Zhou Jiaban's performance
An eight-immortal table, 20 sighs, and eight rural men from Lingbi Pine Forest Village in Anhui Province, unexpectedly, brought a shocking concert from the people of Beijing, truly from the jianghu folk.
They are the "Zhou Family Class", all brothers and nephews of the Zhou family who have been passed down for more than 600 years, who have just finished harvesting wheat in their hometown, and with a dark complexion and the smell of field soil, they came to beijing to this 300-year-old Zhengyi Ancestral Hall Ancient Opera Building. When the sound of the whistle blows, it is like a "wall of music" bumping head-on, the joy is desolate, the spirit is full of vitality, and the joys and sorrows of life seem to be led by this music, vibrating in the heart. The audience was amazed at how free- and spontaneous, natural, and flexible their musical temperament was unlike any elaborate and ornate temple sound we had ever heard.
As Mr. Yang Lang, who planned and hosted the "Zhou Jia Ban China YuanQi" blowing concert, said: "It is difficult for us to get such a musical feeling, because it is connected with the breath pitch of the people. ”
A miracle of folk family music heritage
Zhou Zhengming, the fifth generation of the Zhou family class
Who are these eight men? Mr. Zhou Benming, the head of the class, introduced to everyone that this band includes his brother, brother, apprentice and nephew, who are the fifth generation of zhou family class, Zhou Benxiang, Zhou Benling, Zhou Zhonghua, Zhou Benfu, Zhou Benjin, Zhang Surong, and the sixth generation of inheritors Zhou Jiyong. The eldest brother, Zhou Benxiang, is nearly seventy years old and full of unique work, and is the old artist with the most complete inheritance of skills in the Zhou family class.
Beijingers may not know much about them, but in the Yuwan area of Sulu, Zhou Jiaban is famous. Led by the masters of the great class of successive generations, the Zhou family class, the King of Zhou Wen of Yuanzong, and the founder of Confucianism in the Song Dynasty of the Recent Sect, Zhou Dunyi, have been continuously inherited for hundreds of years, everyone lives with happiness, every year to welcome birth and death, worship the ancestors of the heavens, and the prosperous and chaotic world has always been unswerving.
Up to now, there are more than 100 musicians of the Zhoujiaban clan, both men, women and children, and about 1,000 musicians of the disciple lineage, spanning Sulu and Yuwan, becoming a rare precious living fossil of the music of the Han peoples in East China and the Central Plains. The Chinese folk percussion art inherited by Zhou Jiaban, named "Lingbi Pine Forest Horn" after the area where he lives, was selected as the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage in 2014.
According to the literature, this musical instrument has been circulating in China for a long time, and it was used in the military in the Ming Dynasty. Legend has it that the Ming Dynasty general Qi Jiguang once used the chant as a military music, and whenever there was a battle, the platoon was blown in front of the army to strengthen the army.' Because most of the music is bright in rhythm and easy to resonate with the public, it is widely spread in the folk and used for marriage, funeral, marriage, marriage and festivals.
Teacher Yang Lang presided over the concert
The widespread popularity of the art of Lingbi Na is said to be related to Zhu Zaiyu, the ninth grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, Zhu Zaiyu loved folk music, and dozens of Song Na song tablets widely circulated in the Central Plains, such as "Calling Sentences", "Fan Character Tone", "Hundred Birds and Phoenixes", "Raising Flower Palanquins", "Big Open Door", etc., were all preserved by Zhu Zaiyu. In the Ming Dynasty, the Yellow River broke through twice, causing the displaced victims in the Huanghuai area to migrate, some settled in Lingbi, and some went out to study art. Every New Year's Festival, the Festival, the Wedding ceremony, the marriage of men and women, the funeral sacrifice and other customs, there are chanting and advocating, gongs and drums beating, and the Zhou family class is one of the most prestigious bands, and even circulates the saying that "the Zhou family class is not enough, the man does not marry the woman and does not marry".
Throughout the seven generations of the Zhou family, as a family band, it is rare in the world. So many people are engaged in the same industry of trumpet music, not only to make a living from folk music, but also to take this as the common ideal and belief of the family, in today's weak family concept, it can not be said that it is a miracle.
Each of the 8 members of the Zhoujia class who entered Beijing this time is actually a "class master", who usually farms and farms, and organizes classes to perform during wedding and funeral celebrations in the township. The so-called "big class master" refers to the person who took the initiative to lead and promote the entire Zhou family class in a certain period of time, and the fifth generation of the big class master Zhou Benming is such a person.
"Prosperity pleases the people, and the chaotic world protects themselves." Possess a skill, not afraid of honor and disgrace. "For hundreds of years, they have been adhering to this nineteen-character class motto from generation to generation, which is the entrustment of the ancestors of the Zhou family class, and it is also the consistent wind and bone of the Zhou family class.
