Introduce the history of the Chinese folk musical instrument "Erhu"

The erhu was developed from the huqin and is the most popular bowed string instrument.

Liu Tianhua and Abing are two outstanding erhu musicians in modern times.

Erhu: Developed from Huqin, it was once called Huqin or Nanhu. Its spread is unparalleled by other musical instruments. With beautiful timbre and strong expressive power, it is one of the main stringed instruments in my country. It plays an important role in solo, national instrumental ensemble, song and dance and vocal accompaniment, as well as local opera and rap music.

China has many taboos throughout the ages, and Erhu was also banned in the early Qing Dynasty. It is said that after Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty took over the throne, he respected Qianlong as the Supreme Emperor. For a while, the court formed a situation where two emperors were in power. Therefore, things and names related to these "two emperors" were taboo. The "two reeds" in the opera's singing seems to be an allusion to the "two emperors" and is seen as disrespectful to Jiaqing. The two strings on the erhu - Lao Xian and Zi Xian, also known as Er (Er) Xian, provoked the "Two Emperors" again. What's more, if the old string or the second string is broken while playing the erhu, it will be a disaster that will lead to beheading. Therefore, for a long period of time, the erhu was banned. It was not until the late Qing Dynasty when various conflicts intensified that the court had no time to take care of it, and the sound of the erhu could be heard in the hands of people in the Liyuan Garden.

Erhu is the most commonly used bowed and stringed national musical instrument, and it is also the instrument with the most temperament and characteristics of Chinese folk music. The importance of the erhu and its status in folk bands are the most prominent. Mainly popular in and around the Great Wall, north and south of the Yangtze River and the Pearl River Basin, especially in the south of the Yangtze River, the erhu often specifically refers to a type used by soloists and ethnic bands, such as Jiangnan Sizhu and the lead instrument in Guangdong music. In the south, the erhu is much more widely used. Many local operas in the south, such as Yue Opera, Xi Opera, Shanghai Opera, Huangmei Opera, Huai Opera, and Cantonese Opera, all use the erhu as the main musical instrument. Therefore, Erhu is also called "Nanhu".

The predecessors of Erhu are Xi Qin, Ji Qin and Hu Qin in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Xi Qin was named after the Xi people, a nomadic people in the north. Ouyang Xiu's poem "Wearing Xi Qin's Works in the Examination Courtyard" says: Xi Qin was originally a man's music, and when a man plays it, he sheds tears. In the early days, Xiqin was a plucked instrument, and later the Xiqin, a stringed instrument, appeared. Chen Chang's "Music Book" records: Xi Qin is also a Hu Yue, and its shape is similar to that of strings. It is also the pleasure that Xi Bu likes. To cover it, bamboo pieces were rolled between the two strings, and it is still in use among the people today. From the attached picture, it can be seen that it is a bamboo piano pole with a cylindrical drum without a heavy weight. It is the prototype of the erhu in later generations. The horse-tailed huqin began to appear in the Song Dynasty. Shen Kuo's "Mengxi Bi Tan" records: "The horse-tail huqin accompanies Han chariots, and its music sounds like a self-pity Chanyu." "History of the Yuan Dynasty: Ritual and Music Records" describes its shape and structure: "The huqin is made like a fire without thinking, with a rolled neck, a dragon head, and two String, use the string of the bow and the horse's tail. "In the Ming Dynasty, the Huqin added a thousand pounds to determine the length of the string, and the shape was roughly the same as today's. Since the late Ming Dynasty, stringed instruments have emerged and become the main instrument in music activities (especially opera performances). Their playing skills have become quite superb, showing their unique charm. However, in the traditional music system, the status of bowed string instruments such as the erhu is still very low, and they are mainly used for accompaniment. They rarely perform solos on formal occasions, and there are no solos written specifically for the erhu. By the second decade of the 20th century, the famous national musician Liu Tianhua devoted himself to the research, improvement and creation of national instrumental music (mainly the erhu). He absorbed some techniques of Western violins, enriched the expressive power of the erhu, and improved the erhu. Reach the position where you can perform solo and enter the elegant hall. He also incorporated erhu into the teaching of higher music schools, established the erhu major, compiled the earliest erhu textbook and a set of etudes, composed 10 erhu solos including "Singing in Sickness", and ushered in a new era of erhu art. . At that time, the owner of Zhou Wanchun Musical Instruments was the famous Chinese traditional musical instrument maker Mr. Zhou Rongting (both Mr. Liu Tianhua and Mr. Zhou Rongting had studied with Zhou Shaomei, a famous Jiangnan silk and bamboo player in the 1930s). According to the requirements of Jiang Fengzhi, Lu Xiutang and other famous performers from the north and south, they jointly discussed the The traditional erhu's stem and barrel were reformed, and the Yangshan handle erhu (now the moon elbow) and the erhu with a pattern head were made, which laid the foundation for the subsequent reform of the erhu in Suzhou. At the beginning of the 1960s, with the support of Mr. Zhou Rongting, the technical section chief of the Suzhou Folk Music Factory, to comprehensively reform the erhu, and with repeated demonstrations by experts and exploration by all technical staff, after more than ten years of hard work, the current erhu was finally formulated. More scientific new specifications.

Nowadays, the Erhu has become one of the most popular musical instruments. The sound of the Erhu can be heard everywhere, whether in the streets or in remote areas.

Famous Erhu tunes:

1. Happy Flowers 2. Autumn Moon in the Han Palace

3. Yangguan Sandie 4. Cold Spring Wind

5. Two springs reflect the moon 6. Singing in sickness

7. Good night 8. Birds singing in the empty mountain

9. Walking in the light 10. Duxian exercise

11. Song of depression 12. Yin of idleness

13. Moonlight night 14. Elegy

15. Small flower drum 16. Embroidered gold plaque

17. Liubo song 18. The sound of the flute in the quiet night

19. Playing music 20. Peace and peace of mind

21. It’s hard to say goodbye 22. Mountains and flowing water