A probe into the cultural history of Chinese classical music and the origin of the development of pentatonic and heptatonic scales

When classical music pours out, you can realize that mountains, flowing water, bamboo and winter snow are flowing in the air, which is the eternal call of life. That indescribable and inexhaustible feeling is the unique beauty of Chinese classical music

1. On classical music and its aesthetic spirit

In foreign countries, the type of classical music is called "classical

music", which means "classical, orthodox and classical literature", so our people call it "classical music". First of all, conceptually, "classical music" is the name of a music category. However, even in foreign countries, there are many different explanations for the specific meaning of the word "classic

music", among which the main objection comes from the different concept of dividing the era of "classical

music". In the narrowest sense, the works of "Vienna classical

music School" represented by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven from the second half of the 18th century to the 192s are specifically referred to as "classic

music". The broadest explanation is to move the time forward to the European Renaissance, from then until the later Baroque period, Viennese classical

music, The Romantic Period, national music school, impressionism until the late 19th century and early 2th century, and even all modern professional music that is not purely entertaining, which is collectively called "classic

music".

In our country, many people like to confuse "classical music" with "elegant music" and "serious music", and a large part of them are "admirers" of classical music. At first glance, it doesn't seem inappropriate, but under the understanding of some people, these two views can easily become a gap on the road of "letting classical music go to the public"

first question, is classical music "elegant"? I think this statement should be affirmed, but we should have a correct understanding and understanding of the "elegance" referred to here. Some friends think that classical music is "elegant" because they see the solemn appearance of the conductors on the stage with straight suits and high-sounding voices; Because I saw the uniform and meticulous costumes of the orchestra players who played these music; Because I noticed the elegant, luxurious, peaceful and grand layout atmosphere of the concert hall; Even the audience should be well dressed and pay attention to etiquette. In fact, these superficial "elegance" can not reflect the essence of classical music, and the elegant temperament of music is revealed from the melody! The rigorous and complete structure, elegant and graceful melody and rich and profound ideological connotation are the roots of the elegance of classical music. Among them, we can hear the most holy feelings belonging to human beings, the call from the deepest heart and the noblest ideals. The elegance on the surface is actually just a stereotype and convention formed in the development of western music for a long time. Although we can regard it as a kind of "glitz", it is hard to imagine that a group of disheveled, dressed and even unkempt performers and conductors appear in front of the audience and can perform good results. Because the grandeur on the surface can just set off the unique rigorous and solemn temperament in western classical music. In fact, today's European and American classical music circles are also trying to change their image of being too formal and alienated from the public. The famous Berlin Forest Concert is a good example, where people can enjoy classical music in a leisurely way, without having to stick to whether their clothes are appropriate or not, and they can applaud and even listen to music while having a picnic.

Nowadays, the education circles in China especially like to call "classical music" "elegant music". The reason is very simple. Teachers don't like students' obsession with singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan, so they often organize students to enjoy some so-called classical concerts, which are called "cultivating sentiment, improving taste" and "letting elegant music enter the campus" and so on. The original intention of this practice is understandable, but if we simply organize students to watch and listen without proper guidance, it will be difficult to have a substantive effect, and even let students bury their dislike of classical music (elegant music) in their hearts from an early age. Coupled with today's environment and climate, popular entertainment occupies most of the line of sight, and perhaps many people will be afraid of classical music all their lives.

Secondly, some media equate classical music with "serious music", which I think is even more inappropriate. Many laymen's first impression of classical music is "obscure and difficult to understand". If all of them are called "serious music" indiscriminately, I am afraid that fewer and fewer people will be interested in classical music in the future. Although from a certain point of view, the expression forms and melody themes of some classical music are indeed "extremely serious", we should also see that the themes of most western classical music are praise, praise, beautiful and lively melodies and extremely happy feelings. Moreover, even some classical music with serious themes and profound thoughts often wants to convey a kind of "serious happiness". For example, Beethoven's famous Ode to Joy, the fourth movement of Brahms' famous First Symphony and the fourth movement of Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony, although these works are full of noble and deep philosophy, they all give people a positive and uplifting feeling in the end. In fact, after the introduction, the audience will find that classical music is not difficult to understand, and it is not only serious and deep.

The reason why these two inaccurate nicknames or pronouns of classical music appear in China is that I can only regret to say that some media and scholars only admire classical music at a very formal level. They don't really have a systematic and profound understanding of classical music, so that they are self-defeating. On the contrary, more people feel the long distance between themselves and classical music and become one.

second, on the cultural history of Chinese classical music

Music is an indispensable language for human beings and the sublimation of human soul. From primitive people's constant resistance to the threat of nature and long hard work to the earliest music, to the colorful music system in the world today, it is a miracle of civilization.

