Jiangnan sizhu
Encyclopedia
Jiangnan sizhu is a style of traditional Chinese instrumental music from the Jiangnan
region of China.
: Jiāngnán sīzhú) 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 Zhejiang
. Sizhu, literally "silk and bamboo," refers to string and wind musical instruments, silk
being the traditional material from which strings have historically been made in China, and bamboo being the material from which the Chinese flutes such as the dizi and xiao
are made. The term sizhu by extension also came to refer to instrumental music in general, especially that played indoors. Other sizhu traditions also exist, particularly along China's southeastern coastal regions of Fujian
and Guangdong
.
Several other instruments sometimes are also used:
As in an Irish traditional music session
, the instrumentation is not fixed, and so may vary according to the musicians who are available for a particular performance. Usually only one of each instrument is used, and an ensemble can range from as few as two to as many as ten or more musicians, with the erhu, dizi or xiao, pipa, and yangqin being the core instruments. Players may sometimes switch instruments between pieces.
The repertoire is based on old melodies such as "Lao Liu Ban" (Old Six Beats), also called "Lao Ba Ban" (Old Eight Beats), which are elaborated to create new pieces such as "Zhong Hua Liu Ban" (Moderately Ornamented Six Beats), the latter of which is the most important piece of all the pieces derived from "Lao Liu Ban" (Old Six Beats) (Jones 276).
New Jiangnan sizhu compositions include:
in fully scored arrangements.
(沪剧), which was developed in the mid-20th century, has a musical style and accompaniment that is closely related to Jiangnan sizhu.
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...
region of China.
Name
The name Jiangnan sizhu (江南丝竹 pinyinPinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Jiāngnán sīzhú) is made up of two parts. 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...
is the traditional name for the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze river in southern Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
, Shanghai
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...
, and northern 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...
. Sizhu, literally "silk and bamboo," refers to string and wind musical instruments, silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
being the traditional material from which strings have historically been made in China, and bamboo being the material from which the Chinese flutes such as the dizi and 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...
are made. The term sizhu by extension also came to refer to instrumental music in general, especially that played indoors. Other sizhu traditions also exist, particularly along China's southeastern coastal regions of Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
and Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
.
Instruments
Instruments typically used in Jiangnan sizhu include plucked, bowed,strummed and struck string instruments; flutes and sometimes also mouth organs; and small percussion instruments. The most commonly used instruments are:- Dizi - transverse bamboo flute, most commonly with traditional equal distant finger holes which does not produce an equal temperament, although the equal-tempered dizi is standard with professionals
- XiaoXiaoXiao may refer to:* Xiào, “filial piety", or "being good to parents", a virtue* Xiao , a Chinese end-blown flute* Xiao , a rank used for field officers in the Chinese military* Xiao , a Chinese surname* Xiao County, in Anhui, China...
- end-blown bamboo flute, as with the dizi, equal distant finger holes are preferred with the equal-tempered type standard with professionals - ErhuErhuThe erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...
- two-string vertical fiddle, standard erhu D4, A4 tuning. A second erhu is sometimes used, known as fanhu (meaning "counter fiddle" or "cross fiddle"); it has thicker strings tuned a minor third (B3, F4#) or fourth (A3, E4) below the leading erhu - PipaPipaThe pipa is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments . Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12–26...
- pear-shaped lute with four strings, uses standard tuning of A2, D3, E3, A3. Although G2, C3, D3, G3, a whole tone lower, is sometimes used, with other string instruments also tuned a tone lower - YangqinYangqinThe trapezoidal yangqin is a Chinese hammered dulcimer, originally from Middle East and Persia . It used to be written with the characters 洋琴 , but over time the first character changed to 揚 , which means "acclaimed". It is also spelled yang quin or yang ch'in...
- hammered dulcimer, smaller than the large professional solo type, has range of two octaves and a fifth; D3 to A5 - ShengShengSheng can refer to:* Sheng * Beijing opera#Sheng, the main role in Beijing opera* Sheng , a slang dialect of the Swahili language* Province , an administrative division of China, called sheng in Mandarin...
