Dizi
Encyclopedia
The dizi is a Chinese
transverse flute
. It is also sometimes known as the di (笛) or hengdi (橫笛), and has varieties including the qudi (曲笛) and bangdi (梆笛).
These names are likely to have multiple spellings, too, depending on the transliteration
used to convert from Chinese names. Nonetheless, dizi seems to be the most common name (and written form) used in the West.
The dizi is a major Chinese musical instrument, and is widely used in many genres of Chinese folk music
, as well as Chinese opera
, and the modern Chinese orchestra
. Traditionally, the dizi has also been popular among the Chinese common people, and it is simple to make and easy to carry.
Most dizi are made of bamboo
, which explains why dizi are sometimes known by simple names such as Chinese bamboo flute. However, "bamboo" is perhaps more of a Chinese instrument classification like "woodwind" in the West. Northern Chinese dizi are made from purple or violet bamboo, while dizi made in Suzhou
and Hangzhou
are made from white bamboo. Dizi produced in southern Chinese regions such as Chaozhou
are often made of very slender, lightweight, light-colored bamboo and are much quieter in tone.
Although bamboo is the common material
for the dizi, it is also possible to find dizi made from other kinds of wood, or even from stone
. Jade
dizi (or yudi, 玉笛) are popular among both collectors
interested in their beauty, and among professional players who seek an instrument with looks to match the quality of their renditions; however, jade may not be the best material for dizi since, as with metal, jade may not be as tonally responsive as bamboo, which is more resonant.
The dizi is not the only bamboo flute of China
, although it is certainly distinctive. Other Chinese bamboo wind instruments include the vertical end-blown xiao
, the guanzi
(double reed), the koudi
, and the bawu
(free reed).
Whereas most simple flutes have only a blowing hole (known as chui kong in Chinese) and finger-holes, the dizi has very different additional hole, called a mo kong (膜孔), between the embouchure and finger-holes. A special membrane called dimo
(笛膜, lit. "di membrane"), made from an almost tissue-like shaving of reed (made from the inner skin of bamboo cells), is made taut and glued over this hole, traditionally with a substance called ejiao. Garlic juice or glue sticks may also be used to adhere the dimo. This application process, in which fine wrinkles are created in the centre of the dimo to create a penetrating buzzy timbre
, is an art form in itself.
The dimo covered mokong has a distinctive resonating
effect on the sound produced by the dizi, making it brighter and louder, and adding harmonics to give the final tone a buzzing, nasal quality. Dizi have a relatively large range, covering about two-and-a-quarter
octave
s.
, slides, popped notes, harmonics, "flying finger" trills, multiphonics, fluttertonguing, and double-tonguing. Most professional players have a set of seven dizi, each in a different key (and size). Additionally, master players and those seeking distinctive sounds such as birdsong may use extremely small or very large dizi.
, who wanted to make the bamboo a musical instrument, others suggest that dizi was imported into China during the Han Dynasty
(206 BC-220 AD).
Recently, archaeologists have discovered evidence suggesting that the simple transverse flutes (though without the distinctive mokong of the dizi) have been present in China for over 9,000 years. Fragments of bone flutes from this period are still playable today, and are remarkably similar to modern versions in terms of hole placement, etc. The Jiahu
neolithic site in central Henan province of China has yielded flutes dating back to 7,000 BC - 5,000 BC that could represent the earliest playable instruments ever found. These flutes were carved with five to eight holes, and is capable of producing varied sounds in a nearly accurate octave. The earliest complex transverse flute
s dates back to the Warring States Period
, and there are examples of bamboo dizi dates back to 2nd century BC. These flutes share common features of other simple flutes from cultures all around the world, including the ney
, an end-blown cane flute which was depicted in Egyptian
paintings and stone carvings. In fact, recent archeological discoveries in Africa suggest that the history of such flutes may date back a very long way in human history indeed.