in the long historical process of 5, years, the history of China's civilization has shown an extremely brilliant page. China is one of the earliest ancient civilizations in the world, and its music has a long history. As early as before the invention of writing, when our ancestors evolved from apes to humans, in order to make individual life exist and race continue, in the two most basic production activities that human beings must engage in: labor and reproduction, along with the use of tools and the production of language, music was born. In fact, walking on one's left and right feet, and the beating of the heart and pulse are the simplest rhythms. As long as the monotonous language of primitive people has high and low intonation changes, it also contains melody factors. In the Spring and Autumn Period, a wave of contending among a hundred schools of thought in China collided with brilliant cremation, while contemporary Europe was in a wild state. When China music greeted the dawn, European music was still wandering in the long night.

during the Zhou dynasty, the government department set up a music institution headed by "da si le". The teaching courses mainly include music morality, music language and music and dance. The so-called virtue is the ethical concept of "neutralization, mediocrity and filial piety"; Music language is the ethical code of conduct such as "promoting Tao, satirizing and speaking"; Music and dance include music theories such as big dance and small dance, the chanting of music poems, dance and the performance of six generations of music and dance.

Six generations of music and dance are said to be six epic music and dances handed down from ancient times, including Yunmen Dajuan in the Yellow Emperor, Xianchi in the Yao Dynasty, Dashao in the Shun Dynasty, Daxia in the Yu Dynasty, Dayong in the Shang Tang Dynasty, and Dawu, which narrates the whole process of Zhou Wuwang's war activities. In the Zhou Dynasty, they were used in the court to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, ancestors and other important ceremonial activities. Among them, Dawu and Dayun, which are regarded as the theme of praising morality, are often performed in ceremonies such as the sacrifice of the emperor, the study of etiquette, and the pension. Like "feather dance", "imperial dance" and "Jing dance", they are small entertainment dances in the court.

In addition to music and dance, there were other grand ceremonies and songs in the court of the Zhou Dynasty, such as ode and elegance, which were used for the emperor's ancestor worship, shooting, learning and meeting the two kings. And the music in the room sung by the empresses in the inner palace, without bells and chins, only accompanied by harps and harps. This shows that music has been differentiated from the original music and dance. In the court of the Zhou Dynasty, there were also performances of four foreigners' music in Qin, Chu, Wu, Yue and other places, which showed that there was a certain exchange of folk songs and dances among all ethnic groups at that time.

From the above literature, we can know that the music culture of Zhou and Qin Dynasties is an important coordinate for the high development of China music. This series of achievements also lay a theoretical foundation for the study of ancient Chinese music. About a book in the Spring and Autumn Period "Tube? In Di Yuan Pian, a mathematical method for calculating the chord length ratio of each tone in pentatonic scale is formally recorded, which is called "three-point gain and loss method" in history, and the names of palace, quotient, horn, sign and feather in pentatonic scale in China are completely described. In Zuozhuan? Twenty years of Zhao Gong and Mandarin? In Zhou Yu, there are also seven tones coexisting with the pentatonic scale. Its semitone position is between four or five degrees and seven or eight degrees, and each tone is palace, business, angle, sign change, sign, feather and palace change, which is the result of further calculation after obtaining the pentatonic scale by using the three-point gain-loss method. But from Zuozhuan? According to the records of "Nine Songs, Eight Winds, Seven Tones and Six Rhythms Serve Five Tones" in Zhao Gong's Twenty-five Years, the change of character and palace is mostly used to enrich and decorate the pentatonic scale, which occupies a dominant position in music practice. At that time, the twelve-law system was also established to meet the needs of harmony and the revolving palace. "Mandarin? Zhou Yu named the twelve laws "Huang Zhong, Da Lu, Tai Cluster, Jia Zhong, Gu Xi, Zhong Lu, Yan Bin, Lin Zhong, Yi Ze, Nan Lu, Wu She and Ying Zhong". Among them, the singular law is called law, and the even law is called Lu, so the twelve laws are often called "twelve laws". The twelve laws are also obtained by the three-point gain and loss method. With the five-tone, seven-tone and twelve-tone laws, and the concept of taking the palace as the main part in the scale, the theory of "rotating the phase as the palace" is further established.

The Qin Dynasty, which unified China in 211 BC, was a centralized country. In order to meet the needs of political unification and cultural management integration, Yuefu, an official office dedicated to managing music, was set up. The Western Han regime established by Liu Bang also expanded the organization and functions of Yuefu. At that time, the government attached great importance to folk and folk music, and made Yuefu collect "the legacy of Zhao, Dai, Qin and Chu" and absorb the music of remote ethnic groups such as the Western Regions and Beidi. On the basis of extensive collection of folk songs from all over the country, Li Yannian, a musician, was chosen as the assistant commander, and dozens of people, including Sima Xiangru, were selected to arrange, process and write lyrics for the palace sacrifices and feasts. According to Hanshu? According to the Records of Arts and Literature, there were 134 folk songs collected at that time, and there were 75 pieces of "Zhou Folk Songs and Poems with Twists and Twists" and 75 pieces of "Henan Zhou Folk Songs and Poems with Twists and Twists" which may be accompanied by music scores.

during the Han and Wei dynasties, the court introduced many folk songs and dances and hundreds of operas. Among them, Emperor Gaozu ordered musicians to work? Ba Yu Dance, which is known as "fierce and sharp"; At first, the story of "Xiangzhuang Dance Sword" at the Hongmen Banquet was performed, and Xiang Bo protected Emperor Gaozu with his sleeves. Later, it evolved into a "towel dance" symbolizing Xiang Bo's sleeves with a towel. Women wear white? Cloth dance clothes dance with long sleeves "white?" Dance "; And holding it? Drum, singing and dancing? Dance "; Dancers dance on and beside the drum, and so on. Baiju is a general term for all kinds of juggling skills, including "Dragon Dance" and various acrobatic magic.