The band can play in the ring for seven days and seven nights
The curtain opened on the Zhengyi Ancestral Hall Theater Building, and Zhou Benming, the fifth generation of the Zhou family class, opened with a song "Ten Thousand Years of Red And Mortal Character Tone", and then he played "Greeting and Celebrating The Order" with a small brass horn. The two pieces of music have a thick tone, a majestic atmosphere and endless changes, a loud tone, feminine and delicate and touching, and there are ten miles and eight villages in the music, there is the cry of the baby's birth, and the strong breath of life comes to the face.
Then there is "Playing Dates", a song full of secular joy, the performer Zhang Surong first simulated the chirping of various birds with a snort, followed by chickens and dogs, as if taking the audience to a small farm yard, using different instruments to imitate people's laughter and laughter, showing the life of three generations of grandchildren in the courtyard, without saying a word, but the witty tune, exaggerated expression and body language made everyone present laugh.
Movie poster for "Birds and Phoenix"
Subsequently, all kinds of bird calls sounded, accompanied by children crying, roosters chirping, dogs barking, cat barking, pig barking, frog barking... The idyllic scene full of local atmosphere and life taste seems to be close at hand. This is the "Hundred Birds and Phoenix" played by Zhou Jiaban, the whole song lasted for more than 10 minutes, and the brothers blew to the head of the xing to improvise, more and more free, unrestrained. It is said that when the fourth generation of senior class master Zhou Zhengyu plays this piece, it can last for more than an hour without repeating the same thing.
Click, few people in China will meet, the eldest brother Mr. Zhou Benxiang began to learn from the age of seven or eight, decades of skills to create his own skills. The instrument seems to have wings in his hand, can change into a thousand postures, he can use the scream, buckle the bowl, and then use the very complex tremor luck to blow out the Yu opera "Qin Xianglian" singing section, Xiaosheng, Danjiao, Hua Face, etc. imitate the sound rhyme is very similar, and finally Bao Gong's "kaija" shocks people's hearts. The unique skill of "clicking" is to make a sound through the vibration of the vocal cords to drive the whistle piece contained in the mouth, and when he "sings" a piece of The Northern Anhui Liuqin drama "Pulling the Soul Cavity" on the stage, the technique is shocking.
The most wonderful thing is the Zhou Jiaban's stage play, and the "Ten Kinds of Jin Pairs" performed this time is to recreate the grand situation of the rural team playing in the ring. "Playing the right shed" is commonly known as "fighting the ring", in the folk red and white celebrations, often encounter a family to do things, at the same time ask two or three blowing and playing classes, or two families on the same day to do things. At this time, each music class plays at the same time, which side can retain the audience is to win, undefeated, in order to preserve the honor of the family. Therefore, folk artists have to show eighteen martial arts to fight, which also practiced the Zhou family class's unique work, in addition to playing skills, magic, acrobatics must be learned, this is the cruel competition in folk music, the performance is also because of this competition and particularly wonderful, the climax is repeated, and the spirit is full of excitement. "In history, Zhou Jiaban has never tasted defeat. The most recent time in Shandong,' the 'opposite shed' lasted for seven days and seven nights. Zhou Benming said proudly.
Music contains the great wisdom of life's tragedies and joys
Mr. Yang Lang told the audience in the commentary that he might as well imagine that he is in the field, surrounded by villagers in eight villages, children are happy, the old man is smiling, and they feel the life situation expressed in this music together.
As a traditional state of etiquette, etiquette and music have long been integrated into the life of Chinese for thousands of years, and these major events such as new year festivals, greeting gods, weddings and funerals, sacrifices and celebrations, etc., are indispensable to the "folk melody" played by the cheering team.
Zhou Benming, the head of the class who is nearly sixty years old, has followed his family to the north and south to play and perform since he was a child. In his heart, Zhou Jiaban is not just a "trumpet team" in other people's population, folk artists mainly play with na, sheng, flute and pipe, and the moving melody played by instruments such as gongs and drums is "music that can really pry people's bodies and souls", which contains the great wisdom of life's tragedies and joys. "The timbre of the na, coupled with its special playing skills, makes you overjoyed when you are happy, and sad when you are sad, which is irreplaceable by any other music." Zhou Benming said.
For example, the famous song "Wild Goose Falling on the Beach" in this performance is a song played for the deceased elderly during the funeral. The music imitates the call of the geese through the chanting, and vividly shows the beautiful posture and high vitality of the geese. Folklore says that geese have "five virtues", and "Wild Geese Falling on the Beach" praises the noble virtues of the elderly such as "benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and faith". In folk belief, life is reincarnated, so their music also contains good blessings for life. This is a Chinese philosophy, but also a folk philosophy of music.
Zhou Benming said: "The people in my hometown are afraid that they will not be able to do without a sigh for the rest of their lives, please celebrate the full moon of the child, please celebrate the happy marriage, please give joy to the old man, and send the soul of the elderly." It can be said that the first sound heard by people here at birth is playing, and the last sound heard before leaving the world is also playing. ”
Such music that points directly to the heart originates from the blowing music of Zhou Jiaban, which is condensed from the sadness and joy of the ritual of life. Their music is full of joy and sorrow, and there is joy in sorrow, not only regulating emotions and expressing blessings in separation, but also conveying the great wisdom of "living to death" and "reincarnation of life" in traditional Chinese philosophy.
