Peking University physicists reform the new flute
Ding Xilin (1893-1974), a native of Huangqiao, Taixing, Jiangsu Province, his life was very dramatic, originally a well-known physicist, but he accidentally became a famous comedy writer, which can be described as both liberal arts and sciences, and finally entered the history of modern Chinese cultural celebrities as a playwright.
During the Republic of China period, Ding Xilin was a professor in the Department of Physics of Peking University, a researcher and director of the Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences, a typical "Male Polytechnic of the Republic of China", and his innate musical talent made him a full-fledged instrument craftsman. In 1935, he made a bold reform of the traditional Chinese instrument, the flute, and a new flute was produced by the instrument workshop of the Institute of Physics, and the improved new flute became the standard in modern Chinese music ensembles. Ding Xilin once published an article entitled "New Flute" in the sixth issue of the third volume of the semi-monthly magazine "Science Pictorial", the earliest popular science magazine in China, which detailed the improved flute.
The new flute, also known as the eleven-hole flute, is a flute modified by the principle of the twelve-point law under the influence of Western musical instruments. The biggest difference between the new flute and the traditional flute is that five more are added to the original six holes, while the eight holes are added by three. The purpose of adding holes is to solve the shortcomings of the traditional flute semitone scale is not easy to control, and the transposition is inconvenient. This eleven-hole design can make the flute fully blow out any half-tone of the octave, and when transposing, due to different tonality, let different fingers fix and hold the hole to achieve the purpose of transposition, thereby eliminating the need to change the traditional flute transposition often need to change the trouble of the instrument.
Another major difference between the new flute and the traditional flute is the removal of the flute membrane with a special timbre, so that the timbre is not as bright and crisp as the qu flute or the flute, but has a warmer tone between the flute and the Western flute. In the modern Emergence of Chinese Orchestras, the new flute plays the role of the middle bass range of flute instruments, which has a similar role to the flute in symphony orchestras, and about half of the Chinese music ensembles have the configuration of the new flute.
Cross-border achievement "One-act Drama Holy Hand"
Ding Xilin's ingenious idea of inventing the new flute is due to his research in physics, the spirit of exploration and innovation and his unique logical thinking ability, as a well-known scientist, his erudition and creativity are beyond ordinary people, so he can skillfully apply natural science to music and many other research fields. His artistic talent and talent are far more than this, among modern Chinese celebrities, he is called a cross-border celebrity, he has profound achievements in literature, music art, drama, calligraphy and painting, language and writing, etc., especially the greatest achievement in drama creation, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou both called him "all-rounder". He often said: a person's interests should be as broad as possible, and those who study science can not but touch literature and art, and Einstein liked to play the violin very much.
The creation of drama was originally Ding Xilin's "hobby", but with the 1923 debut one-act play "A Horse Bee", coupled with the rapid popularity of "Oppression" created two years later, thus laying his position in the history of Chinese theater, becoming the "holy hand of one-act drama" and "the first drama master in modern China". In the history of modern Chinese theater, Ding Xilin is the only playwright who specializes in comedy. Later, some people described him as "an amateur writer who regarded creation as a 'other profession' other than 'right business', but he achieved more outstanding artistic achievements than professional writers, and became one of the founders of modern comedy in china." Qian Liqun, a researcher of modern literature, said of him, "Ding Xilin was a unique existence in the 1920s and even in the entire history of Chinese drama. He is one of the few comedy writers in modern Chinese drama, and the main masterpieces of modern Chinese drama are mostly multi-act plays, but he is obsessed with artistic experiments created in one-act creation... He appeared in the 'early days' of modern Chinese drama, but from the beginning he reached a high level of writing, showing an artistic maturity. ”
Stills from "Three Dollars national currency"
Republic of China comedy recreates the Shanghai Theater
This high-level and mature "Republic of China Polytechnic Man" has infected generations of Chinese audiences with his comedy works of "will smile" and is still deeply loved by people today. In 2016, "Three Rules of Comedy of the Republic of Ding Xilin", "A Horse Bee", "After Drinking", and "Blind Eye" were staged again at the Huangpu Theater in Shanghai and won the grand prize, and the award speech read: "Zheng Zheng's iron-boned literati are elegant and have a deep sense of cultural nostalgia, "Three Rules of Ding Xilin's Republic of China Comedy" approached the long-cherished life of the Republic of China, and the temperate and elegant humor restored the old picture of the city, through the wooden tea fragrance, through the gentle poetry, which is a new starting point for the comedy of the master Ding Xilin. Similarly, this is also a new starting point for "Three Rules of Comedy of the Republic of China". "In today's fast-paced era, such thought-provoking and intriguing work is especially needed.
Ding Xilin was a highly respected democrat who understood the great righteousness, worried about the country and the people, and had a noble national integrity. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in order to preserve research institutions and experimental workshops, he went through many twists and turns and endured hardships. When the Wang puppet government coerced him into taking office, he resolutely refused, resulting in four family members being taken hostage and imprisoned for two years and nine months. On the eve of the liberation of the whole country, Ding Xilin was invited by Premier Zhou to attend the first plenary session of the Chinese Political Consultative Conference to discuss the major events of the founding of the country. After the founding of New China, Ding Xilin served as vice minister of culture and has long been engaged in foreign cultural exchanges. He died in Beijing in 1974 at the age of 81 due to overwork.
Seeing things and thinking about people, the mood is endless. These two seemingly ordinary bamboo flutes embody the wisdom and wisdom of a celebrity, as if telling the comedic life of this "Republic of China Polytechnic Man", and these two bamboo flutes will be permanently treasured in the Taixing Museum. The people of my hometown will never forget this resounding name - Ding Xilin, a legendary "Republic of China Polytechnic Comedy Man".