The first written record of the membrane (dimo) dates from the 12th century. On traditional dizi the finger-holes are spaced approximately equidistantly, which produces a temperament of mixed whole-tone and three-quarter-tone intervals. During the middle of the 20th century dizi makers began to change the finger hole placements to allow for playing in equal temperament
, as demanded by new musical developments and compositions, although the traditional dizi continue to be used for purposes such as kunqu
accompaniment. A fully chromatic
version of the dizi is called xindi
. Pitched in the same range of western flute, the xindi's extra tone holes prevent the effective use of the membrane, therefore, this instrument lacks the stereotypical timbre of the "dizi" family. While the both the bangdi (pitched in the same range as western piccolo) and qudi (pitched a fourth or fifth lower than the bangdi) are the most predominant, other dizi include the xiaodi/gaoyindi (pitched a fourth of fifth higher than the bangdi), the dadi/diyindi (pitched a fourth or fifth lower than qudi), and the deidi/diyindadi (pitched an octave lower than qudi.)
D = Membrane
X = Covered Hole
O = Open Hole
U = Half Cover Hole
(FOR LOW A DIZI)
01. M D | X X X | X X X = E
02. M D | X X X | X X O = F#
03. M D | X X X | X U O = G
04. M D | X X X | X O O = G#
05. M D | X X X | O O O = A
06. M D | X X O | O O O = B
07. M D | X O O | O O O = C#6
08. M D | O X X | O O O = D
09. M D | O O O | O O O = Eb
10. M D | O X X | X X X = E
11. M D | X X X | X X O = F#
12. M D | X X X | X O O = G
13. M D | X X X | X U O = G#
14. M D | X X X | X O O = A
15. M D | O X X | O O O = B
16. M D | X O O | O O O = C#7
17. M D | O X O | X X X = D
18. M D | O O O | O O O = Eb
19. M D | O X X | X X X = E
20. M D | X X O | X X O = F#
21. M D | X O X | X O X = G#
22. M D | X O X | O O O = A
23. M D | O X X | X X O = B
, for example, the bangdi is used to accompany Bangzi opera, with a sound that is bright and vigorous. In Southern China
, the qudi is the lead melodic instrument of kunqu
opera and is used in music such as Jiangnan sizhu
, has a more mellow, lyrical tone.
There have been several major performers of the 20th century who have contributed to dizi playing in the new conservatory professional concert repertory, often based on or adapted from regional folk styles.
Feng Zicun (冯子存, 1904–1987) was born in Yangyuan, Hebei
province. Of humble origins, Feng had established himself as a folk musician by the time of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, playing the dizi as well as the four-string fiddle sihu
in local song and dance groups, folksongs and stilt dances. He also introduced er ren tai
, the local opera of Inner Mongolia
, to Hebei after spending four years there as a musician in the 1920s.
In 1953, Feng was appointed to the state-supported Central Song and Dance Ensemble in Beijing
as dizi soloist, and accepted a teaching post at the China Conservatory of Music
(Beijing) in 1964.
Feng adapted traditional folk ensemble pieces into dizi solos, such as Xi xiang feng (Happy Reunion), Wu bangzi (Five Clappers), contributing to the new Chinese conservatory curricula in traditional instrument performance. Feng’s style, virtuosic and lively, has been known as representative of the folk musical traditions of northern China.
Liu Guanyue (刘管乐, 1918- ) was born in An'guo county
, Hebei. Born to a poor peasant family, Liu was a professional folk musician who had earned a meagre living playing the guanzi
, suona
, and dizi in rural ritual ensembles before becoming a soloist in the Tianjin Song-and-Dance Ensemble (Tianjin gewutuan) in 1952.
Liu together with Feng Zicun are said to be representatives of the Northern dizi style. His pieces, including Yin zhong niao (Birds in the Shade), He ping ge (Doves of Peace) and Gu xiang (Old Home village) have become part of the new conservatory professional concert repertory.
Lu Chunling (陆春龄，1921- ) was born in Shanghai
. In pre-1949 Shanghai, Lu worked a trishaw
driver, but was also an amateur musician, performing the Jiangnan sizhu folk ensemble repertory. In 1952, Lu became dizi soloist with the Shanghai folk Ensemble (Shanghai minzu yuetuan), and also at the Shanghai Opera Company (Shanghai geju yuan) from 1971 to 1976. In 1957 he taught at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music
, and became Associate Professor in 1978.