This is the essence of the chanting. Zhou Benming introduced that in the generational inheritance of Zhou Jiaban, the father taught the mental method and foundation, but everyone's inner feelings are different, so a hundred people have a hundred expressions, and even everyone's performance is different. "This is a kind of performance derived from nature, and the core of its national culture is to adapt to the times and situations, and to express inner feelings through music in different situations at different times." The reason why this music is so vivid and full of vitality is probably because this is the carnival and release of the meaning of life from the heart of the player.
Blowing the "Chinese Yuanqi" on the world stage
Like all traditional intangible cultural heritage, even Zhoujiaban, which was once so hot, has experienced earth-shaking changes in China in the past century, and is gradually facing the dilemma of inheritance difficulties. In the past, folk music was not scored, completely relying on the dictation of the masters from generation to generation, and experienced the baptism of war in the middle, and now there are very few things that have been completely preserved.
The more than 300 classic traditional songs once left by the ancestors of the Zhou family class have only a few dozen left. Moreover, the golden age of oh na music has passed, due to the drive of economic interests and the squeeze of other art forms, the traditional folk music is declining day by day, the number of young people learning na na is decreasing year by year, the number of practitioners has decreased sharply, and the level of skills and skills has also dropped significantly. This made the head of the class, Zhou Benming, very sad: "Art is ultimately passed on by people, and if there is no follow-up force, it is really in danger." We are now trying to cultivate the seventh and eighth generations, although the environment is different and the mood is not so pure, but the arduous task of cultivating the next generation still needs to continue. ”
However, to be a nay artist is not simply to toil his bones and bones and starve his body, but a Sisyphus-style practice, to abandon the mediocrity in the dust, to stick to the faith of a lifetime, and to be a human soul and an instrumental music that lasts for a long time. In an era of social change and impetuous people's hearts, it is not easy to temper a real artist.
Zhou Benming, the head of the big class, is the soul of Zhou Jiaban, and he is also one of the few people among the brothers who has gone out of the countryside and entered the city. He began to learn the art at the age of five, followed his father to "live", and practiced a hard kung fu. At the age of fifteen, he was admitted to the Anhui Provincial Art School, and after graduation, he began a life of traveling south and north, and the experience was quite complicated. He has engaged in acting careers in Anhui, Hainan and other places, and then drifted north to Beijing, was hired by CCTV as a column producer, and began to do business after quitting CCTV in 2008. Although his identity is constantly changing, he has always been concerned about Zhou Jiaban and strives to promote The Music of Oh Na.
Zhou Benming once said that after making a lot of money, he suddenly had a strong impulse that shook his will to continue on the road of business. As he grew older, he began to think about more important, deeper, and more meaningful things. "As a Sonna person, a descendant of the Oh Na family, I have implanted the gene of Oh Na in my bones, and the legacy of my ancestors flows in my blood." The superb skills of the musicians and the excellent repertoire are indisputable cultural wealth, and Zhou Benming feels that such a good thing must be passed on and spread out so that more people can feel and appreciate it. So he returned to his hometown and led the Zhou family class to start a difficult tour.
In order to promote Zhou Jiaban's tour abroad, Zhou Benming sold his villa to raise money. In 2017, Zhou Jiaban's performance in Europe caused a sensation, and the "Chinese Yuanqi Zhoujiaban" Blowing Concert was held at the Rudolstadt Music Festival in Germany, the Malmö Summer Stage in Sweden, the 44th International Traditional Music Society World Congress in Ireland, the Ethnographic Museum in Leipzig, Germany, the Womad Music Festival in the United Kingdom and the Finks Music Festival in Belgium, which was finally collected by the British Library, and zhou Jiaban was also evaluated by the European media as " Avant-garde teams from China", everywhere European audiences are conquered by such "ancient Chinese jazz". This made Zhou Benming and Zhou Jiaban doubly confident.
Zhou Jiaban entered Beijing this time to perform in the Zhengyi Temple Theater Building, and also held a tour conference to the United States, which will last for one month, spanning seven states in the United States, and the tour scale will reach 17. The old and young masters of Zhou Jiaban will land at the Chicago World Music Festival, the highest art hall in the United States, the Kennedy Center for the Arts, and are expected to perform at Harvard University.
It is a joy for Zhou Jiaban to take to the world stage to show the purest Chinese folk art. As Qu Xiaosong, the first internationally renowned Chinese composer to praise Zhou Jiaban as "the voice of the most Chinese vitality", said: "Yuanqi is the most fundamental vitality, and it is the power that can touch people's hearts when you travel all over the world." ”
Teacher Yang Lang said that after the end of the Tour in the United States, the Zhoujia class will come to Beijing again in mid-to-late October to perform in the Zhengyi Temple Theater Building, and more Beijing audiences will see the beauty and regret of the cycle of life, the rise and fall of artistic heritage and sighs, and the respect and respect for the persistence of skills from their performances.