Ding Chengyun

Ding Chengyun (1944—) is a famous guqin player and calligrapher. Academic circles commented that his performance is "robust and ancient, elegant and profound, reflecting the perfect combination of a scholar and a performer." He is one of the most accomplished qin players in the contemporary era.

Chinese name: Ding Chengyun

Alias: No. Yimen Jushi

Nationality: Chinese

Birthplace: Kaifeng, Henan

Date of birth: March 1944

Occupation: Scholar, piano and zither player

Graduation institution: Hubei University of the Arts

Main achievements : Recovering the harp that has been lost for thousands of years

Representative works: "On the Yin of Qiang", "Mistakes of the Chinese Qin-making Tradition", "Research on Musical Tunes of the Han and Tang Dynasties", "Harmony of Qin and Se"

Introduction< /p>

Ding Chengyun, also known as Yimen Jushi, was originally from Dengzhou, Henan. He was born in Kaifeng, Henan in March 1944. Famous guqin master. He learned piano and zither from his sister Ding Boqin at an early age, and later studied with Guqin masters Gu Meigan and Zhang Ziqian. He also traveled to Zhongzhou qin masters Chen Zhongsi, Chen Shusan, Huang Songtao, and Zhongzhou zither master Wang Shengwu. He has been studying qin for more than 40 years, and is committed to the excavation and research of Chinese music theory and Zhongzhou Zheng School, the development of qin, zither and zither instruments, the discovery and restoration of ancient zither strings and their playing methods that have been lost for more than a thousand years, and the rescue and Promote the ancient Zhongzhou tunes that are on the verge of decline, advocate the promotion of traditional Chinese music transmission methods, etc. I discovered more than ten qin music by notation, such as "Shenren Chang", "White Snow", "Liuhe Tour", "Flowing Spring on the Stone", "Qingyun Song", "Xiuhu Yin", "Liuhe Shang" and so on. He is a representative of the contemporary Zhongzhou Qin School and Zhongzhou Zheng School. He has loved Chinese culture and art since he was a child. From the age of 13, he studied poetry, calligraphy and painting from Jin Zhi, Wu Muyao, Cai Dequan and other teachers. He also learned Shaolin and Tai Chi Kung Fu from Lu Wenqu, Fan Jingyi and other seniors. As the saying goes, the skill of playing the piano is outside the piano, and you will benefit a lot. The cultural foundation laid in Kaifeng had a significant impact on his future aesthetic orientation and artistic development, and the Chinese Kung Fu he learned also had a great relationship with his unique pronunciation of cotton wrapped in iron when he played the piano.

Resume

Graduated from the Instrumental Music Department of Hubei Institute of Arts in 1969;

Taught at Henan University in 1972;

Served as a lecturer in 1981 ;

In 1986, he was appointed associate professor;

In 1992, he was appointed professor and director of the Music Department;

In 1998, he was appointed director of the Institute of Music and Art of Henan University.

In 2001, he served as professor of the Musicology Department of Wuhan Conservatory of Music.

Position

Currently a visiting professor at the China Conservatory of Music, a visiting professor at the University of Nanhua in Taiwan, vice president of the Chinese Piano Society, vice president of the Chinese Music History Society, director of the Chinese Legal Studies Society, and Executive director of the Zheng Association, member of the Chinese Musicians Association, member of the Chinese Celebrities Association, etc. In 2011, Mr. Ding Chengyun was appointed by the Ministry of Culture as the only representative guqin professional president of the "China Kunqu Opera and Guqin Research Association".

Family background

Mr. Ding was born in an artistic family in Henan Province. Four of his six brothers and sisters studied music. The second sister is Ding Boling, a famous Chinese guzheng master. Since the age of 10, Ding Chengyun has been learning guqin, guzheng and other musical instruments from his second sister, and he has a special liking for guqin.

After entering middle school, Ding Chengyun’s obsession with the guqin got out of hand. Through the introduction of his second sister, he became a teacher of Professor Gu Meigan, a representative figure of the Sichuan School of Guqin, and became the fourth generation successor of the Pan-Sichuan School of Guqin in the Qing Dynasty.

In 1964, Ding Chengyun came to study at the Hubei Institute of Arts, the predecessor of Wuhan Conservatory of Music, and became close friends with some old guqin masters in Wuhan, such as Chen Shusan, Huang Songtao, Fan Wenyun and others. , often get together at "gatherings" on weekends to practice their skills. Unfortunately, the "Cultural Revolution" began shortly afterwards, the "elegant gathering" was banned, and the guqin was also smashed.

