the earliest records about pipa appeared 2 years ago. In the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-22 BC), Liu Xi, a scholar, wrote in the book Interpretation of Names: "Loquat is called loquat before pushing hands, but it is called loquat when holding hands, just like when it is drumming, so it is named". However, the shape of the pipa at that time was different from that at present, with a straight neck and a round speaker, and the phonemes and chords were not fixed. The number of strings varies from four to five or six. This kind of pipa was then called "Qin Pipa" or "Qin Hanzi". In fact, it is the predecessor of zhongruan, our national musical instrument today. Its name comes from Ruan Xian, one of the seven sages of bamboo forest in Jin Dynasty. Ruan Xian is famous for playing this pipa. Later generations called this instrument? Ruan Xian? , referred to as Ruan. And the name of pipa was given to the later music pipa.
In the 5th and 6th centuries, with the strengthening of commercial and cultural exchanges between China and the nationalities in the Western Regions, a musical pipa was introduced from Central Asia, which was then called "Hupipa". Its shape is a curved neck, pear-shaped sound box, with four columns and four strings, much like the Ud or UD that is common in Arab countries at present. Hold the pipa horizontally and play it with a pick. Modern pipa is developed from this kind of pipa.
in the Tang dynasty (7th-9th century), the development of pipa reached a peak. At that time, the pipa was indispensable from the court band to the folk singing, and it became a very popular musical instrument at that time, and it was in the leading position in the band. This grand occasion is recorded in a large number of ancient Chinese poems. For example, Bai Juyi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, vividly described the pipa performance and its acoustic effect in his famous poem Pipa Travel. The large strings hummed like rain, the small strings whispered like a secret. Hummed, whispered-and then were intermingled, like a pouring of large and small pearls into a plate of jade ".
By the late Tang Dynasty, the pipa had been greatly developed from playing techniques to production structure. The most outstanding reform in playing techniques is that the horizontal holding performance is changed into vertical holding performance, and the finger playing directly replaces the playing with a pick. The most obvious change in the structure of pipa is the increase from four phonemes to sixteen (that is, four phases and twelve frets). At the same time, its neck is widened, and the lower box is narrowed from wide to narrow, which is convenient for the left hand to press the lower phoneme. Due to the above two reforms, pipa playing techniques have been developed unprecedentedly. According to statistics, there are fifty or sixty fingerings of pipa. To sum up, the right-hand fingering is divided into two systems: one is the wheel fingering system, and the other is the snapping system. Left-handed fingering is also divided into two systems: first, finger pressing system, and second, push-pull system.
By the 15th century A.D., Pipa had a number of Wu Qu represented by House of Flying Daggers and Overlord's Dismantling, and Wen Qu represented by Yueergao, Sick Spring and Zhaojunfen. The so-called Wu Qu is characterized by realism and the use of right-handed techniques; The so-called Wen Qu is characterized by lyricism and the use of left-handed techniques. These pieces of music have become treasures of Chinese national music and pipa art.
the pipa is traditionally pentatonic. By the time of the Republic of China, the piano codes had been increased according to the law of twelve averages. At present, the standard pipa has eight phases and thirty pieces, and its expressive force and adaptability have been greatly strengthened. It can not only play traditional music, but also play western and modern works, and is conducive to cooperation with symphony orchestras. It created conditions for further development. By the middle and late 2th century, the art of pipa had a new development. In pipa production, the original silk strings were changed into nylon steel strings, and some even used silver strings, which increased the volume and * * * of the pipa. In terms of techniques, the use of left thumb and chords has greatly improved the expressive force of pipa again. As a result, a large number of excellent solo works integrating traditional music and modern composition theory have emerged, and there have also been duets with various instruments and pipa concertos with small bands and symphony orchestras. In the 21st century, the pipa not only returned to the prosperous Tang Dynasty in China, but also attracted more and more attention from music lovers all over the world. Many traditional music and contemporary works are loved by Chinese and foreign audiences. It can be said that the pipa has begun to move towards the international music scene.