"Memory of the World: Archives of Traditional Chinese Music Recordings" digital platform feature page.
Yang Yinliu recorded a wire tape of 6 of Ah Bing's legendary songs. The images in this article are provided by the China Academy of Arts
In 1993, musicologists Zhang Zhentao (second from left) and Xue Yibing (first from left) interview folk artists in Guolikou Village, Wangjiazhai Township, Anxin County, Hebei Province.
In 1986, musicologist Qiao Jianzhong led scholars from the Institute of Music of the China Academy of Arts to a live interview at a concert in Qujiaying, Gu'an County, Hebei Province.
The erhu song "Erquan Yingyue" played by the blind Ah Bing before his death, the full set of twelve muqams sung by the old Xinjiang artist Turdi Ah Hong before his death, more than 1,500 folk songs collected from the Loess Plateau River Song, and more than 270 guqin songs played by 86 guqinists across the country who were alive in 1956... This is a precious audio document with a length of more than 7,000 hours, and it is also a "masterpiece" of Chinese music history - a traditional Chinese music recording archive.
Recently, with the construction of the "Memory of the World - Chinese Traditional Music Recording Archives" digital platform built by the China Academy of Arts, the digital platform of "Memory of the World - Chinese Traditional Music Recording Archives" was officially launched for trial operation, which originated in the 1950s and was systematically collected by the older generation of music workers, and after more than half a century of continuous construction and nearly 20 years of digital rescue and protection, the door of the music treasure house was opened to the public at home and abroad in the form of digital audio, and shared with the world.
The richest and most complete recording archive of traditional music
Music is the art of sound, and the musical heritage of most countries in the world, including China, is usually passed on by word of mouth, which brings great difficulties to the protection of musical heritage.
At the end of the 19th century, the development of recording and videographic technology played an important role in preserving and studying oral communication culture, including music. Worldwide, the collection of recordings began around 1900 and flourished in the early 1950s with the advent of portable tape recorders.
In the middle of the 20th century, China just had the basic conditions for obtaining music audio literature by relying on modern scientific and technological means. During this period, a series of folk music interviews by Yang Yinliu, the first director of the Music Research Institute of the China Academy of Arts, became the beginning of the field work of the institute and laid a solid foundation for the construction of audio archives. It was also during this period that the Institute of Music began to use questionnaires to systematically collect clues on folk music genres across the country. Since then, the data collection and collection work has been fully rolled out.
For decades, the staff of the Music Research Institute of the China Academy of Arts has used every opportunity to record and collect precious first-hand audio materials. Except for the special period of forced termination, their recording work has never stopped, or they have rushed to all parts of the country to collect and investigate, or collect various performances and performances in Beijing, or invite folk artists from all over the world to come to Beijing to record, in addition, they also accept donations from relevant institutions or individuals, and transcribe important music materials from radio stations. After decades of long and patient accumulation, a heavy archive of traditional Chinese music recordings has gradually taken shape.
"In the horizontal comparison of the same period, some countries in the world also have a lot of music audio data collection and collation, but it is basically individual behavior, the coverage is not very large, like China, the strength of the whole country, large-scale collection and collation of traditional music audio data is almost nothing." Zhang Zhentao, a musicologist and former director of the Music Research Institute of the China Academy of Arts, told reporters.
Undoubtedly, the Chinese traditional music recording archive is currently the richest and most complete recording archive of traditional Chinese music, including not only Han music from all over China, but also the music of more than 50 ethnic minorities. Not only that, these recordings have successively used steel wire recorders, opening recorders, cassette recorders and digital tape recorders and other recording equipment, involving steel wire audio tapes, opening tapes, cassette tapes, digital tapes and other audio media, and have also become a true portrayal of the history of recording development in China since the 1950s.
It has irreplaceable artistic and academic value
Due to the collection of a large number of precious materials on endangered traditional music, in 1997, the recording archives of traditional Chinese music were selected into UNESCO's "Memory of the World" project and were included in the first batch of the "Memory of the World List". It is not only the first precious archive in China to be included in the list, but also the first audio archive in the world to be included in the list.
In 1992, UNESCO launched "Memory of the World" to ensure better protection of the world's documentary memory, and in 1997 announced the first archival projects inscribed on the Memory of the World Register. "Memory of the world" refers to the documentary heritage that records the collective memory of the people of the world, which accounts for a large proportion of the world cultural heritage, records the evolution of human thought and the progress of society, and is the historical heritage of the current and future world community.
