The "natural sound" of the East plays in Japan (overseas Chinese concern)

A few days ago, the Yokohama Chinese Art School in Japan hosted a "Spring Blessing" activity. The picture shows the scene of the event. Courtesy of respondents

On January 30th, the third session of the "Spring Blessing" activity sponsored by the Yokohama Chinese Art School in Japan was successfully concluded, and many overseas Chinese and local friends in Japan wrote down the word "Fu" that symbolized a better life, and there were traditional Chinese folk music performances such as guzheng on the spot, with a warm atmosphere and a strong New Year's flavor.

In addition to promoting traditional Chinese music during the Spring Festival, the school has also held various Chinese folk music performances for many times.

Chinese folk music is full of charm

Twenty-four years ago, Xie Xuemei, the founder of the Yokohama Chinese Art School and a Chinese guzheng player, went to Japan alone to study and worked in guzheng after graduation. She said, "The purpose of founding the school is to provide an environment for children to learn Chinese national musical instruments, because I have been working in this field for a long time and have been exposed to many professional resources, and later I opened the Chinese Art School." ”

Talking about the school's curriculum, Xie Xuemei introduced: "In the teaching subjects of traditional Chinese folk music, the school provides teaching courses such as guqin, guzheng, yangqin, pipa, horsehead, erhu, gourd silk and so on. In the selection of teachers, I also recruit the team with the most professional and rigorous assessment standards. ”

In order to provide a stage for students to show their talents, a few years ago, Xie Xuemei began to actively organize various literary and art evenings. "Theatrical performance is the spiritual bond of cohesion, in addition to soothing the homesickness of overseas Chinese in Japan, I also hope to promote Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges and let local friends feel the charm of Chinese folk music." Xie Xuemei said.

The sonorous and powerful erhu, the low-back and gentle horsehead piano, the guzheng that is pleasant to the ear... When the infectious instrumental music sounded, the cheers from the audience continued, and people raised their mobile phones or cameras to take one wonderful moment after another. Xie Xuemei sighed, "We have held 3 literary and art evenings, each of which is very successful, and the praise and applause from the audience let me know that the hard work and persistence of these years are worth it." ”

Behind a successful performance is the painstaking efforts of many people. "In order to present a high-quality, high-level artistic feast, we often spend several months preparing, not only to ensure the quality of the performance program, but also to ensure the smooth operation of behind-the-scenes work such as lighting, sound, props, makeup, photography, and video." Xie Xuemei said.

Xie Xuemei also took the stage to perform solo. "At that literary evening last year, I soloed a song called "Battle Typhoon.". In addition, I also played the guzheng trio with two students, "Tsevi", and their wonderful performances pushed the atmosphere to the climax, which made me feel very pleased. Xie Xuemei said.

Xie Xuemei said: "In the new year, the school will continue to improve the teaching quality of Chinese folk music and organize more literary and artistic performances, spread Chinese traditional culture, and make more contributions to enriching the spiritual and cultural life of overseas Chinese compatriots." ”

The sound of a horse's head transcends national borders

In addition to the performance of well-known Chinese musical instruments such as guzheng and erhu, there are also the "most representative voices" of the Mongolian ethnic group - the horse head qin. It is reported that some Japanese audiences have a deeper understanding of Chinese culture because of this performance.

Dressed in blue Mongolian robes and holding a horse-headed bowed string instrument, Teng Chao, a Mongolian horse-head violin player, played a song "Holy Mountain" at the literary and art evening, with a unique alternating and melodious tone, making people feel as if they are in the steppe of Inner Mongolia and experiencing the natural charm of the "Holy Mountain" at close range.

The horsehead qin contains a unique aesthetic culture, humanistic ideas and national spirit, which is inseparable from the living environment of the Mongolian people. "When I was a child, once there were visitors to the family, after drinking and eating, we would all get together to sing, play musical instruments, and listen to the eyes, I have a special love for the horse head piano since I was a child, its sound is different from erhu and guzheng, a bit like a lullaby, listening to it is particularly comfortable, whenever I miss my hometown, I will take out the piano and pull a few melodies to make myself feel like 'going home'." Teng Chao said.

In 2003, the horsehead was recognized by UNESCO as the Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. After thousands of years of development, matouqin has become one of the typical representatives of the nomadic culture of the Mongolian plateau, and is also widely spread in many countries and loved by people at home and abroad.

"I have been teaching the horsehead piano in Japan for 6 years, and most of the students are Japanese, some of them are quite old, but they are still very keen to learn the horsehead piano." Teng Chao said, "A student told me that he once overheard the sound of the horsehead piano in a foreign country, but he did not know which instrument this beautiful sound came from, and later inquired and inquired on the Internet and learned that the sound that made his heart come from the horsehead." The rise of the Internet has, to a certain extent, opened up the promotion of traditional Chinese folk music. ”

In order to let more people experience the unique charm of the horsehead piano, Tengchao said: "In the future, I will continue to work with horsehead lovers at home and abroad to jointly promote and inherit the Chinese folk music culture overseas." ”

Exchange and learn from each other with music as a medium

In addition to the guzheng and horsehead, the Chinese erhu and pipa are also traditional Chinese folk instruments loved by many Japanese friends.

"At first, I thought that not many Japanese people would know erhu, and maybe even fewer would want to learn erhu, but then I found that many Japanese people are very interested in erhu. In 2001, the Chinese music orchestra 'Women's Twelve Orchestras' was officially founded, and this folk music orchestra has attracted much attention in Japan, making important contributions to the promotion of Chinese folk music, and many students are attracted by this orchestra and want to learn erhu. Liu Jinyang, a young Chinese erhu player who has been in Japan for 5 years, told this newspaper.

In Liu Jinyang's view, if you want to use music as a medium to cultivate the interest of the Japanese people in learning Chinese folk music, you must combine it with popular music. "I'm often invited to participate in big-scale performances, and when I perform in public, I choose repertoire that is more familiar to the local people," she said. When playing for an older audience, I use Teresa Teng's repertoire, and when I face a younger audience, I use two-dimensional music such as "Senben Sakura". In my opinion, targeted promotion can deepen the local people's impression of Chinese folk music and stimulate their interest in learning. ”

"I also have students who became interested in Chinese folk music after watching the performance of the 'Women's Twelve Music Workshop'. I believe that the way to achieve cultural implementation is very diverse, no matter what form, as long as it can deepen the local people's understanding of Chinese folk music and culture, it will be successful. Bao Jie, a Chinese pipa player who has been in Japan for 19 years, said.

"In the experience class, I will first focus on the Chinese folk music culture, and then compare and explain the difference between Chinese and Japanese pipa, such as when making pipa strings, Japan is accustomed to using silk threads, and China is accustomed to using steel wire; in the form of performance, the Japanese pipa is mainly an accompaniment form of singing and playing, but the Chinese pipa playing form can be both." Bao Jie said, "I like to deepen students' understanding and love of Chinese folk music culture through meticulous introduction and comparison, and this teaching method has a remarkable effect." ”

Although it has developed overseas for a long time, China has always been the sustenance in Bao Jie's heart. She said: "I feel very honored to use the pipa as a medium to make Chinese culture known and appreciated by more Japanese friends. In the future, I will continue to forge ahead on the road of promoting folk music and promote cultural exchanges and mutual learning. ”