In order to commemorate this massive, cruel and tragic decisive battle between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang, later generations created the music "Ambush from Flying Daggers", which reproduced the extremely brave Xiang Yuyun who was finally outnumbered. Falling into a situation where he was besieged on all sides, and finally being seriously injured, he resolutely committed suicide with his sword in the face of the heavily surrounded enemy troops in Wujiang River.
The first part of the music is preparation for war. It includes 5 short sections of forming a camp, playing and playing, ordering generals, arranging formations, and marching. "Lie Ying" is the introduction to the whole song. The rhythm is free and varied. The pipa took the lead at the beginning, playing the exciting war drums in the high register, which opened the prelude to the upcoming fierce battle between the Chu and Han armies.
This loose introduction is like a high-pitched horn, like a roaring war drum, the golden drums are beating together, the sound is shaking the valley, the shadow of the sword is shining, the iron horse is fighting, the tension is high, and there is an atmosphere of war. "Chuida" is the only lyrical passage with strong melody in the golden song. The long sound played by the pipa with its round fingers simulates the tone of the ancient army's 筚篥. This piece of music is like a mighty Han army, marching in broad strides from far to near. "Point General" is a variation and repetition of the second half of "Chuida", with continuous 16th notes coming out, and the rapid melody depicting the busy scene of mobilizing troops and generals.
"Arrange" and "Walk in Line", the tune is simple and the rhythm is neat and compact, showing the high morale of the Han army before the war. Emotions gradually develop and intensify, paving the way for the transition to fierce battle scenes. Generally, when playing, there are changes and choices in the three sections of music: "point general", "formation" and "line up". The second part is the battle process, including the ambush, the small battle at Jiming Mountain, and the battle at Jiuli Mountain. It vividly depicts the tense and fiery battle scene of the desperate decisive battle between the Chu and Han armies, and is the central part of the whole song.
"Ambush" uses contrasting rhythmic patterns and deeply developed melody to create a tense and terrifying battle atmosphere that is ready to go. It is a unique piece of music. In the "Small Battle at Jiming Mountain", it shows the close confrontation between the Chu and Han armies. The pipa uses the technique of "braking strings" to make a clanking sound, creating a metallic sound effect, like a gun. Swords and halberds collided with each other.
"The Battle of Jiuli Mountain" is the climax of the entire music. At first, the dense rhythm exaggerated the momentum of the battle, and then in the tense musical atmosphere, the pipa played a fast "clip and sweep" to show the unstoppable bravery of millions of soldiers of the Han army. The sound of cannons, the sound of horse hooves, and the sounds of fighting were intertwined.
At this critical moment of life and death, bursts of sad "flute sounds" suddenly appeared. Being besieged on all sides, the Chu army suddenly became disheartened and lost its fighting spirit. Immediately afterwards, the pipa used techniques such as "double strings" and "push and pull" to play the shouts of the soldiers, which made people feel the passionate and exciting scene, forming the most intense musical climax in the whole region.
The third part is the end of the battle, including "The Siege of Nanshan" and "The Wujiang Suicide". The music is sad and tragic, in sharp contrast to the previous climax. There are also three short paragraphs in the original score: "The whole army performs triumphantly", "Generals compete for merit", and "Victory returns to camp", describing various scenes of the Han army's triumphant return.
At the end of Ming Dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty, there was a man named Tang Yingzeng. Because he was good at playing the pipa, people called him "Tang Pipa". He has been fond of music since he was a child and cries when he hears singing. Later I learned to sing and cried again after singing.
Later, General Zhengxi recruited Tang Yingzeng to go to the shogunate and followed him through Jiayu, Ganzhou, and Jiuquan. During hunting and military parades, Tang Yingzeng was asked to play the music on the fortress. There was a subordinate named Yan Guda who was good at setting up battle formations. When he was about to fight, he ordered Tang Yingzeng to play the music of the warriors, and then he mounted his horse to kill the enemy.
Tang Ying once particularly liked to play the song "Ambush from Flying Daggers". During the decisive battle between the two armies, the sound was so earth-shattering that the tiles on the house were about to fall down. Carefully distinguish, there are the sounds of golden drums, A-sword fighting, crossbow shooting, the sound of men and horses advancing and retreating, all kinds of sounds intertwined and vibrating, and then suddenly stopped, and there was silence.
After a while, the voice sounded again. What is unclear is the song of Chu; what is desolate and tragic is the song of King Xiang generously singing farewell to Concubine Yu; there is the sound of falling into the swamp and the sound of cavalry chasing; when reaching Wujiang River, there is the sound of King Xiang drawing his sword and killing himself, and the sound of chasing cavalry fighting for King Xiang. The sounds of attack and trampling made the audience excited at first, then frightened, and finally ended with tears streaming down their faces.