Complete knowledge of vertical harp and harp

The harp harp is a plucked string instrument played by ethnic minorities in northern my country in ancient times. It is also called the vertical-headed harp, or the barbed harp, and is now simply called the harp. There are various shapes, including angular harps that resemble the Western musical instrument harp, phoenix-headed harps and dragon-headed harps with additional decorations on the head. The angular harp can be divided into large and small harps. It has a long history, a long history, a wide range of sounds, soft and clear timbre, and strong expressive power. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was used in various music in Xiliang, Qiuci, Shule, Korea, and Tianzhu, and was also spread eastward to Japan. It was gradually less used in the Ming Dynasty and was lost for 300 years. After the 1930s, knowledgeable people in my country's music and musical instrument circles tried their best to revive this ancient musical instrument art. In the late 1970s, he began to embark on the arduous journey of exploring modern konghou. In 1984, my country successfully developed the transposed harp, which reached the peak of musical instrument technology. Nowadays, the thousand-year-old ancient music has become a wonderful thing. Various new types of vertical harps have been used for solos, ensembles, instrumental ensembles, singing and dancing accompaniments or concerts with bands. They have become members of national orchestras and orchestras and are deeply loved by all walks of life. The welcome, love and praise of the ethnic people.

The konghou has a long history. Originally named Kanhou or Konghou, there were two types: horizontal and vertical. As far back as the beginning of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Chu State in southern my country already had a sleeping harp and harp similar to the harp and harp. Liu Xiang's "Shiben Zuo Pian" of the Han Dynasty contains: "Konghou" was created by "Kong Guohou" and "Konghou" was written by Shi Yan, which is the sound of Mi Mi. It comes from Pushang, and it is recorded that the name of the prince of Kongguo is also taken. Liu Xi's "Shiming" contains the same information as "Shiben". Konghou was composed by Shi Yan, the music official of King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty, and came from Pushang. King Zhou was the last monarch of the Shang Dynasty. Pushang, that is, above the Pu River, was in the territory of the ancient Wei Kingdom, which is now the area of ??Puyang, Henan. It shows that Wo Konghou has a history of more than 3,000 years. Ying Shao of the Eastern Han Dynasty, "Customs and Customs" says: "Konghou, please follow the "Book of Han Jiao Sacrificial Records": "Emperor Xiaowu came to Nanyue and prayed to Taiyi and Houtu in the temple. The music is said to have its ups and downs corresponding to the rhythm. The surname of Hou is Guan Zhang'er. Or it can be said that the empty lord takes the air. The harps and harps are all empty, so why does Kan Houye's "Historical Records? Fengchan Shu" say: (Emperor Wu) Sai Nanyue, Prayer Temple Taiyi, and Houtu began to use music and dance, and called for songs, and composed twenty-five strings, and they were empty Hou, harp and harp began from this moment. ?This account by Sima Qian shows that the ancient Wo Konghou was a stringed instrument with columns. In the Han Dynasty, the sleeping harp was included in the Qing Dynasty Shang Music as a representative instrument of the Chinese Zhengsheng. It had five strings and more than ten columns, with bamboo as a groove and a wooden plectrum. It was not only popular in the Central Plains and South of my country. In this area, it also spread to Northeast China and North Korea, and also spread eastward to Japan during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, a kind of horn-shaped konghou was introduced to the Central Plains of my country from Persia via the Western Regions. In order to avoid confusion, they have been named separately since the end of the Six Dynasties, with the distinction between lying and upright. The sleeping harp was used in Goryeo music in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Du You of the Tang Dynasty's "Tongdian" records: "The harp was originally made according to the qin system, but now it is shaped like a harp but small, with seven strings, and is played with a plucked instrument, like a pipa." ?After that, it gradually disappeared in our country, so that the instrument lost its sound and was replaced by the expressive Qin and Zheng. However, the Wo Konghou was passed down in my country's friendly neighbors North Korea and South Korea. After being passed down and improved over the generations, it became the Xuanqin it is today. In Japan, it was called Baekje Qin because it was introduced through the Baekje Kingdom at that time (Goryeo and Baekje were both the ancient names of Korea). Today, although we cannot see the actual specimen of the Crouching Harvest with our own eyes, we can still see the image of the musical instrument from the brick paintings of Wei and Jin tombs in Jiayuguan, Gansu, the caisson murals of the Northern Wei Dynasty tombs in Ji'an, Liaoning, and the murals of the Goguryeo tombs in Ji'an, and get a glimpse of the nature of the Crouching Harvest. Playing style.

