The production of bronze musical instruments is a typical traditional handmade technique of the Han nationality, and the craftsmen have to operate 7 processes of ingredient casting, high-temperature forging, hot pressing, heat treatment, cold shaping, polishing and timping. Photo by Wang Weining
Zhongxin Network Changzhi April 12 Title: Shanxi Xiang bronze musical instrument craftsmen inherit and innovate for 40 years: for the millennium gong to sound "a hammer to set the tone"
Written by Lee Ting-yew
Yan Jiehao is 59 years old this year, and his calloused hands can no longer be extended. As the representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage "the art of making brass musical instruments for the eldest son", in the past 40 years, he has "hammered and fixed" countless gongs.
Gong is an indispensable traditional percussion instrument in dramas such as Peking Opera and Commentary, as well as local operas such as drum books and eight music clubs. Changzi County, Changzhi, Shanxi Province, is Yan's hometown, which is known as the "Hometown of Copper Musical Instruments in the North". According to the "Jinshi Zhiluo of Changzi County", as early as the first year of Tang Zhenguan (627 AD), the sound copper musical instruments made by handmade copper workshops in the area where the southwestern village of Changzi County is located are famous all over the world.
The most critical part of making a brass instrument is the two links of forging and setting the tone, and there is a local saying that "a thousand hammers hit the gong, and one hammer sets the tone". Photo by Wang Weining
Because "more money than farming", at the age of 18, Yan Jiehao began to learn to make brass instruments with his uncle. "In the past, 6 people guarded the same fire, with a clear division of labor and mutual cooperation. The work that gives you a share must be done well, and then the number must be pursued. He took to heart the teachings of his teacher.
The production of bronze musical instruments is a typical traditional han handicraft, with copper and tin as the main raw materials. Craftsmen to operate ingredient casting, high temperature forging, hot compression molding, heat treatment, cold shaping, polishing and timping 7 processes, the most critical is the forging and timping two links, the local "a thousand hammers to hit the gong, a hammer to determine the sound" saying.
"To make a qualified gong, it is often necessary to go through a thousand hammers. When the pitch is fixed, the high and low of the tone can be adjusted by hammering until the pitch is qualified. Yan changed the introduction, and the fixed tone process was mostly hammered by experienced old craftsmen. A good brass instrument maker must have a good sense of music, but also have strong arm strength and wrist kung fu, and be familiar with the tunes of various dramas, and have a wealth of music theory knowledge.
Yan Jiehao also introduced more advanced forging, measuring and polishing equipment into the production process of loud copper musical instruments. Under the conditions of semi-mechanized production, the average daily production of copper instruments by craftsmen has increased from the original 2 kg to 15 kg, and the precision of the product has also been greatly improved. Photo by Wang Weining
Yan Gaihao said: "It takes three to five years to cultivate a good style. This technique is difficult to achieve on the basis of individual exploration, and it requires the accumulation of experience of generations of craftsmen. ”
When he was in his 20s, Yan Changed and transformed the copper smelting furnace into a closed transformation, so that the temperature changed from the past high and low to a basic constant temperature of about 700 degrees Celsius. He also introduced more advanced forging, measuring and polishing equipment into the production process of loud copper instruments. Under the conditions of semi-mechanized production, the average daily production of copper instruments by craftsmen has increased from the original 2 kg to 15 kg, and the precision of the product has also been greatly improved.
In 2005, Yan Jiahao united 9 family workshops to establish a copper instrument production company. Due to the long learning cycle of brass instrument making and the intensity of manual labor, many young people are reluctant to learn. In order to pass on this skill, Yan Jiehao not only cooperated with the relevant provincial and municipal departments to make rescue records, but also recorded the company's usual work meetings, combining the practice of oral transmission by the old craftsmen with modern mechanization technology to make a new process description.
Now, Yan's company can produce more than 150 kinds of bronze instruments in 10 categories, such as Su Gong, Wu Gong, Huyin Gong, Large, Medium, and Small Jing Cymbals, Cymbals, and Cymbals. Photo by Wang Weining
"From 2006 to the present, four or five people have been trained every year, and more than 50 people have been trained." Yan Gaihao told reporters that he has to accept apprentices every year, in order to attract more people to devote themselves to the production of brass musical instruments, the company will provide free lunches to employees, "this work is bitter and tired, and will also give him some subsidies, so that he has the enthusiasm to learn."
Now, Yan's company can produce more than 150 kinds of brass instruments in 10 categories, such as Su Gong, Wu Gong, Huyin Gong, Large, Medium, and Small Jing cymbals, Cymbals, etc., and the Jinju Ma Gong is produced exclusively by them. The bronze musical instruments produced in Changzi County cover all provinces and cities in China and are sold overseas.
Recently, Yan Jiehao is trying to make tourism cultural and creative products, hoping to make the ringing copper musical instrument a cultural symbol of Changzi County. For him, the legacy and innovation have continued. (End)