- free-reed mouth organ, most commonly with 17 pipes - SanxianSanxianThe sanxian is a Chinese lute — a three-stringed fretless plucked musical instrument. It has a long fingerboard, and the body is traditionally made from snakeskin stretched over a rounded rectangular resonator. It is made in several sizes for different purposes and in the late 20th century a...
- plucked lute with three strings, the small "southern" type is used, tuned to D3, A3, D4. - QinqinQinqinThe qinqin is a plucked Chinese lute. It was originally manufactured with a wooden body, a slender fretted neck, and three strings. Its body can be either round, hexagonal , or octagonal. Often, only two strings were used, as in certain regional silk-and-bamboo ensembles...
- plucked lute, tuned to D3, A3, (optional 3rd string is tuned to D3) - Wooden clapper (gubanGubanThe Guban is a plain in northwestern Somalia. It is situated on the coast between Zeila and Berbera.-References:*Hadden, Robert Lee. 2007. Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, Topographic Engineering Center...
) and small drum (biqigu, diangu, or huaigu)
Several other instruments sometimes are also used:
- ZhonghuZhonghuThe zhonghu is a low-pitched Chinese bowed string instrument. Together with the erhu and gaohu, it is a member of the huqin family, and was developed in the 20th century as the alto member of the huqin family .The zhonghu is analogous with the erhu, but is slightly larger and...
- two-string fiddle, larger and lower pitched than the erhu - RuanRuanThe ruan is a Chinese plucked string instrument. It is a lute with a fretted neck, a circular body, and four strings. Its strings were formerly made of silk but since the 20th century they have been made of steel...
- plucked lute with four strings - LiuqinLiuqinThe liuqin is a four-stringed Chinese mandolin with a pear-shaped body. It is small in size, almost a miniature copy of another Chinese plucked musical instrument, the pipa. The range of its voice is much higher than the pipa, and it has its own special place in Chinese music, whether in...
- small plucked lute with four strings - GuzhengGuzhengThe guzheng or "gu zheng", also called zheng is a Chinese plucked zither. It has 18-23 or more strings and movable bridges....
- plucked zither with movable bridges - Pengling – a pair of small bells
As in an Irish traditional music session
Irish traditional music session
Irish traditional music sessions are mostly informal gatherings at which people play Irish traditional music. The Irish language word for "session" is seisiún...
, the instrumentation is not fixed, and so may vary according to the musicians who are available for a particular performance. Usually only one of each instrument is used, and an ensemble can range from as few as two to as many as ten or more musicians, with the erhu, dizi or xiao, pipa, and yangqin being the core instruments. Players may sometimes switch instruments between pieces.
Eight Great Pieces
At the centre of the repertory are the Eight Great Pieces (Ba Da Qu, 八大曲) or Eight Great Famous Pieces (Ba Da Mingqu, 八大名曲):- Hua San Liu 花三六 (Huā Sān Liù, "Ornamented 'Three Six'")
- Huan Le Ge 欢乐歌 (Huān Lè Gē, "Song of Joy")
- Man Liu Ban 慢六板 (Màn Liù Bǎn, "Slow 'Six Beats'")
- San Liu 三六 (Sān Liù, "Three Six")
- Si He Ru Yi 四合如意 (Sì Hé Rú Yì, "Four Together as You Wish")
- Xing Jie 行街 (Xíng Jiē, "Walking in the Street", "Wedding Procession," or "Street Procession")
- Yun Qing 云庆 (Yún Qìng; "Cloud Celebration")
- Zhong Hua Liu Ban 中花六板 (Zhōng Huā Liù Bǎn, "Moderately Ornamented 'Six Beats'"; also called 薰风曲 Xūn Fēng Qǔ, "Warm Breeze Tune") (Witzleben p. 61)
The repertoire is based on old melodies such as "Lao Liu Ban" (Old Six Beats), also called "Lao Ba Ban" (Old Eight Beats), which are elaborated to create new pieces such as "Zhong Hua Liu Ban" (Moderately Ornamented Six Beats), the latter of which is the most important piece of all the pieces derived from "Lao Liu Ban" (Old Six Beats) (Jones 276).
