woodwind instruments bamboo flute (Di Zi) and gourd flute (Hu Lu Si), bowed strings Chinese violin (Er Hu), and plucked and struck strings ancient zither (Gu Zheng) and lute (Pi Pa). You will also see some other woodwind and percussion instruments in the orchestra. Below are some pictures of the major instruments to help those who are new to Chinese folk music.

 

Gu Zheng – Chinese plucked and struck string instrument.

                          Image source: http://blog.joytunes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Guzheng.jpg

 

Er Hu – Two- stringed bowed instrument, also called Southern fiddle or Chinese violin.

 

Pi Pa – Chinese Lute, a four-stringed plucked musical instrument

                                                                                      Image Source: https://www.shenyunperformingarts.org/data/image/original/2018/11/30/adc961e9beb67689b0ee5d49ee0b711d.jpg

 

Di Zi – open side-blown flutes with fingerholes made of bamboo or wood.

 

Hu Lu Si – Gourd flute, a free reed wind instrument

Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Hu_Lu_Si.jpg/480px-Hu_Lu_Si.jpg

 

Samples of Modern Chinese Folk Music

Melody and tone are of great importance in Chinese folk music, and I chose the following two pieces performed by professional musicians in modern China.

 

Jasmine Flower (茉莉花)-Chinese Traditional Music

Revised composition by Ma Jiuyue, performed by Ji Wei (Gu Zheng), Yu Hongmei (Er Hu), Chen Yue (Di Zi), and Zhao Cong (Pi Pa), Dec. 2010

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M4gca_uLB4 

Jasmine Flower is one of my favorite song since decades ago. It is so popular, and most Chinese know about its tune and some of its lyrics. The song dates to the 18th century and became one of the first Chinese folk songs widely known outside of China. It is a romantic song from a lady who wants to present a fragrant and pure white jasmine flower to others, probably her lover. It has different version of lyrics expressing varied feelings. I met the Erhu artist Yu Hongmei twelve years ago in Wilmington of North Carolina and received one of her CDs as a personal gift. I was so lucky to enjoy her live performance.

The meter of the original song is 4/4 or quadruple, and its tempo is Adagio or slow to be played with beauty and grace. The performance by famous artist Yu Hongmei et. al. in 2010 is phenomenal, which represents the Chinese culture and history. Chinese are hardworking and enduring. Women were not treated equally with men in most of the Chinese history. Hardships produced more endurance and strength while creating the unique beauty of Chinese ladies. The melody and dynamics of this piece of music starts softly and slowly with Gu Zheng solo as an into. Then Er Hu joins in as a lonely soloist with dragging and sorrowful sounds, like a delicate young lady wondering in her emotions. The Di Zi performance speeds up the tempo and brings cheerfulness together with the Pi Pa. You can hear the accelerando changed the tune and setting of feelings. The music ends with expressing joy, hope, and celebration of beauty. Overall, Jasmine Flower elicits deep and complex feelings of Chinese females: purity, loveliness, loneliness, hope, joy, and strength…

 

The Countryside Ballad (Tian Ge 田歌)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LX7QoL1Dxk

Hulusi soloist: Hou Yanqiu at the Grand Chinese New Year Concert 2007 in Moscow, performed by China Traditional Orchestra of Zhejiang Province, designed by Wu Zezhou and recorded by Russia TV. Hulusi music was composed by famous flutist Jiang Guoji in 2006.

 Music of Tian Ge in Numbered Musical Notation by Jiang Guoji, Page 1 of 3

Image source: https://www.360kuai.com/pc/92a1b81d7acd6879a?cota=4&kuai_so=1&tj_url=so_rec&sign=360_7bc3b157

Hu Lu Si or “gourd flute” is a folk music instrument in South China originated from Dai People in Yunnan Province. It is an end-blown free reed pipe with gourd windchest. Most Hulusi have a melody pipe and two drone pipes. Each pipe has a triangular free reed of brass. Hu Lu Si means “silk of gourd”, referring to the haunting and silky tone of the instrument. The Dai male farmers play Hulusi to express their love to women or relaxation while taking a break from field labor. The composer Mr. Jiang adopted country styles from Eastern and Southern China to portray the beautiful scenery and lifestyle of countryside in South China.

The performance by China Traditional Orchestra Zhejiang Province is a piece of fine art. Hulusi soloist Ms. Hou embedded her emotions and whole being into her performance. The unique timbre of Hulusi is clear, soft, and echoing, which makes audience flying through the beautiful countryside of South China. The orchestra starts with a flute solo accompanied by plucked and struck string music as an into, clear and bright. Then Hulusi solo chimes in softly and slowly accompanied by ensemble of Erhu, Pipa, and percussion, opening the curtain of the ballad. After the short bridge of Erhu and percussion, the Hulusi increases its tempo a bit to a brisk tune. Then the Hulusi slows down again continuing its soft and silky story. In the middle of the music, the Hulusi leads another solo with changing tempo and pitches with no accompanying music, sounds enchanting and ends with a much faster tempo while all the other instruments chimed in suddenly with clear rhythm and loudness, expressing firmness and a change of dynamic. It continued with the same happiness till the end, which sounds like the final celebration of a good harvest in the countryside of South China.

Chinese civilization is over 5,000 years. It went through ups and downs but remains strong. Chinese folk music is a precious pearl of the East, expressing the characteristic of Chinese people and their perseverance and love.

 

Sources:

“Chinese Folk Music”. Music-Folk. 2011. Web. 4 Mar. 2021. http://www.music-folk.com/chinese-folk-music/

“Music of China.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Feb. 2021. Web. 7 Mar. 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_China

“Mo Li Hua.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Feb. 2021. Web. 7 Mar. 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_Li_Hua

“Hulusi.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Jan. 2021. Web. 7 Mar. 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulusi

Comments

  1. Candice BMarch 8, 2021 at 9:13 PM

    Wow! Such beautiful music! It definitely has a way of calming you down. I really enjoy the sound of the Gu Zheng! Beautiful blog!
    I know when I am having a hard time falling asleep or really need to relax I will play something like this :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D-Nj64uMW8 if you are interested in taking a listen! Great work!

    ReplyDelete

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