N Haidu all-media reporter Wu Shirong Ma Junjie text/picture
Zheng, according to legend, began in Qin, is one of the unique and important national musical instruments in the mainland, after a long period of development, its performance style and local opera, folk music fusion, formed including Shaanxi Zheng, Henan Zheng, Shandong Zheng, Chaozhou Zheng and other nine genres, in our Fujian faction is called "Min Zheng". Shortly before the National Day, Min Zheng, as the only item in traditional music, was included in the list of the eighth batch of representative items of intangible cultural heritage in Fuzhou City. The inclusion on the list this time is inseparable from an old man's deep affection and unremitting efforts for Min Zheng.
When Chen Maojin instructed the students, his voice was full of emotion and spirit
Mr. Chen Maojin, 91 years old this year, has been engaged in guzheng teaching for more than 60 years, and has been awarded the "Outstanding Achievement Award of Chinese Guzheng Art" by the Guzheng Society of the Chinese Musicians Association, and is one of the oldest living inheritors of the Fujian Guzheng genre. With his years of efforts, Gulou District of Fuzhou City has become the main inheritance place of Min Zheng, with Min Zheng Inheritance Class, Min Zheng Inheritance Research Association and Min Zheng Troupe as the main inheritance groups and exchange platforms, and the Eight Min Zheng Troupe he founded is the only Zheng troupe in the mainland that plays traditional Zheng music.
Listen to the heart of a lifetime
During his childhood, Chen Maojin lived in the countryside of Fuqing, and every New Year's Festival or wedding and funeral, there were often folk artists playing, playing, playing and singing. Although he had never been exposed to instrumental performance, he had developed a strong interest in traditional folk music.
In 1950, Fujian Province carried out folk music research and collection activities, and a folk concert was performed in Fuzhou, and Mr. Chen Youzhang, a master of Fujian Zheng, was invited to participate. By chance, Chen Maojin, who is still a middle school student, was fortunate to watch the performance live, "I have never heard a live version of the guzheng performance, and Mr. Chen Youzhang's unique performance style and superb skills fascinated me and made me fall in love with it." Chen Maojin said.
At that time, Chen Maojin was only in middle school, and he did not have a musical instrument, so he went to Zhangzhou Yunxiao without telling his parents, found Chen Youzhang in the local theater troupe, and began to learn Min Zheng. Since then, Chen Maojin has been going to Zhangzhou every holiday to learn Min Zheng from Chen Youzhang, and since then he has started to learn art. In the second year, under the recommendation of Mr. Chen Youzhang, he rushed to Zhao'an, Zhangzhou, to learn from Zhang Yonggu, another descendant of Fujian Zheng.
"I can't read musical scores" and "I can't understand dialects", so how did Chen Maojin learn? "The teacher teaches sentence by sentence, I imitate sentence by sentence, listen by ear, remember by brain, and understand by heart." In this way, he gradually integrated the skills he learned from the two teachers in the practice after practice.
In 1954, Chen Maojin was admitted to the Art Department of Fujian Normal University and started a professional music study journey. In 1956, Chen Maojin, who had excellent grades, stayed in the school to teach and took on the teaching of guzheng. After his retirement, he continued to teach guzheng and was hired by the former Fujian Conservatory of Music (now renamed Cai Jikun Conservatory of Music of Minjiang University) to continue teaching guzheng at the school. Chen Maojin said: "Since that 'listening' in middle school, I have formed an indissoluble bond with Min Zheng. ”
Min Zheng inheritance Zheng troupe continues a new chapter
Fujian Zheng is also called "Fujian Zheng", which is mostly popular in the Yunxiao and Zhao'an areas of Zhangzhou, Fujian, and a few appear in Longyan in western Fujian. What are the characteristics of Min Zheng? Chen Maojin said: "Min Zheng it reflects the style of Fujian, compared with the other eight schools, Min Zheng tunes are more ancient and simple, fresh and elegant, lyrical slow, this is the unique charm of Min Zheng." ”
Chen Maojin, the third-generation inheritor of Min Zheng, is 91 years old this year and is still teaching Min Zheng skills
"I'm 91 years old, and I come every Thursday afternoon to rehearse with the Zheng troupe." Most of Fujian's folk Zheng scores and Zheng songs were passed down by word of mouth from their predecessors, and as time passed, Chen Maojin realized that relying on personal efforts alone was not enough to carry forward the art of Min Zheng. In 1991, the first collection of Min Zheng songs compiled by Chen Maojin, "Min Nan Zheng Song Collection", was officially published.
Chen Maojin shows off his collection of rulers
"This is an ancient score with a history of more than 200 years, and few people can understand such a score now, so I will translate it into a simple score for them to see." Chen Maojin showed the reporter that he had done a lot of translations, and he not only compiled the "Minnan Zheng Song Collection", but also compiled 8 volumes of guzheng textbooks, integrating the Min Zheng style into the etudes.
In order to better inherit the art of Min Zheng, in 2009, Chen Maojin opened a Min Zheng inheritance class, recruiting students every year to teach in person, rain or shine. He insisted on teaching the students in person, and under his careful guidance, batch after batch of Min Zheng students grew up. "Almost all the students of the Zheng Troupe have a foundation in Guzheng, and they come to rehearsals and performances, all of which are free, and it is not easy to persevere."
Chen Maojin's apprentices formed the Bamin Zheng Troupe and often went out to perform
In 2015, Chen Maojin established the Ba Min Zheng Troupe on the basis of the inheritance class, with Chen Maojin as the artistic director, with hundreds of members and more than 30 main backbones. "I'm getting older, and I hope that people will continue to spread the art of Min Zheng." He recalls that in the past, Min Zheng was often accompanied by Zheng songs and sung in Hokkien, but now this tradition has gradually drifted away. To this end, the Zheng troupe has recently been working hard to learn Hokkien singing, hoping to integrate new elements into the inheritance. He said: "I want to take the Zheng troupe to perform everywhere, so that more people can appreciate the unique charm of Min Zheng." ”
Editor: Pan Pan