Lu has performed in many countries as well as throughout China and has made many recordings. His dizi playing style has become representative of the Jiangnan
dizi tradition in general. He is well known as a longtime member of the famous Jiangnan sizhu music performance quartet consisting of Lu Chunling, Zhou Hao, Zhou Hui, and Ma Shenglong. His compositions include Jinxi (Today and Yesterday).
Zhao Songting (赵松庭, 1924–2001 ) was born in Dongyang
county, Zhejiang
. Zhao trained as a teacher in Zhejiang, and studied law and Chinese and Western music in Shanghai. In the 1940s he worked as a music teacher in Zhejiang, and became the dizi soloist in the Zhejiang Song and Dance Ensemble (Zhejiang Sheng Gewutuan) in 1956. He also taught at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music
and the Zhejiang College of Arts (Zhejiang Sheng Yishu Xuexiao).
Because of his middle class background, Zhao suffered in the political campaigns of the 1950s and 1960s and was not allowed to perform, instead he taught many students who went on to become leading professional dizi players, and to refine dizi design. He was reinstated in his former positions in 1976.
Zhao's compositions include San Wu Qi (Three-Five-Seven), which is based on a melody from Wuju
(Zhejiang traditional opera).
Yu Xunfa (俞逊发, 1946–2006) was a prominent dizi soloist and composer from Shanghai. He performed with the Shanghai National Orchestra and served as Head of the Chinese Dizi Culture Research Centre of Shanghai. The State Council of the People's Republic of China
gave him a Life Achievement Award as well as a Lifelong Special Allowance from the State. He is also known for having invented the koudi
in 1971.
Ma Di 馬迪 is a current composer and soloist known for his technique on the instrument.
(龍笛 (音樂家) or phonetically translated to "雷恩寇伯"), born in Toronto, Canada, is the first renowned western musician playing dizi along with numourous other world woodwinds. He graduated from the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto with an honours degree in performance. On many of his recordings he uses the dizi as the lead instrument. He has also used dizi in the film soundtracks of The White Countess, Relic Hunter, China Rises, and Long Life, Happiness, & Prosperity.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
transverse flute
Transverse flute
A transverse flute or side-blown flute is a flute which is held horizontally when played. The player blows "across" the embouchure hole, in a direction perpendicular to the flute's body length....
. It is also sometimes known as the di (笛) or hengdi (橫笛), and has varieties including the qudi (曲笛) and bangdi (梆笛).
These names are likely to have multiple spellings, too, depending on the transliteration
Transliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
used to convert from Chinese names. Nonetheless, dizi seems to be the most common name (and written form) used in the West.
The dizi is a major Chinese musical instrument, and is widely used in many genres of Chinese folk music
Music of China
Chinese Music has been made since the dawn of Chinese civilization with documents and artifacts providing evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty...
, as well as Chinese opera
Chinese opera
Chinese opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China with roots going back as far as the third century CE...
, and the modern Chinese orchestra
Chinese orchestra
The term Chinese Orchestra can refer to either:* The ancient Chinese Orchestra, or* The modern Chinese Orchestra-The ancient Chinese Orchestra:...
. Traditionally, the dizi has also been popular among the Chinese common people, and it is simple to make and easy to carry.
Most dizi are made of bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
, which explains why dizi are sometimes known by simple names such as Chinese bamboo flute. However, "bamboo" is perhaps more of a Chinese instrument classification like "woodwind" in the West. Northern Chinese dizi are made from purple or violet bamboo, while dizi made in Suzhou
Suzhou
Suzhou , previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part...
and Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
are made from white bamboo. Dizi produced in southern Chinese regions such as Chaozhou
Chaozhou
Chaozhou is a city in eastern Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the South China Sea to the southeast...
are often made of very slender, lightweight, light-colored bamboo and are much quieter in tone.