In 1972, Ding Chengyun graduated from university and was assigned to teach at Henan University. At that time, the Henan Provincial Government received foreign guests and often needed to introduce traditional Chinese music. Ding Chengyun had the opportunity to pick up the guqin again.

Contribution

The traditional guqin has a very low sound, which affects the performance. Ding Chengyun, who once studied carpentry, decided to improve the guqin. Two years later, he produced the first guqin. No more microphones are needed when performing in small concert halls. In the process of making guqin, Ding Chengyun conducted in-depth research on the guqin making since the Tang Dynasty, and published a long paper "Details of Chinese Guqin-making Tradition" in "Musical Instruments", and began to emerge in the field of guqin.

In 2003, the Chinese guqin was successfully selected into the world's "Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity", and Ding Chengyun was indispensable. When the Ministry of Culture organized the application materials, Ding Chengyun was one of the main document providers. The document introduced the ancient Qin music "Shenren Chang" played by Ding Chengyun in a large space.

Achievements

Ding Chengyun is a well-known scholar and harp and zither performer at home and abroad. Academic circles have commented that his performance is "robust and ancient, elegant and rich, embodying the spirit of a scholar and "The perfect combination of virtuoso" and one of the most accomplished pianists of our time. In recent years, there have been major breakthroughs in the study of Gushu tuning and playing methods, which has made the Gushu, which had been lost for more than a thousand years, resound again. In terms of music studies, following the publication of the paper "Examination and Debate of Qing, Ping and Se Tune" in 1983, after twenty years of unremitting research, he gradually revealed the eternal secrets of the three tunes of Han, Tang, Qing, Shang and Chu. The mystery of tone and side tone.

He has published dozens of papers in national core journals such as "Research on the Three-tone Scales and Modes of the Qing and Shang Dynasties", "On Yin Qiang", "Tracing the Origin of Qin Tunes", "On Five Tones", "Gusel Tuning and Rotating Palace Method", etc. articles; in 1992, he hosted a symposium on Qing Shang music; and he has held many guqin solo and qin-se ensemble concerts at home and abroad, with clear and elegant sound, which has been widely praised.

Deeds

When it comes to learning piano, Ding Chengyun was first enlightened by his second sister Ding Boling. Later, his second sister introduced him to her teacher, Guqin, who teaches at Shenyang Conservatory of Music. Master Mr. Gu Meigan. He often used his holidays to go to Shenyang to learn the guqin from Mr. Gu. Under Mr. Gu's teachings, he gradually entered the palace of guqin art.

Later, Ding Chengyun went to Wuhan to study, and news about him became sparse. Until 1978, Ding Chengyun went to visit Mr. Gu in his hometown in Hunan. This time, Mr. Gu took Ding Chengyun's hand and taught him how to play "Liu Shui" in the "Bai Ping Zhai" version, and asked him to compose "Guang Ling San" and other tunes as soon as possible. In the past few days, Ding Chengyun kept asking for advice, and the topics ranged from piano playing, music notation, piano players, history of the piano to piano making. Mr. Gu always answered every question and never looked tired all day long.

In 1972, Ding Chengyun taught in the Art Department of Henan University. At that time, Henan University often had the task of receiving foreign guests. By chance, Japanese ballet artist Matsuyama Shuko came to visit, and Ding Cheng used the guzheng to play "Goose Falling on the Sand" transplanted from the guzheng. Matsuyama Shuko was very appreciative. She said: "I listened to your performance with my eyes closed. It was not like playing one piano, but like ten pianos." This event was among the foreign affairs activities at that time. It had a great influence and gave him the opportunity to play guqin frequently for foreign guests. He took this as an opportunity to start playing guqin in public.

In the next few years, he took advantage of his holidays and went to Shanghai to seek advice from Mr. Zhang Ziqian, an art master of the Guangling School, carrying his homemade variant of the Fuxi-style grand piano. Mr. Zhang saw that he was so dedicated to the art of guqin, so he taught him everything he could regardless of his advanced age. In addition to the Guangling School's famous pieces such as "Plum Blossom Three Lanes" and "Long Xiang Cao" that Mr. Zhang is good at playing, he also learned Guo Chuwang's famous piece "Xiaoxiang Shuiyun". Ding Cheng spent 5 days learning this great song. When leaving Shanghai, at a gathering at Mr. Yao Bingyan's house, he played "Xiaoxiang Water Clouds" again and reported to everyone, which was highly praised by the older generation of Shanghai qin players.

