After the founding of New China, China national musicians carried out continuous reforms on cucurbit silk. 1958, Yunnan Song and Dance Troupe expanded its range to 14 for the first time. In recent years, some literary and art groups in Beijing have produced two new kinds of cucurbit silk. Among them, six cucurbits can play single-tone, double-tone, single-tone melody with extension and two harmony melodies with extension. It not only maintains the unique timbre and style of the original instrument, but also increases the volume, expands the range and enriches the timbre and expressive force. In China's national musical instrument garden, it has become an eye-catching flower. At the beginning of 1980, the visiting delegation of the Central National Orchestra played this new cucurbit silk for the Japanese people, which was welcomed and well received.
There is a legend among the Dai people in Yunnan: A long time ago, when a flash flood broke out, A Dai's Bumao picked up a big gourd and braved the stormy waves to save his sweetheart. His faithful love touched the wonderful music, and suddenly it was calm and a hundred flowers blossomed. Proud, I wish the couple good luck and happiness. Since then, cucurbit silk has been passed down from generation to generation in Dai families.
Yunnan Dai people are versatile and can sing and dance well. Every festival, whether rowing dragon boats in the river or flying high by the river, or running in the square, or drinking and singing in the bamboo house, you can hear touching songs. Zanha (a folk singer) sang ancient legends and beautiful myths, the sufferings of the old society and the happiness of the new society with the accompaniment of Hulusi.
Kunsalle and Obimu, an ancient love tragedy widely circulated among De 'ang people, describes the origin of cucurbit silk. In the ancient De 'ang stockade, there was a young man named Kunsar and a girl named Obimu. They grew up together and were childhood friends. Kunsa concert played beautiful music with leaves and bamboo leaves. Because the leaves will dry up and it is difficult to preserve them, Kunsar uses thin copper sheets instead of leaves and blows them on thin bamboo tubes. Later, the bamboo tube was eaten by insects and made some small holes. When playing, press your fingers on different holes, and the sound made by the bamboo tube will change. Put on a gourd, and the sound will be more melodious. In this way, Kunsar invented "Bigtreasure" (the De 'ang name of cucurbit silk). Kunsar often plays "The Great Treasure" after work. As soon as Obi-Mu hears the music, he will come on a date with him. However, Obi-Mu's parents suspected that Kunsar was poor and didn't want to give Obi-Mu Xu to Kunsar, so they quietly built a small hanging building deep in the forest and hid Obi-Mu in the small hanging building to prevent them from meeting. Kunsal is a young man with backbone, determined to go out to earn money and marry his beloved girl. Obi-mu lives alone in the hanging building, thinking about his lover every day, and his eyes are blurred. One day, Obi-Mu saw footprints on the ground and thought it was Kun Sang Le, so he put down the ladder and waited for his sweetheart to arrive. I didn't know that the footprints near the hanging building were actually left by tigers. At night, the hungry tiger climbed the ladder to hang the building and ate Obimu. Kunsal worked hard in other places, saved a lot of money and hurried home. When he found the small hanging building, he found that his sweetheart was no longer alive, filled with indignation, and went into the mountains to kill the tiger. Whenever the dead of night, he will play sad music with "big treasure" and accuse this man-made tragedy. Later, in order to commemorate Kunsalle and Obimu, people passed on Bigbo as a "love instrument" from generation to generation. The tune played by "Great Treasure" is the "tears sound" played by the De 'ang people from generation to generation with cucurbit silk. There are many people who can play this song in De 'ang Village, the second ancient city of Xixiang, lianghe county.