Although bamboo is the common material
Material
Material is anything made of matter, constituted of one or more substances. Wood, cement, hydrogen, air and water are all examples of materials. Sometimes the term "material" is used more narrowly to refer to substances or components with certain physical properties that are used as inputs to...
for the dizi, it is also possible to find dizi made from other kinds of wood, or even from stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
. Jade
Jade
Jade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
dizi (or yudi, 玉笛) are popular among both collectors
Collecting
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
interested in their beauty, and among professional players who seek an instrument with looks to match the quality of their renditions; however, jade may not be the best material for dizi since, as with metal, jade may not be as tonally responsive as bamboo, which is more resonant.
The dizi is not the only bamboo flute of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, although it is certainly distinctive. Other Chinese bamboo wind instruments include the vertical end-blown xiao
Xiao (flute)
The xiao is a Chinese vertical end-blown flute. It is generally made of dark brown bamboo . It is also sometimes called dòngxiāo , dòng meaning "hole." An ancient name for the xiāo is shùdí The xiao is a Chinese vertical end-blown flute. It is generally made of dark brown bamboo (called...
, the guanzi
Guan (instrument)
The guan is a Chinese double reed wind instrument. The northern Chinese version is called guanzi or bili and the Cantonese version is called houguan . It is classified as a bamboo instrument in the Ba Yin system...
(double reed), the koudi
Koudi
The koudi is a very small Chinese flute made from bamboo. It was invented in 1971 by the late dizi master Yu Xunfa .-Overview:The instrument comes in two sizes...
, and the bawu
Bawu
The bawu is a Chinese wind instrument. Although shaped like a flute, it is actually a free reed instrument, with a single metal reed. It is played in a transverse manner...
(free reed).
Membrane
Di mo
The dimo is a special membrane applied to the transverse Chinese flute called dizi , giving the instrument its characteristic buzzing timbre....
(笛膜, lit. "di membrane"), made from an almost tissue-like shaving of reed (made from the inner skin of bamboo cells), is made taut and glued over this hole, traditionally with a substance called ejiao. Garlic juice or glue sticks may also be used to adhere the dimo. This application process, in which fine wrinkles are created in the centre of the dimo to create a penetrating buzzy timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
, is an art form in itself.
The dimo covered mokong has a distinctive resonating
Resonance
In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate at a greater amplitude at some frequencies than at others. These are known as the system's resonant frequencies...
effect on the sound produced by the dizi, making it brighter and louder, and adding harmonics to give the final tone a buzzing, nasal quality. Dizi have a relatively large range, covering about two-and-a-quarter
octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
s.
Techniques
Dizi are often played using various "advanced" techniques, such as circular breathingCircular breathing
Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. This is accomplished by breathing in through the nose while simultaneously pushing air out through the mouth using air stored in the cheeks.It is used extensively in playing...
, slides, popped notes, harmonics, "flying finger" trills, multiphonics, fluttertonguing, and double-tonguing. Most professional players have a set of seven dizi, each in a different key (and size). Additionally, master players and those seeking distinctive sounds such as birdsong may use extremely small or very large dizi.
Origins
There are many suggestions for the source of dizi. While legend suggest it was the invention of the Yellow EmperorYellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor or Huangdi1 is a legendary Chinese sovereign and culture hero, included among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he reigned from 2697–2597 or 2696–2598 BC...
, who wanted to make the bamboo a musical instrument, others suggest that dizi was imported into China during the Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
(206 BC-220 AD).