As early as the Eastern Han Dynasty 200 years ago, the vertical seal was introduced to the Central Plains of my country from Persia (now Iran) through the Western Regions along with the merchants on the Silk Road. "Book of Sui Music" written by Changsun Wuji and others of the Tang Dynasty recorded: "The modern pipa and the upright konghou are from the Western Regions and are not old Chinese instruments." ?As for its shape, Du You's "Tongdian" of the Tang Dynasty said: ?Erecting the konghou is a sign of Hu Le, and Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty (Liu Hong) liked it. The body is curved and long, with twenty-two (one for three) strings. It is held upright in the arms and played in unison with both hands. It is commonly known as the arm konghou.

Famous konghou performers in the Tang Dynasty include Zhang Hui, Li Ping, Zhang Xiaozi and Ji Qigao.

The Western harp and the Chinese harp are very similar in appearance and similar in playing methods. They have both reached a relatively perfect state in terms of plastic arts and sound effects. Although they spread in different regions and have significant differences in their internal structures, tracing their origins, they come from the same origin and are instruments of the same origin and different streams. The earliest "harp" appeared in ancient times, but it was very crude at that time. According to legend, people prepared bows and arrows to go hunting. When they were testing the tension of the bowstring, they found that it made a beautiful sound when they plucked it. So, people consciously plucked the bowstring again and again, listening to it make a sound like singing. Later, people used hunting bows as musical bows and played the bow strings as piano strings. This is the simplest stringed instrument. In Europe, after many centuries of spread and improvement, the bow gradually added many strings to this single string, and it became the ancient harp. It also got the name harp because it resembles an upright bow. At the beginning of the 18th century, its structure was relatively simple. The pitch was changed manually, and it could not perform complex technical performances. In the 1870s, the thirty-seven-string harp made in France became a work of art with exquisite craftsmanship. Not only were the columns carved with sophisticated leaf patterns, but the head was also carved into a violin-style symmetrical spiral, which was very unique. There is also a transparent glass stained window embedded on the side, and the internal parts are finely made, small and exquisite. The harp is currently housed in the Musical Instruments Museum of the National Conservatory of Music in Paris. In 1820, the great French piano master Sebastian Airard (1752-1831) changed the harp's pedals to a mechanical structure of double pedals, which enriched its expressive power. After subsequent continuous improvements, the harp has reached the perfection it has today and has become a pearl among Western musical instruments. It is an instrument that can be used both as a soloist and as an accompaniment, and it also has one or two seats in an ordinary orchestra. The internal structure of the harp is highly precise, the appearance and arts and crafts are particularly exquisite, and the manufacturing technology is extremely complex. Currently, it is only produced in a few countries in the world, such as Britain, France, the United States, Japan, Russia, Germany, and Italy. Our country successfully manufactured the first harp in 1958. At that time, the Soviet National Symphony Orchestra visited China for a performance. Soviet harpists I. Shrezger and Na Tolstaya tried to play our country's harp and wrote in the guest book with satisfaction. It reads: "The first harp made in Beijing, with beautiful shape, fine craftsmanship, excellent material selection, very soft sound, and easy use." Congratulations to the genius maker on this achievement. ?

The harp was continued to be used in the Song and Yuan dynasties of my country. Chen Yang's "Book of Music" in the Song Dynasty recorded the various shapes of harp that existed at that time, and painted their images. Han Hui, a poet from the Song Dynasty, wrote in "Wearing the Harvest": "The misty window of misty fairy clouds." Talking about Suzhou has not broken people's hearts. With the lake, the smoke and the moon fall into the vast sky. Awakening Chang'e, spring bamboo shoots grow slenderly. Immediately put on half-face makeup. After all the lovesickness, there are twelve shamanic suns. Shu □ Qing Meng enters Xiaoxiang. Wearing a jade mingling luan, blowing the heavenly fragrance. ?It describes the literati's emotions and the wonderful sound of the konghou, which is fascinating. Since the Song Dynasty, the harp has gradually been lost among the people and has become an exclusive instrument for the court. It has been imprisoned for a long time, which has restricted its development, and its performance skills have gradually deteriorated and lost its vitality. By the Ming Dynasty, harp instruments and musicians were already rare. The konghou disappeared in the Qing Dynasty and eventually ceased to sound for 300 years. However, there are still records and images in the "Tongkao of Qing Dynasty Continued Documents". ?

In the Chinese Musical Instrument Museum of the Music Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Arts in Beijing, there are two frame-type vertical harp instruments on display, both of which were modeled after the image of the vertical harp instrument painted in the "Tongkao of Qing Dynasty Continued Documents" . The historical record records: The vertical harp has eighteen strings, one string on the handle has ten frets, twenty-eight characters, and four groups of tones. When playing the middle and low parts, use the second hand to hold the string back. For the high part, use the left fret and right string to play. You can also join in with the finger clip. There are three types of strings: large, medium and small. The string on the handle is especially small. The upper part is tied to the movable rod in the handle groove, and the lower part is tied to the small soundboard. This soundboard can raise the string tone by one degree and has the function of chanting. The volume is twice as loud as the Pipa. Place it on the table and play it.

