introduction:
Musical instruments are the carriers of beautiful music, and the ancestors of ancient China, full of wisdom, used their ingenuity to create many unique instruments.
And after thousands of years of precipitation, it has been transformed or inherited by modern Chinese people, so that we can still feel the music of the ancient people at that time through music. Using music to have a time dialogue and understanding ancient musical instruments is of great help to us understand the past of the ancients.
Ancient wooden fish
1. Ancient wind instruments
Shakuhachi is an ancient wind instrument, the length of this instrument is generally one foot eight, a musical instrument often used in the court during the Tang Dynasty, and later spread to Japan by Japanese emissaries, and carried forward in Japan.
The raw material for making shakuhachi is bamboo, but the bamboo requirements for making shakuhachi are very high, and generally only two or three bamboo sticks in a bamboo forest meet the requirements. In the Stone Age, people invented a musical instrument called 埙, but it was not developed in several subsequent dynasties, because it only had one or two holes and a single tone, especially in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, because the instruments transmitted from the western region were deeper and the people were happy, so they became the playthings of children and could not get on the table.
Ancient guzheng
Later, people continued to improve it, and developed six holes, nine holes or even twelve holes, which were transformed and made a gentle and desolate sound, which was deeply loved by musicians. Pipes, instruments belonging to the pipe arranging class, are bundled with several sound pipes of different lengths, due to the flow of air and the different vibration frequencies, resulting in different tones.
It is said that in the time of Shun, there was already a flute, and it can generally be seen in court performances, and the legend was lost in the Song Dynasty, and then it was excavated and used. Xiao is a single-pipe instrument in ancient mainland China, generally made of bamboo, which will be carved with six or eight holes. The sound that Xiao blew out was particularly beautiful and far-reaching, and in the Eight Immortals Diagram there was an image of a Shangxian, that is, the blowpipe.
Ancient shakuhachi
2. Ancient playing instruments
The pipa belongs to the plucked instrument, and the qin and Han dynasties already had the existence of the pipa, but the pipa at that time was called the straight pipa. During the Tang Dynasty, the lute was transmitted from the western region, because of the important instruments played in the Song and Dance Performances of the Tang Dynasty. The tide of Bai Juyi describes the sound emitted by the pipa as noisy with large strings and small strings cut.
During the Tang Dynasty, there was also a famous instrument called the erhu, and the erhu's playing was very jumpy, which could be both lingering and compassionate, and could also be strong in the mountains and rivers. The erhu can be plucked or pulled, and it is said that Xu Yan of the Northern Song Dynasty played the erhu's skill, which has reached the point of pure fire. Legend has it that when he was playing, the erhu's string broke off and only one remained, and he continued to play the whole piece with this string.
Ancient musical instrument Xiao
It is recorded in the "Supplementary Pen Talk and Music Law": "It is not easy to play the piano, and it only takes one string to end the song." "Guzheng is known as the piano of the East, it is said that it was invented in the Warring States Period, the Jingfang of the Western Han Dynasty made a pitch for the guzheng, and people in different regions played the guzheng differently, which also derived different guzheng schools. In the past, most of the guzheng was twelve or fifteen strings. Sixteen-string guzheng appeared during the Qing Dynasty, and such guzheng specifications have continued to be used today.
Flute
3. Ancient percussion instruments
During the Zhou Dynasty, large percussion instruments and chimes appeared, and the ancients made flat round bells of different sizes from bronze, and then hung on the huge brackets according to the different tones emitted by the bells.
Then, when tapped with a wooden stick, different tones are emitted, usually thirteen flat round bells as a combination. The ancient drum was also a percussion instrument, which is said to have been produced during the Yellow Emperor period and is generally cylindrical.
Drums are generally used in battlefields and sacrifices, but later become larger, and drums are used in some national bands or lion dances. Wooden fish, in fact, is a kind of wood product, only because of the appearance of the fish head to get this name.
Ancient wooden fish were previously used in temples and existed as a magic vessel. After the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the development of folk music and the development of some local repertoire. The wooden fish also gradually became a musical instrument and was used in it.
pipa
epilogue:
From the ancient musical instruments, we can see the wisdom and creative ability of the ancient people, as well as their pursuit and enjoyment of music. Musical instruments are a carrier that carries not only music, but also a cultural inheritance.
In ancient times, there was multiple inclusivities for music, and the unique charm of music was transmitted through musical instruments. We must take its essence, remove its dross, and create and inherit ancient musical instruments in a timely manner. Bringing ancient music to the present modern world, so that we can also listen to the musical world of the ancients.
bibliography:
"Supplementary Writing Talk Music Rhythm"