Recently, archaeologists have discovered evidence suggesting that the simple transverse flutes (though without the distinctive mokong of the dizi) have been present in China for over 9,000 years. Fragments of bone flutes from this period are still playable today, and are remarkably similar to modern versions in terms of hole placement, etc. The Jiahu
Jiahu
Jiahu was the site of a Neolithic Yellow River settlement based in the central plains of ancient China, modern Wuyang, Henan Province. Archaeologists consider the site to be one of the earliest examples of the Peiligang culture. Settled from 7000 to 5800 BC, the site was later flooded and abandoned...
neolithic site in central Henan province of China has yielded flutes dating back to 7,000 BC - 5,000 BC that could represent the earliest playable instruments ever found. These flutes were carved with five to eight holes, and is capable of producing varied sounds in a nearly accurate octave. The earliest complex transverse flute
Transverse flute
A transverse flute or side-blown flute is a flute which is held horizontally when played. The player blows "across" the embouchure hole, in a direction perpendicular to the flute's body length....
s dates back to the Warring States Period
Warring States Period
The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
, and there are examples of bamboo dizi dates back to 2nd century BC. These flutes share common features of other simple flutes from cultures all around the world, including the ney
Ney
The ney is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Middle Eastern music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. It is a very ancient instrument, with depictions of ney players appearing in wall paintings in the Egyptian pyramids and actual neys being found...
, an end-blown cane flute which was depicted in Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
paintings and stone carvings. In fact, recent archeological discoveries in Africa suggest that the history of such flutes may date back a very long way in human history indeed.
The first written record of the membrane (dimo) dates from the 12th century. On traditional dizi the finger-holes are spaced approximately equidistantly, which produces a temperament of mixed whole-tone and three-quarter-tone intervals. During the middle of the 20th century dizi makers began to change the finger hole placements to allow for playing in equal temperament
Equal temperament
An equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. As pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency, this means that the perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor is the same for...
, as demanded by new musical developments and compositions, although the traditional dizi continue to be used for purposes such as kunqu
Kunqu
Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
accompaniment. A fully chromatic
Chromatic scale
The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...
version of the dizi is called xindi
Xindi (Chinese instrument)
The xindi is a Chinese musical instrument. A 20th-century derivative of the ancient dizi , the xindi is fully chromatic, and usually lacks the dizi's distinctive di mo, or buzzing membrane....
. Pitched in the same range of western flute, the xindi's extra tone holes prevent the effective use of the membrane, therefore, this instrument lacks the stereotypical timbre of the "dizi" family. While the both the bangdi (pitched in the same range as western piccolo) and qudi (pitched a fourth or fifth lower than the bangdi) are the most predominant, other dizi include the xiaodi/gaoyindi (pitched a fourth of fifth higher than the bangdi), the dadi/diyindi (pitched a fourth or fifth lower than qudi), and the deidi/diyindadi (pitched an octave lower than qudi.)
Fingerings
M = Mouth PieceD = Membrane
X = Covered Hole
O = Open Hole
U = Half Cover Hole
(FOR LOW A DIZI)
01. M D | X X X | X X X = E
02. M D | X X X | X X O = F#
03. M D | X X X | X U O = G
04. M D | X X X | X O O = G#
05. M D | X X X | O O O = A
06. M D | X X O | O O O = B
07. M D | X O O | O O O = C#6
08. M D | O X X | O O O = D
09. M D | O O O | O O O = Eb
10. M D | O X X | X X X = E
11. M D | X X X | X X O = F#
12. M D | X X X | X O O = G
13. M D | X X X | X U O = G#
14. M D | X X X | X O O = A
15. M D | O X X | O O O = B
16. M D | X O O | O O O = C#7
17. M D | O X O | X X X = D
18. M D | O O O | O O O = Eb
19. M D | O X X | X X X = E
20. M D | X X O | X X O = F#
21. M D | X O X | X O X = G#
22. M D | X O X | O O O = A
23. M D | O X X | X X O = B
Styles
Contemporary 'dizi' styles based on the professional conservatory repertory are divided into two: Northern and Southern, each style having different preferences in dizi and playing techniques. In Northern ChinaNorthern and southern China
Northern China and southern China are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined...
, for example, the bangdi is used to accompany Bangzi opera, with a sound that is bright and vigorous. In Southern China
Northern and southern China
Northern China and southern China are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined...