?This kind of harp has been improved from the harp shaped like half a wooden comb described in Wu Zimu's "Meng Liang Lu" of the Song Dynasty. A wooden harp is added to the side of the bass string, although this harp is still It is relatively thin, but it has initially formed the framework of a harp, laying the foundation for future development. One of the harps is made of red sandalwood, with a height of 138.5 cm, a bottom length of 49.5 cm, and a width of 10 cm. It is a frame-type vertical harp. The sound box is located at the bottom and is in the shape of a narrow box, 41 cm long, 19 cm high and 6.5 cm wide. The two sides are covered with Paulownia thin boards. There are two money eye sound holes on the top and one on the right side. Long bamboo bridge and horse. The head of the piano is in the shape of a concave spiral. There are 21 mahogany violin-style pegs on the angular curved wood (10 on the left and 11 on the right). Zhang has 21 silk strings of two thicknesses. The upper ends of the strings pass through the middle of the bent wood and are wound around the pegs. The lower ends of the strings are tied to 21 mahogany strings on the lower right side of the piano box. At the lower end of the curved wood on the side of the treble string, there is an ebony fingerboard with nine copper frets inlaid on it. The base is painted black and depicts a golden dragon, while the pillars are covered in gold and decorated with dragon patterns. When playing, place it on the table and hold the instrument with both hands. This piano is a modern product and was once collected by Zheng Yingsun, a famous Chinese qin player. The other harp is made of rosewood, with a height of 137 cm, a bottom length of 47.5 cm, and a width of 12 cm. It is a frame-type vertical harp. The bottom is a narrow box-shaped sound box, 42 cm long, 19 cm high, and 6.5 cm wide. The two sides are covered with paulownia boards. There are two sound windows composed of five money eyes on the top, and there are two sound windows on the right side. A mahogany horse. The head of the instrument is in the shape of a concave spiral, with 23 mahogany violin-style pegs (11 on the left and 12 on the right) placed on the angular curved wood. There are 23 silk strings of three thicknesses, and the lower ends of the strings are tied to 23 rosewood strings on the right side of the piano box. There is a fingerboard at the lower end of the curved wood on the side of the treble string, with nine bone frets embedded in it. The whole body is painted in red paint, depicting golden dragons playing with beads, dragon patterns, cloud patterns and other patterns. When playing, place it on the table, hold it with both hands, and press the treble strings on the fingerboard. This piano is a modern product and was once collected by Mr. Cheng Yanqiu, a famous Peking Opera artist in my country. In 1958, Mr. Cheng donated it to the country. These two imitations of the ancient vertical harps are exquisitely made and beautifully decorated. Although they have not appeared on the music stage, they are exquisite products of my country's national musical instruments and are priceless treasures for future generations to learn from. It has been included in the large album "Chinese Musical Instruments Illustrated Book".

Since the 1930s, insightful people in my country’s music and musical instrument circles have begun the work of reviving the harp. my country's famous ethnic music society, Shanghai Datong Ensemble, gathered well-known instrumentalists and instrument makers at that time. Among the set of 143 ancient and modern ethnic musical instruments they produced, 20 instruments were reformed. , one of which is a vertical seal. The upper part of this vertical konghou is the same as the one recorded in the "Tongkao of Xuwenwen of the Qing Dynasty". It is equipped with a piano post, a string tied to the movable harp in the handle groove, and the lower part is narrow box-shaped* The singing box was changed to a pipa-shaped singing box, which was an unprecedented and groundbreaking move. The strings are tied to the small soundboard from the bottom to the lower right frame of the piano case. There are frets on the panel (right side) as a conductor of string sound. This reform attempt significantly expanded the volume, enriched and beautified the timbre, and brought new development to the ancient musical instrument. Unfortunately, this harp has not been handed down due to years of war or other reasons. Only photos of the instrument remain and are stored in the Chinese Ethnic Musical Instruments Museum of the Shanghai Ethnic Musical Instruments Factory.

In 1959, Mr. Wang Mei, senior musical instrument engineer and famous violin maker, and director Yao Wenlin of the Beijing Institute of Musical Instruments, and others, referred to pictures of ancient musical instruments and modern imitations, and based on the shape and structure of modern harps Principle, design and trial production of a frame-type vertical harp, but it was not used in music practice. ;