During the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, wars were frequent and dynasties changed. With the social turmoil and ethnic migration, the music culture of foreigners and outlands had extensive exchanges with the music culture of the Central Plains, which became an important period in the history of music. Among them, Qing Shang music is the remnant of traditional music in Qin and Han dynasties. The Qing Shang department was established in Cao Wei regime, which is actually a variant of Yuefu. After the Jin Dynasty's eastward journey, these "old songs of the Central Plains" interacted with southern music, making Qing Shang music a general term including harmony songs and advocacy songs handed down from the previous dynasty, as well as the western sounds of Wu Ge and Jingchu in the south of the Yangtze River, which was the representative of southern Yuefu folk songs at that time. The lyrics of the northern folk songs are mostly preserved in Yuefu poetry anthology "Across the Drum and Beam", which has a much wider theme than the southern folk songs, and most of them reflect the war and people's suffering, and are written for the northern Wu, Xianbei and Han people. Mulan Ci is the most outstanding work in northern folk songs, which enthusiastically sang the heroine Hua Mulan who joined the army instead of her father. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, the rulers of Xianbei people often ordered maids in the palace to sing "songs by real people", also known as "northern songs". "The reason why the above-mentioned ancestors opened the tomb, and the traces of the princes' ruin, every 15 chapters, the songs of the morning and dusk" ("Wei Shu? Lezhi "). This kind of folk song, similar to national epic, is accompanied by silk and bamboo, but also with flute and drum, which is a kind of drumming music. Liang Chen was popular in the south and called it "Daibei".

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the reunification of the north and the south, social stability and economic prosperity created favorable conditions for the development of music art. The rulers of the Tang Dynasty were less conservative in culture, and absorbed foreign music culture extensively, which made music reach a peak of development.

In this historical period, poetry was included in the famous songs sung by musicians, and the integration of literature and music became a feature of the development of Chinese classical music. Li Bai's Guan Shanyue, Du Fu's Qingming Festival, Liu Yuxi's Zhuzhi Song, Wang Zhihuan's Liangzhou Ci, Wang Wei's Yangguan Song, Long Tou Yin, Liu Zongyuan's Fisherman, etc. Some of them have been circulated among the people for a long time as folk songs, while others have been absorbed by the Qin family and preserved in the form of Qin songs. Among them, the seven-character quatrain "Yangguanqu" written by Wang Wei to send a friend who went to the west to serve in Yangguan became a song that people often sang at that time and in the future because it expressed the sadness of saying goodbye by blending scenes.

in the song dynasty, the urban economy gradually prospered, and the citizen class expanded day by day. The focus of social music activities moves from the palace to the secular. There have been "Goulan" and "Youpeng" venues for citizens' music activities in the Northern Song Dynasty. Music such as tonal music, rap music and traditional Chinese opera, which are suitable for citizens and literati, have developed rapidly.

The Song Dynasty is also an important historical stage of the blending of Chinese music and literature. Song Dynasty is the golden age of ci-style song creation, with more than 8 commonly used ci tunes, some of which come from traditional and contemporary popular folk songs and ditties, such as "Recalling Jiangnan" and "Liu Qingniang". The other part comes from some passages of Tang Dynasty song and dance songs, such as Yangguan Yin, Pour Cup Preface, Water Tune the Song Head, Slow Voice, Teasing Order, etc. As well as ethnic minorities and foreign music, such as "Bodhisattva Man" and "Sumuzhe". There are not only a large number of lyrics and songs created by literati in the Song Dynasty, but also they can be roughly divided into two categories: graceful and unrestrained. Graceful and restrained school's ci content mostly expresses the feelings of lovesickness between men and women. Its style is delicate and gentle, and it pays attention to the coordination of melody and melody, represented by poets Liu Yong and Zhou Bangyan who are closely related to music. The bold and unconstrained ci and qu opened up the expressive content of ci, broke the strict rhythm bondage, and had a vigorous and rough style, which was stronger than Su Shi in the Northern Song Dynasty, followed by a group of patriotic ci writers in the Southern Song Dynasty such as Xin Qiji, Chen Liang, Zhang Shouxiang and Yue Fei after the difficulty of Jing Kang. Yu Zhibao, a Song Dynasty poet, wrote in The Record of Blowing Sword.