Features

Later, after many years of training, during his career, Ding Chengyun gradually understood the profound and profound spiritual atmosphere of Chinese culture through his in-depth study and understanding of Chinese culture. In the sound of the piano, his unique style was formed. The sound is majestic and ancient, like cotton wrapped in iron; the movement of the fingers is like flowing clouds and flowing water, and the weight seems to be light; the elegance and elegance of the piano are profound, and the atmosphere is lofty; the handling of the music is not small and delicate, but has a unique secret and sometimes comes up with new ideas. In today's world where performance and technique are advocated, his playing style is even more simple, elegant and unique. It is permeated with a fresh cultural atmosphere and shows the charm and wisdom of creative inheritance. While adhering to the tradition, he did not rest on his laurels, but always pursued it with great care, constantly giving new understandings and interpretations to the ancient music, and pushing it to a new realm and height. This is what he often said about using the guqin. Highlight the spirit of Chinese culture.

"The Book of Songs" says: A wife's harmony is like a drum, harp, and harp. It can be said that since ancient times, the harp has always been inseparable from the harp, and the harp has never been separated from the harp. However, since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the ancient harp became a palace decoration, and the "harmony of the harp and harp" was lost. In 2000, Ding Chengyun successfully restored the ancient ceremonial instrument that had been lost for nearly a thousand years based on the ancient ceremonial materials unearthed from many ancient tombs. His wife Fu Lina is also a professor at Wuhan Conservatory of Music. She has been engaged in Chinese music education for a long time. She takes the initiative to play the harp, and the two often study and compare. Professor Ding Chengyun's replication of the ancient harp and his exploration of playing methods, coupled with his wife's delicate interpretation of the ancient harp, made it possible to "play the harp and the harp as friends", and the duo's ensemble became a true "harmony of the harp and the harp". It is a good story in the piano world. The couple has held qin-se concerts many times in the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and other places, and each time they always create a "hurricane of qin studies".

Ding Chengyun said that his family has been in Kaifeng for three generations: his grandfather came to Kaifeng to open a knitting training institute, and his father, Ding Zhenyu, graduated from Henan University. After studying in the United Kingdom and returning to China, he served as a professor at Henan University. Ding Chengyun attended middle school in Kaifeng and returned to Henan University to teach for 30 years after graduating from university. He grew up in Kaifeng and spent the first half of his life in Kaifeng. His wife Fu Lina is also from Kaifeng. She was an associate professor at the Conservatory of Music of Henan University and was transferred to Wuhan Conservatory of Music in 2001, so they have a deep affection for Kaifeng. In his writings, he often calls himself Yimen Qinshi or Yimen layman, but he never forgets that he is from Kaifeng. He said that he returns to Kaifeng almost every year to see the changing face of his hometown and to visit his mentors, friends and fellow villagers who have nurtured and cared for him.

Works

"The Harmony of the Qin, Se, and the Ming" is an ancient music album recently released by Golden Bee Records. This album is also the world's first album of the harmony of the Qin, the Se and the Ming. Qin refers to the guqin. The harp is also one of the most important stringed instruments in ancient my country, and was as famous as the harp in ancient times. There are a large number of descriptions of the harp and harp ensemble in ancient books such as The Book of Songs, such as "The wife harmonizes well, just like tuning the harp and harp", "With the harp and harp in hand, everything is quiet and peaceful", which shows how elegant the harp and harp ensemble is. In the record, the famous domestic professor Ding Chengyun and his wife Fu Lina were invited to perform the piano and harp. Professor Ding Chengyun has in-depth research on the reproduction and playing method of Gusser. In addition, Mrs. Ding’s delicate interpretation of Gusser, This is the result of "Harmony of Musical Instruments".

The album contains a total of 8 works, four of which are for the harp and harp ensemble, including "Shenren Chang", "Yangguan Sandie", "Yu_Q&A", and "Guanshan Yue". In the record, everyone can appreciate the otherworldly sound effects of the harp and harp ensemble. The superb performance of Ding Chengyun and his wife can be said to have reproduced the thousand-year legacy of the harmonious harp and harp.