The picture shows the Jihua Temple Kyo musical instruments and ruler notation manuscripts.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, in more than 10 monasteries in Beijing's Dongcheng and Nancheng, there was a kind of shengguan music similar to the music of the Tang and Song Dynasties, which was called "Beijing Music" by the people of the time, meaning the music of the capital, with Zhihua Temple as the center of communication. In 1952, Yang Yinliu and Cha Fuxi, two musicologists, heard this kind of music for the first time at Zhihua Temple, and they were surprised, and immediately recorded the earliest audio materials of Zhihua Temple's Beijing music with a wire recorder. The same tape recorder also recorded Hua Yanjun's performance of "Two Springs Reflecting the Moon".
Today's Zhihua Temple has been turned into the Beijing Cultural and Expo Exchange Hall, bringing together ancient buildings, ancient music, statues, sculptures, paintings and other Ming Dynasty culture and art. This four-entry courtyard space protects two national cultural heritages: Zhihua Temple is a national key cultural relics protection unit, and Zhihua Temple Beijing Music is a national intangible cultural heritage. Both heritage sites were among the first to be inscribed on the National List.
Zhihua Temple Beijing music was originally a court ceremonial music, created in the court, circulated in the temple, serving the folk, including 3 kinds of historical and cultural information, known as "Chinese ancient music living fossils". Beijing music is based on song cards, which are played separately and called only songs, and more song cards are connected together as suites. At present, 4 sets of songs have been preserved, and one suite consists of more than 10 pieces and lasts for nearly 1 hour. These song cards have quaint names, and most of them are the southern and northern song cards that have prevailed since the Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties. Some are the same as the Tang Dynasty jiaofang songs, such as "Wangjiangnan"; some are the same as the Song lyrics, such as "Good Things Near"; and the order of individual suite songs is almost exactly the same as that of the Yuanqu, such as "Rolling Hydrangeas" and "Drunken Taiping".
Pipes, flutes, sheng, cloud gongs and drums are the basic instruments used in chiwaji kyo music. This form of musical instrument combination originated from the military music of the Han Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, a combination of "Qing le" appeared, consisting of instruments such as 筚篥, sheng, flute, square sound (i.e. cloud gong), and clapping board. By the Ming Dynasty, the compilation of Dan Majesty's Great Music, Jin Shan Le, and Taiping Qing Le used in the court court's court court music and banquet music was basically the same as that of the Sheng Guan Music of Zhihua Temple. The pipes used in the Zhihua Temple Kyo Music Still retain the Song Dynasty shape of the first 7 holes and the last 2 holes. The sheng used is 17 springs, of which there are two "righteous pipes" that need to be temporarily changed when they need to be transferred, which is also the Song system. The combination of these wind instruments and percussion instruments can be described as light and practical, and each instrument not only takes care of each other but also plays its own strengths, both around the main melody and avoids playing in unison, chasing and harmonizing, interpreting the glorious, solemn and elegant ancient Chinese "symphony" style.
Zhihua Temple Beijing music uses traditional ruler notation, the earliest surviving music score is the "Musical Cavity Score" copied by Rong Qian, the fifteenth generation art monk of Zhihua Temple in the 33rd year of the Qing Kangxi Dynasty, and there are 12 copied scores from the Qing Daoguang, Guangxu and other periods. Each copy has a regular font and a large number of pieces, and the words and lines are permeated with the rigor of each generation's treatment of musical traditions. The transcribed ruler is for record keeping, and it is also convenient for learning and discipleship. Since the ruler score only records backbone tones and "plates", the connection between those backbone tones (called "Akou") can only be transmitted orally. "Rhyme notation" is the basic skill of every successor, and the master and apprentice jointly write the score book, teaching and singing at a glance and word by word, until the ruler is familiar with the score, and then it can be played off the score. The 12 manuscripts that have been handed down recorded more than 200 pieces of pipe music, and when they reached the 26th generation of heirs, only 42 pieces could be played, which was particularly precious.
Hu Qingxue and five other 27th generation inheritors came to Zhihua Temple in 1991 to learn art. They continued to study for 5 years. Master urged them tightly, first rhymed and then played, reciting one song after another. Master demanded that the posture be correct, use the qi of dantian, and the tone of the mouth should be correct. "It is difficult to learn and easy to forget and little to know", they were deeply touched by Master's words. It is their rhyme and performance that allow people to hear the sound of court music of the Ming Dynasty 500 years ago.
The music travels through five hundred years. The 27th generation of inheritors became full-time musicians in the museum, playing and explaining the relevant knowledge on time at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. every day, and many spectators came to admire it. Zhihua Sijing music, an ancient musical cultural heritage, is giving new vitality, showing the cultural connotation and artistic charm of traditional Chinese music.
People's Daily (13 December 2021, 19th edition)