For the selection of chinese traditional music recording archives, the reason given by the international advisory committee of the "Memory of the World" project is: "Chinese traditional music recording archives are the result of years of systematic field recordings in almost all provinces in China, covering the traditional music of more than 50 ethnic or cultural groups. The musical heritage of ancient China is usually passed on by word of mouth, and these recordings have allowed ancient Chinese music to be passed down through generations. ”
As mentioned above, the archives of traditional Chinese music recordings have irreplaceable artistic and academic value. For example, in 1950, Ah Bing's 6 pieces of music, which were recorded by Yang Yinliu, Cao Anhe and others, including the erhu song "Erquan Yingyue", "Listening to Song", "Cold Spring Wind Song" and the pipa song "Big Wave Taosha", "Dragon Boat", "Zhaojun Out of the Plug", especially "Erquan Yingyue", have long become a business card of Chinese national folk music. In the early 1950s, Wan Tongshu, Liu Chi and others recorded a full set of twelve muqam sound materials sung by the old artist Turdi Ahhong in Xinjiang, leaving the only precious text for posterity to learn to sing and inherit. In 1953, more than 1,500 folk songs collected and recorded from Hequ by Hyosung, Jian Qihua and others made the "Hequ Folk Songs" buried on the Loess Plateau at the junction of Jin, Shaanxi and Mongolia known and concerned by the world, and the Hequ folk songs that are widely watched are still important materials for the study of national songs. In 1956, Cha Fuxi, Xu Jian, Wang Di and others visited 86 guqinists across the country and collected and recorded more than 270 guqin pieces, leaving a large number of extremely precious and irretrievable qinqu heritage.
In the 1990s, Huang Xiangpeng, a musicologist and former director of the Music Research Institute of the China Academy of Arts, called the recording archives of traditional Chinese music "the fire of Chinese music culture", and with the social change and cultural evolution, some musical cultural forms and musical cultural matters in traditional Chinese music are invisibly changing or gradually disappearing. Fortunately, this archive is like a "tinder", preserving a large number of traditional Chinese music, so that we can glimpse its original appearance and pass it on from generation to generation.
An open data platform that can be collected and shared
"Without this recording file, without the pioneering work of a group of musicologists such as Yang Yinliu, Cao Anhe, and a group of musicologists, without the inheritance of generations of researchers, I don't know how many folk artists like Ah Bing, Turdi Ah Hong, and how many wonderful pieces of music like "Erquan Yingyue" were produced in the folk and then dissipated with the wind." Tian Qing, honorary director of the Music Research Institute of the China Academy of Arts and an expert in the protection of intangible cultural heritage, said. In his view, as the guardian of this precious musical heritage, only with a sense of awe, a rigorous and prudent attitude, and a scientific way of protection can we live up to the scholars of our predecessors, hold the "fire of Chinese music culture" in our hands, and pass on this beam of traditional Chinese culture.
After the Chinese traditional music recording archives were selected for the "Memory of the World" project, the China Academy of Arts organized a special team to adopt international standards to digitally rescue and protect different types of analog carriers such as records (coarse and dense lines), steel wire tapes, opening tapes, cassette tapes, etc. After more than 20 years of efforts, it has finally formed a professional database with the largest number, the longest history and the highest preciousness of traditional music recordings in China. After the trial operation of the digital platform "Memory of the World - Traditional Chinese Music Recording Archives" designed and built by the Art and Documentation Museum of the China Academy of Arts, about 10,000 pieces of audio data will be released in the early stage, and then all the tracks of this precious audio archive will be launched successively.
The reporter entered the digital platform to browse, only to see that the visual design of the platform was beautiful and generous, and the welcome page of "blossoming flowers" was taken from the motto of the China Academy of Arts, "A Hundred Flowers Bloom, Push out the Old", exuding a strong literary and artistic atmosphere. Among the three major sections of "Resources", "Special Topics" and "Columns", the core plate "Resources" has 12 categories such as ancient music, folk songs, quyi music, opera music, song and dance music, and ethnic instrumental music, and the entries are clear. Similar to the current general music digital platform, each piece of music can be "collected", "shared", and can also be "created a new music list"; the difference is that it is more academic, such as designing a variety of search methods, providing multiple search filters, and providing resource-related academic works, which can meet the resource needs of different groups.
"The digital platform 'Memory of the World - Traditional Chinese Music Recording Archives' brings together the traditional music resources from various ethnic groups and regional cultural groups in the mainland, and is the best embodiment of the diverse, integrated and long-standing Chinese music culture." Han Ziyong, president of the China Academy of Arts, said. He said that as China's first "Memory of the World" project protection unit, the China Academy of Arts pioneered the use of digital technology to release this cultural heritage to the society, which not only improves the visibility of memory heritage, but also further promotes the protection and utilization of China's traditional cultural heritage and highlights cultural self-confidence.
"Traditional Chinese music recording archives are a common asset in China and the world. We are committed to building this digital platform into an open data platform to provide the world with richer traditional Chinese music audio resources. Han Ziyong said.