, the qudi is the lead melodic instrument of kunqu
Kunqu
Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
opera and is used in music such as Jiangnan sizhu
Jiangnan sizhu
Jiangnan sizhu is a style of traditional Chinese instrumental music from the Jiangnan region of China.-Name:The name Jiangnan sizhu is made up of two parts. Jiangnan is the traditional name for the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze river in southern Jiangsu, Shanghai, and northern...
, has a more mellow, lyrical tone.
Performers
Feng Zicun (冯子存, 1904–1987) was born in Yangyuan, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
province. Of humble origins, Feng had established himself as a folk musician by the time of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, playing the dizi as well as the four-string fiddle sihu
Sihu
The sihu is a Chinese bowed string instrument with four strings. It is a member of the huqin family of instruments.-Construction:...
in local song and dance groups, folksongs and stilt dances. He also introduced er ren tai
Er ren tai
Er ren tai is a genre of traditional singing performed by two singers, from the Inner Mongolia region of China. It is also found in Shanxi, Shaanxi, and northern Hebei. The instruments used include dizi, sihu, and yangqin.-External links:*...
, the local opera of Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
, to Hebei after spending four years there as a musician in the 1920s.
In 1953, Feng was appointed to the state-supported Central Song and Dance Ensemble in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
as dizi soloist, and accepted a teaching post at the China Conservatory of Music
China Conservatory of Music
The China Conservatory of Music is a music conservatory in Beijing, China. It was established in 1964....
(Beijing) in 1964.
Feng adapted traditional folk ensemble pieces into dizi solos, such as Xi xiang feng (Happy Reunion), Wu bangzi (Five Clappers), contributing to the new Chinese conservatory curricula in traditional instrument performance. Feng’s style, virtuosic and lively, has been known as representative of the folk musical traditions of northern China.
Liu Guanyue (刘管乐, 1918- ) was born in An'guo county
Anguo
Anguo , nicknamed "Medicine Capital" , is a county-level city under the administration of and south of the city of Baoding, central Hebei Province, China.It has a provincially protected Temple of the God of Medicine established around 100....
, Hebei. Born to a poor peasant family, Liu was a professional folk musician who had earned a meagre living playing the guanzi
Guanzi
Guanzi may refer to:*Guan Zhong , Chinese Legalist philosopher and politician*Guanzi , Chinese text named after Guan Zhong...
, suona
Suona
The suona ; also called laba or haidi is a Han Chinese shawm . It has a distinctively loud and high-pitched sound, and is used frequently in Chinese traditional music ensembles, particularly those that perform outdoors...
, and dizi in rural ritual ensembles before becoming a soloist in the Tianjin Song-and-Dance Ensemble (Tianjin gewutuan) in 1952.
Liu together with Feng Zicun are said to be representatives of the Northern dizi style. His pieces, including Yin zhong niao (Birds in the Shade), He ping ge (Doves of Peace) and Gu xiang (Old Home village) have become part of the new conservatory professional concert repertory.
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. In pre-1949 Shanghai, Lu worked a trishaw
Cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport; it is also known by a variety of other names such as velotaxi, pedicab, bikecab, cyclo, becak, trisikad, or trishaw or, simply, rickshaw which also refers to auto rickshaws, and the, now uncommon, rickshaws pulled by a person on foot...
driver, but was also an amateur musician, performing the Jiangnan sizhu folk ensemble repertory. In 1952, Lu became dizi soloist with the Shanghai folk Ensemble (Shanghai minzu yuetuan), and also at the Shanghai Opera Company (Shanghai geju yuan) from 1971 to 1976. In 1957 he taught at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music
Shanghai Conservatory of Music
The Shanghai Conservatory of Music , as the first music institution of higher education in China, was founded on November 27, 1927. The teachers and students have won numerous awards both home and abroad, thus earning the conservatory the name, “the cradle of musicians”.-History:The Shanghai...
, and became Associate Professor in 1978.
Lu has performed in many countries as well as throughout China and has made many recordings. His dizi playing style has become representative of the Jiangnan
Jiangnan
Jiangnan or Jiang Nan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of the Yangtze Delta...
dizi tradition in general. He is well known as a longtime member of the famous Jiangnan sizhu music performance quartet consisting of Lu Chunling, Zhou Hao, Zhou Hui, and Ma Shenglong. His compositions include Jinxi (Today and Yesterday).
