Mei Han
Encyclopedia
Mei Han is a Chinese
guzheng
performer and scholar.
She was born into a military
family in Beijing
, the youngest of four children. Her father came from Shanxi
, and her mother, who is half Miao
, came from Hunan
. Her maternal grandfather was a scholar, calligrapher, and educator named Long Zhancen (龙湛岑, 1889–1969).
Han began playing the guzheng at the age of eleven. She graduated with a degree in English from Beijing Workers' University (北京市职工大学).
Han's primary instrument is the 21-string guzheng, but she also plays guzheng with 16, 23, and 26 strings, as well as the liuqin
. She performs in traditional, contemporary
, and cross-cultural
contexts. She studied guzheng with Zhang Yan (张燕) and Gao Zicheng (高自成). She has recorded with Paul Plimley
, Orchid Ensemble
and Randy Raine-Reusch
and performs internationally with her Chinese instrumental quartet Red Chamber, which was established in 2005. With Red Chamber, she recorded an album called Redgrass (2008), which combines Chinese music with elements of bluegrass
.
She holds two master's degrees in ethnomusicology
: from the Musical Research Institute of the Chinese Arts Academy (中国艺术研究院音乐研究所) in Beijing (1995) and from the University of British Columbia
(2000). She wrote the "Zheng" article for the second edition of the The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
(2001).
She lives in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Canada
, with her husband Randy Raine-Reusch
. She came to Vancouver in 1996 and met Raine-Reusch at the University of British Columbia
in 1998, marrying him in 2001. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in ethnomusicology at the University of British Columbia.
She has recorded one solo album, entitled Outside the Wall (2005).
Han's niece (the daughter of her brother) is Cecilia Han (Chinese name: Han Xue, 韩雪; b. 1983), a Chinese film actress and pop singer who sang at the closing ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games.
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
guzheng
Guzheng
The guzheng or "gu zheng", also called zheng is a Chinese plucked zither. It has 18-23 or more strings and movable bridges....
performer and scholar.
She was born into a military
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
family 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...
, the youngest of four children. Her father came from Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
, and her mother, who is half Miao
Miao people
The Miao or ม้ง ; ) is an ethnic group recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China as one of the 55 official minority groups. Miao is a Chinese term and does not reflect the self-designations of the component nations of people, which include Hmong, Hmu, A Hmao, and Kho Xiong...
, came from Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
. Her maternal grandfather was a scholar, calligrapher, and educator named Long Zhancen (龙湛岑, 1889–1969).
Han began playing the guzheng at the age of eleven. She graduated with a degree in English from Beijing Workers' University (北京市职工大学).
Han's primary instrument is the 21-string guzheng, but she also plays guzheng with 16, 23, and 26 strings, as well as the liuqin
Liuqin
The 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...
. She performs in traditional, contemporary
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
, and cross-cultural
Cross-cultural
cross-cultural may refer to*cross-cultural studies, a comparative tendency in various fields of cultural analysis*cross-cultural communication, a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate...
contexts. She studied guzheng with Zhang Yan (张燕) and Gao Zicheng (高自成). She has recorded with Paul Plimley
Paul Plimley
Paul Plimley is a free jazz pianist and vibraphonist. He is one of the doyens of the Canadian jazz avant-garde, a co-founder of the New Orchestra Workshop Society and frequent collaborator with the bassist Lisle Ellis...
, Orchid Ensemble
Orchid Ensemble
The Orchid Ensemble is a musical ensemble based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Its led by Lan Tung from Taiwan on erhu, with Haiqiong Deng from China on guzheng and Jonathan Bernard from Canada on various percussion instruments...
and Randy Raine-Reusch
Randy Raine-Reusch
Randy Raine-Reusch is a Canadian composer, performer, improviser, and multi-instrumentalist specializing in wind and string instruments from around the world, particularly those from East and Southeast Asia....
and performs internationally with her Chinese instrumental quartet Red Chamber, which was established in 2005. With Red Chamber, she recorded an album called Redgrass (2008), which combines Chinese music with elements of bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
.
She holds two master's degrees in ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts."Coined by the musician Jaap Kunst from the Greek words ἔθνος ethnos and μουσική mousike , it is often considered the anthropology or ethnography of music...
: from the Musical Research Institute of the Chinese Arts Academy (中国艺术研究院音乐研究所) in Beijing (1995) and from the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
(2000). She wrote the "Zheng" article for the second edition of the The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, it is the largest single reference work on Western music. The dictionary has gone through several editions since the 19th century...
(2001).
She lives in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, with her husband Randy Raine-Reusch
Randy Raine-Reusch
Randy Raine-Reusch is a Canadian composer, performer, improviser, and multi-instrumentalist specializing in wind and string instruments from around the world, particularly those from East and Southeast Asia....
. She came to Vancouver in 1996 and met Raine-Reusch at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
in 1998, marrying him in 2001. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in ethnomusicology at the University of British Columbia.
She has recorded one solo album, entitled Outside the Wall (2005).
Han's niece (the daughter of her brother) is Cecilia Han (Chinese name: Han Xue, 韩雪; b. 1983), a Chinese film actress and pop singer who sang at the closing ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games.
External links
Interviews
Listening
- "China's Long Song", from CBC Inside the Music program