Since Nu Wa created human beings, there has been no entertainment, no singing, no dancing, no musical instruments and no music in the world for a long time. What a dull life without music!
according to legend, music began to appear when the Yellow Emperor dominated the world. However, the music at that time was very simple and rough, just knocking some wooden sticks, bamboo sticks, crocks, stone tools and leather drums against each other, which was monotonous, noisy and very disharmonious. Even such monotonous music played an important role at that time. Use it to boost morale when fighting; When you win, use it to celebrate and entertain; When offering sacrifices, use it to worship god and eliminate disasters; Usually, it is used to celebrate peace and cultivate temperament. The Yellow Emperor was very dissatisfied with such music. In his view, musical instruments should be exquisite and music should have a harmonious melody. He asked Ling Lun, a brilliant musician, to complete this task: "Ling Lun, can you create a music law for people so that everyone's life can be happier?"
Ling Lun thought for a moment and said, "OK, let me try."
Ling Lun happily accepted the orders of the Yellow Emperor. He selected a group of talented musicians, packed their bags, brought bows and tools, traveled long distances, crossed the famous Daxia Mountain in the West, came to the back of Kunlun Mountain, set up camp, and prepared to choose materials to make musical instruments.
what materials are most suitable for making musical instruments? At first, everyone argued endlessly. Ling Lun asked everyone to choose their favorite materials according to their own wishes and imagination. Some people cut the branches of plants, some people pick the leaves of plants, some people hunt the bones of animals, and some people carve stones; Everyone showed their abilities and made a bunch of strange musical instruments with different tones. After comparing and identifying them one by one, Ling Lun thought that the sound of musical instruments made of bamboo tubes was ever-changing, crisp and pleasant. So, everyone cut back a lot of bamboo from the mountain stream, chose the thin and uniform part of the cavity wall, cut it into a three-inch and nine-point bamboo tube, made a large number of bamboo wind instruments, and named the music played by this bamboo wind instrument "Sheshao".
however, everything is difficult at the beginning, and it is really hard to create a blue ray. At first, there was no difference between yin and yang, and there was no melody at all. People sarcastically said to Ling Lun, "If you don't listen to that bamboo pipe, you will scare away all the wild animals.". Ling Lun was also very disappointed when he heard these words. On one occasion, the Yellow Emperor was practicing riding a horse. Just as he got on the horse, there was a strange cry from Ling Lun blowing bamboo pipes. When the horse of the Yellow Emperor heard this strange noise, it scared its hooves to fly, raised its head and screamed, throwing the Yellow Emperor off its horse. Ling Lun rushed over to help the Yellow Emperor up. The Yellow Emperor said to Ling Lun, "This small bamboo tube you made can scare my horse, so it's not simple, and it will certainly blow a beautiful melody in the future.".
Ling Lun heard the encouragement of the Yellow Emperor and said to him shamefully, "I haven't made a melody for three years, which is a great sin. The Yellow Emperor still encourages me like this, which makes me feel guilty."
The Yellow Emperor said, "You can't say that. An ordinary bamboo tube can blow with a few small holes drilled in it. This is your invention and contribution. How can it be called a sin?" When the Yellow Emperor finished, he comforted Ling Lun for a few words and led the horse away. Encouraged by the Yellow Emperor, Ling Lun became more confident and practiced hard all day, but he still couldn't play a harmonious tone. Moreover, although many musicians are playing, the sound is rather monotonous. Ling Lun discovered after repeated pondering that bamboo wind instruments with the same thickness have different sounds due to different lengths. He thought, if you make a series of bamboo wind instruments with different lengths and play them together, wouldn't the sounds become colorful? After repeated experiments, Ling Lun finally made a musical instrument consisting of twelve bamboo tubes. The new musical instrument is ready, but how to determine its musical rhythm? That is, what is used to determine the height of each sound? One day, Ling Lun came to Fengling alone, lying on a stone and thinking hard. However, perhaps he was so tired that he fell asleep unconsciously. When he was sleeping soundly, he was suddenly awakened by a wonderful bird sound in the tree. Ling Lun immediately sat up and rubbed his eyes. When he looked up, he saw two birds with beautiful feathers and beautiful shapes singing on the tree, and their voices were melodious and beautiful.
Ling Lun opened her eyes wide and listened carefully, and couldn't help picking up the homemade bamboo tube and blowing it like a bird. When it was blowing vigorously, two birds suddenly stopped singing and spread their wings and flew away. Ling Lun was so anxious that he stamped his feet and waved, but the bird had already flown without a trace. Ling Lun reported the matter to the Yellow Emperor when he returned, and played the half-baked birdsong he had learned to the Yellow Emperor intermittently.
The Yellow Emperor said happily, "This kind of bird is called Phoenix, and it is the king of birds. It is auspicious to attract the phoenix. "
From then on, Ling Lun came to Fengling every day and sat on a big stone, waiting for the phoenix to sing. Sure enough, there are phoenix habitats in Fengling Woods. However, not all the phoenixes that fall here sing. After a long period of observation, Ling Lun found that among the chirping phoenixes, the chirping voice of the phoenix is intense and high, and the chirping voice of the phoenix is soft and long. Each pair of phoenixes fell behind, each singing six times at a time, and then, after repeated calls, they flew away. The beautiful voice is in perfect harmony with the basic tone. According to the two tones of the Phoenix, Ling Lun finally created twelve melodies in music after a long period of pondering and deliberation. After that, Ling Lun recorded the calls of all kinds of birds and animals one by one, constantly enriching the melody he created.
The Yellow Emperor was very satisfied with Ling Lun's work. He named Linglun as the highest music official, responsible for music creation, performance and musical instrument manufacturing throughout the country.
a few years later, according to the twelve musical rules, Ling Lun and another music official Rong Jiang forged twelve bronze bells to match the five tones of Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zheng and Yu, and used them when playing the great music Six Ying and Jiu Shao. At the same time, it is announced that it can only be played at certain times of the year. With Ling Lun's efforts, various musical instruments were perfected, and ancient music became more and more abundant. Every spring, the Yellow Emperor holds a large-scale music concert, and there are many gods dancing beside it. Huangdi personally composed music and dance and named it "Xianchi".
Ling Lun is the founder and creator of ancient music. He brought triumph to the winner, hope to the frustrated, joy to the miserable, strength to the decadent, and was praised by the world through the ages as a god of joy.