Sheng pipe music (Fuzhou double pipe music)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Sheng guanyue

Applicant: Wafangdian City, Liaoning Province

Project No.: 620

Project No.: Ⅱ - 121

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: Traditional Music

Region: Liaoning Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Wafangdian City, Liaoning Province

Protection unit: Wafangdian Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center

Introduction to Sheng wind music

Applicant: Wafangdian City, Liaoning Province

Sheng pipe music is generally composed of Guan Zi, Sheng, dizi, Yunluo and other musical instruments, with drum, Nao, Gong and other percussion instruments. Guanzi, the main musical instrument, is a double reed wind instrument in ancient times. It is mostly made of wood with eight sound holes. The first seven are made of hard reed, and the second one is made of reed. The pitch is often adjusted by changing the size of the whistle. According to the length of the tube, it can be divided into three types: big, medium and small. The small tube has sharp and high pitched timbre, including a series of playing skills, such as beating, trilling, Shuan, hualingual, gliding and overtone. In the palace music and temple music of the past dynasties, Guanzi was the main musical instrument, which was called "touguan". Sheng pipe music is the most solemn and elegant music art in folk drumbeating music. It is different from the percussion music which mainly plays suona. The special charm brought by the arrangement of musical instruments makes it possible to create a quiet and quiet atmosphere for religious occasions. Therefore, it is widely used by temples and Taoist temples all over China and has become a common form of instrumental music in various primitive religious rituals.

In the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Fuzhou Shuangguan music was introduced into Fuzhou area of Liaoning Province by Shandong immigrants. At first, it was accompanied by chanting scriptures and ritual activities in Taoist temples. Later, it spread widely among the people. It gradually spread from Fuzhou City to Wafangdian area, and became an indispensable part of local folk wedding and funeral activities and festivals.

Before the introduction of single pipe and double pipe, there were drum classes in Fuzhou. Fuzhou Drum Music class has a history of five or six hundred years. It is mainly composed of Suona, Sheng, xiaoniujiao, hulutou, erhu, Sixian, drum, cymbal and other musical instruments. After the introduction of single pipe and double pipe, the drum class played suona and double pipe as the main musical instruments at the same time. Especially when playing high pitched, rough, low and soft melody, the role of double pipe is more important. Fu Zhou double pipe music combines hardness and softness. Its timbre has both rough and bold side, and deep and euphemistic side, which can express all kinds of complex emotions. Up to now, drum music classes no longer use small ox horn and gourd head. The number of performers is determined according to the remuneration paid by the employer. Generally, the poor people use four players to play, the rich people use six players, and more than a dozen players. The content and place of the performance are often determined by the employer's status and employment reasons. For example, when it is raining in a dry day, it plays in front of the Dragon King temple or by the sea or by the river. When the rich celebrate their birthday, it plays in the house or in the courtyard.

The period from the end of Qing Dynasty to the September 18th Incident in 1931 was the heyday of Fuzhou double pipe music. The representative artists were song Changling, Guan Xiren, Qin Changling, Gao Jishun, wuwuzi, Diao Dengke, etc. From the victory of the Anti Japanese War to the eve of the founding of new China, Fuzhou Shuangguan music resumed its activities, but its scale was not as large as before. The combination of Fuzhou double pipe music and local folk custom has greatly enriched people's spiritual and cultural life, which has the research value of folklore and ethnomusicology. Since the reform and opening up, due to the advocacy of changing customs and simplifying funerals, Fuzhou double pipe music has gradually lost its basis for survival and is on the verge of extinction, which needs urgent rescue and protection.