SILK AND BAMBOO MUSIC
Sizhu
Dizi (bamboo flute)
Chinese musical instruments traditionally have been classified according to the materials used in their construction, namely, metal (jin), stone (shi), silk (si), bamboo (zhu), gourd (pao), clay (tu), skin (ge), and wood (mu). Combining instruments of silk (pipa, erhu, and zheng have silk strings) and bamboo (dizi or flutes) produced the Chinese music genre, sizhu, or silk and bamboo music. Sizhu has been compared to Western chamber music because it was most often played in small informal venues such as teahouses, guild houses, or cultural centers where a casual atmospheres was the norm.
"Silk and Bamboo," or sizhu, therefore, refers to the ancient system in which instruments were classified according to the materials producing their sounds. "Silk" instruments have silk strings, while "bamboo" instruments are mostly bamboo flutes. Though small percussion instruments, such as clappers or bells are sometimes employed, Silk and Bamboo music never uses loud percussion instruments. Sizhu music has been described as gentle, elegant, low-volume, and it is usually played indoors. / Many Silk and Bamboo musicians played in music clubs in Shanghai during the 1940s, which is now considered the golden era for this genre of music. There were over 200 clubs featuring Silk and Bamboo music in the city at that time.
Unfortunately, it declined in Shanghai after the 1950s. One of the reasons was that almost all the great musicians were recruited to professional troupes or conservatories. This resulted in a great weakening of the folk clubs, which had been the mainstay of the genre.
Erhu (2-stringed bowed instrument)
For several thousand years Chinese culture was dominated by the teachings of the philosopher Confucius, who conceived of music in the highest sense as a means of calming the passions and of dispelling unrest and lust, rather than as a form of amusement.
Traditionally, the Chinese believed that music was meant to purify one's thoughts. They also believed that sound influenced the harmony of the universe.
A Chinese scholar-musician once said,
"Though the qin player's body be in a gallery or in a hall, his mind should dwell with the forests and streams."
Interestingly, one of the most important duties of the first emperor of each new dynasty was to search out and establish that dynasty's true standard of pitch.
Yangqin (hammered zither)
Four distinct sizhu traditions can be identified by their origins:
1) Shanghai centered Jiangnan sizhu ("silk and bamboo of southern river")
2) Cantonese music
3) Nanqu or Nanyin which prevailed in Fujian Province
4) Chaozhou sixian ("Chaozhou silk and string") from the Chaozhou and Shantou regions of Guangdong Province. /
Sheng (free reed mouth organ)
While each sizhu tradition is characterized by its instrumentation and timbral coloring peculiar to its local origin, there is also a commonality. When playing a piece, two or more performers will simultaneously modify the same melody, sometimes quite elaborately. Thus, improvisation is highly valued among traditional sizhu performers as it is these subtle changes that provide much of the vitality of the music. Therefore, if a performer just follows the score, the result may sound good but will not be regarded as outstanding, for the key to great sizhu music lies in the ornamentation a performer adds according to his personal technique and taste.
Pipa (4-stringed lute)
Sources:
China Daily April 15, 2005