Zhao Songting (赵松庭, 1924–2001 ) was born in Dongyang
Dongyang
Dongyang is a Chinese city of about 800,000 people in the middle of Zhejiang Province, about 200 kilometers south of Hangzhou. Dongyang lies in the central area of Zhejiang Province, covering an area of 1739 square kilometers...
county, Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
. Zhao trained as a teacher in Zhejiang, and studied law and Chinese and Western music in Shanghai. In the 1940s he worked as a music teacher in Zhejiang, and became the dizi soloist in the Zhejiang Song and Dance Ensemble (Zhejiang Sheng Gewutuan) in 1956. He also taught at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music
Shanghai Conservatory of Music
The Shanghai Conservatory of Music , as the first music institution of higher education in China, was founded on November 27, 1927. The teachers and students have won numerous awards both home and abroad, thus earning the conservatory the name, “the cradle of musicians”.-History:The Shanghai...
and the Zhejiang College of Arts (Zhejiang Sheng Yishu Xuexiao).
Because of his middle class background, Zhao suffered in the political campaigns of the 1950s and 1960s and was not allowed to perform, instead he taught many students who went on to become leading professional dizi players, and to refine dizi design. He was reinstated in his former positions in 1976.
Zhao's compositions include San Wu Qi (Three-Five-Seven), which is based on a melody from Wuju
Wuju
Wuju is a form of Chinese opera from Jinhua, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, China. It is also performed in Lishui, Linhai, Jiande, Chun'an, Zhejiang, as well as in northeastern Jiangxi province, in cities such as Yushan, Shangrao, Guixi, Boyang, and Jingdezhen...
(Zhejiang traditional opera).
Yu Xunfa (俞逊发, 1946–2006) was a prominent dizi soloist and composer from Shanghai. He performed with the Shanghai National Orchestra and served as Head of the Chinese Dizi Culture Research Centre of Shanghai. The State Council of the People's Republic of China
State Council of the People's Republic of China
The State Council of the People's Republic of China , which is largely synonymous with the Central People's Government after 1954, is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the Premier and includes the heads of each governmental department and agency...
gave him a Life Achievement Award as well as a Lifelong Special Allowance from the State. He is also known for having invented the koudi
Koudi
The koudi is a very small Chinese flute made from bamboo. It was invented in 1971 by the late dizi master Yu Xunfa .-Overview:The instrument comes in two sizes...
in 1971.
Ma Di 馬迪 is a current composer and soloist known for his technique on the instrument.
Use in other music genres
Ron KorbRon Korb
Ron Korb is a Canadian flautist, composer, songwriter, and record producer, from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is also known as Dragon Flute in China, Thunder Blessing in Taiwan and Prince of Flutes in Japan-Musical style:Korb is known for writing culturally diverse...
(龍笛 (音樂家) or phonetically translated to "雷恩寇伯"), born in Toronto, Canada, is the first renowned western musician playing dizi along with numourous other world woodwinds. He graduated from the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto with an honours degree in performance. On many of his recordings he uses the dizi as the lead instrument. He has also used dizi in the film soundtracks of The White Countess, Relic Hunter, China Rises, and Long Life, Happiness, & Prosperity.
See also
- Chinese flutesChinese flutesChinese flutes come in various types. They includeTransverse Flutes:*Dizi...
- Traditional Chinese musical instrumentsTraditional Chinese musical instruments-The Eight Sounds or Eight Tones :The eight categories are: silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd and hide. There are other instruments which may not fit these classifications. This is one of the first musical classifications ever.-Silk :...
- KoudiKoudiThe koudi is a very small Chinese flute made from bamboo. It was invented in 1971 by the late dizi master Yu Xunfa .-Overview:The instrument comes in two sizes...
- Music of ChinaMusic of ChinaChinese Music has been made since the dawn of Chinese civilization with documents and artifacts providing evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty...