Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
pear-shaped body. The instrumentalist holds the pipa upright and play
with five small plectra attached to each finger of the right hand. The
pipa history can be dated back at least 2000 years and developed from
pentatonic to full scales. This instrument has extremely wide dynamic
range and remarkable expressive power.
Guqin ( ) - seven-
stringed zither without bridges,
the most classicalChinese
instrument with over 3000
years of history. The guqin is often referred to as the instrument of sages for
the purpose of enriching the heart and elevating human spirit. Confucius
(around 600 BC) was a master of this instrument. In the Imperial China's past,
well-educated people of the elite society were expected to master the four
arts, namely, the qin (guqin), qi (weiqi, which has somehow been known as
"Go" in the West according Japanese pronuciation), shu (Calligraphy), and hua
(painting). Being on top of the four traditional arts, the guqin has historically
been regarded as one of the most important symbols of Chinese high culture. Unfortunately only small
number of people in China could play the instrument, because classical musical education of this kind
has never reached general public. Fortunately, the situation has much been improved in recent decades,
there have been a growing number of guqin players both in and outside China. Since november 2003,
Guqin has been registered as one of the master pieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of the
humanity by UNESCO
Konghou ( Kong Hou) - One of the most ancient Chinese music
instruments that appeared in written texts of the Spring and Autumn period
(around 600 BC). The structure of the Konghou looks similar to the harp,
however, with its bridges spanning the strings in the way similar to guzheng.
There were the wo-konghou (horizontal konghou), su-konghou (vertical
konghou) and phoenix-head konghou. Unfortunately not much of this
ancient instrument has been preserved. The reproduction of the konghou
started in the mid 50's. The structure of Today's konghou is a combination of
su-konghou and wo-konghou with the shape similar to harp. The performing
skill is diversified. Besides right-hand techniques, the left hand can play
vibratos, glissandos, etc. The tone quality is mellow and graceful and has a
typical Chinese flavour.
Jing-Hu ( ): Principally used as accompanying instrument for Beijing Opera, Jing-Hu is another
important two-stringed fiddle in the Huqin family. It was developed in Qin dynasty ( around 1790 ),
which is often called the Hu-Qin. The pitch of Jing-Hu is the highest among all instruments of the Hu-Qin
family. Due to its forceful and clarion timbre, Jing-Hu is suitable almost exclusively for Beijing
opera.
Ban-Hu ( ): Ban-Hu has many other names such as Pang-Hu, Qin-Hu, Hu-Hu and Da-Xian, etc. It
is the leading accompanying instrument for Bang-Zi and other northern tunes or ballads, particularly for
the local operas in Henan Province, central China. Similar to Jing-Hu, the timbre of Ban-Hu is clarion and
bright, which makes it hard to join other instruments for tutti. Therefore it's usually for solo, especially
for presenting joyful and passionate moods.
Gao-Hu ( ), also called High-pitched Erhu or Yue-Hu, is especially designed for playing
Cantonese folk melodies and operas. Gao-Hu is often used for performing vivid and brisk rhythms,
particularly for higher-pitched tunes that Erhu cannot play. In comparison with Erhu, Gao-Hu has louder
volume yet brighter tones, and thus it servers both as solo and leading instrument in performing
Cantonese operas and folk melodies.
Yehu ( ):two stringed bowed instrument similar to erhu, however, with a coconut sound body
where Ye means coconut. It is found mostly in South China and Taiwan.
Sihu ( ): four stringed huqin used for accompanying local opera, most commonly found in the
North, such as Sanxi, Shanxi and Neimonggu. It is one of the three leading instruments (together with
dizi, yangqin) in "Er Ren Tai" of Neimonggu (Inner Mongolia). "Si" stands for "four" in Chinese. The
structure is similar to Erhu except it has four strings. The horse-hair of the bow is divided into two group
that go between the four strings.
Zhuihu( ), also known as Zhuiqin, is one of the most popular instruments in Henan and
Shandong Provinces, used for local opera and story-telling. The instrument was invented toward the end
of Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1912) based on the pluck string Sanxian and bowed string erhu. The striking
difference from Erhu is that Zhuihu has a fretless fingerboard similar to Sanxian. The use of the bow is
similar to that of erhu. Basically the instrument is derived from a smaller version of Sanxian performed
with a bow, producing beautiful sounds with a strong local flavour, capable of imitating a lot of natural
sounds such as birds and horse etc. The playing methods adapt the left hand techniques for the Sanxian
and the bow techniques of erhu. The Zhuihu is one of the most beautiful instruments of the huqin
family, which has become very popular soon after its invention in Henan and Shandong.
Leiqin ( ) is derived dirrectly from Zhuihu with few small modifications when the instrument
was introduced to Guangdong Province. The playing method is the same as Zhuihu.