Other pieces
These are other pieces that are played by Jiangnan sizhu music clubs. It includes pieces that were originally instrumental solos, music from narrative genres, and sizhu pieces from Jiangnan and other areas.- Zhong Liu Ban (also called Hua Liu Ban, 花六板)
- Kuai Hua Liu Ban (快花六板)
- Kuai Liu Ban (快六板; also called Kuai Hua Liu, 快花六)
- Lao Liu Ban (老六板)
- Man San Liu (慢三六)
- Chun Jiang Hua Yue Ye 春江花月夜 (Chūn Jiāng Huā Yuè Yè, "Spring River Flower Moon Night") adapted from an ancient pipa solo in 1925 by the Datong Music Club.
- Deng Yue Jiao Hui 灯月交辉 (Dēng Yuè Jiāo Huī, "Lanterns and Moon Exchanging in Brilliance"), ensemble piece from the Jiangnan area (HangzhouHangzhouHangzhou , 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...
) - Han Jiang Can Xue 寒江残雪 (Hán Jiāng Cán Xuě, "Cold River and Remnants of Snow")
- Huai Gu 怀古 (Huái Gǔ, "Thinking of the Past"), originally from Fujian HakkaHakka peopleThe Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
(Kejia) music. - Ni Chang Qu 霓裳曲 (Ní Cháng Qǔ, "Rainbow Skirts"), ensemble piece from the Jiangnan area, said to be from HangzhouHangzhouHangzhou , 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...
- Xu Hua Luo 絮花落 (Xù Huā Luò, "Catkin Flowers Falling"), derived from Lao Liu Ban.
- Yang Ba Qu 阳八曲 (Yáng Bā Qǔ, "Yang Eight Tune"), also called Fan Wang Gong 梵王宫 (Fàn Wáng Gōng, "Fa as Mi") or 梵皇宫 (Fàn Huáng Gōng), ensemble piece from the Jiangnan area. The last fast section was arranged by Nie ErNie ErNie Er , was a Chinese composer. He is known for composing the national anthem of the People's Republic of China, the March of the Volunteers. In numerous Shanghai magazines he went by the English name "George Njal"...
into the piece "Dance of the Golden Snake." - Zhe Gu Fei 鹧鸪飞 (Zhè Gū Fēi, "Flying Partridge"), from HunanHunan' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
, commonly played as a dizi or xiao solo.
New Jiangnan sizhu compositions include:
- Chun Hui Qu 春晖曲 (Chūn Huī Qǔ, "Spring Sun")
- Hao Jiangnan 好江南(Hǎo Jiāngnán, "Good Jiangnan")
Social context
Jiangnan sizhu is generally considered to be a folk tradition rather than a professional one, and is most often performed by amateurs. It is typically performed in informal gatherings, often at tea houses. By the mid-20th century, it had also entered the curriculum of China's conservatories, where it continues to be performed by large ensembles of traditional instrumentsChinese orchestra
The term Chinese Orchestra can refer to either:* The ancient Chinese Orchestra, or* The modern Chinese Orchestra-The ancient Chinese Orchestra:...
in fully scored arrangements.
Notable Jiangnan sizhu musicians
In the second half of the 20th century, a quartet from China playing Jiangnan sizhu repertoire as well as newly composed pieces comprised four men: dizi player Lu Chunling (陆春龄), pipa player Ma Shenglong (马圣龙, b. 1934), yangqin player Zhou Hui (周惠), and erhu player Zhou Hao (周皓).photovideo They brought the style to new audiences and performed together for many years.Related genres
The Shanghai opera genre of hujuHuju
Huju , or "Shanghai opera" is a variety of Chinese opera from the area of Shanghai. It is typically sung in the Shanghainese dialect.It is particularly popular in Baihe, the oldest town in the Qingpu District of Shanghai...
(沪剧), which was developed in the mid-20th century, has a musical style and accompaniment that is closely related to Jiangnan sizhu.
Reference and further reading
- Jones, Stephen (1995). Folk Music of China. Oxford: Clarendon Press OUP.
- Witzleben, J. Lawrence (1995). "Silk and Bamboo" Music in Shanghai: The Jiangnan Sizhu Instrumental Ensemble Tradition. Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press