中國民族器樂的歷史與審美
修海林
《中國民族器樂典藏》「代序」
一、追溯音樂歷史長河中的民族器樂
民族器樂在中國音樂發展的歷史長河中，具有獨特的歷史價值。
中國音樂史的起源，能夠遠溯到大約八千年以前，是因為賈湖骨笛在歷史遺址中的發現；中國音樂經過八千年的發展，仍然能夠讓今人再次聽到那些在每一個歷史時期、曾經激起過炎黃子孫音樂情感的音響、曲調，是因為作為音樂的物化形態而存留的樂器及其組合；中國人能夠以「禮樂之邦」而在世界民族之林宣揚、炫耀自己的古老文明和文化傳統，是因為早在周代就已在鐘磬之樂中展示的感人心志的音樂文化。
當代華人能夠以學術含義決不在古代「四大發明」之下的、西元前五世紀的曾侯乙編鐘及其他樂器，向世人展示先秦輝煌的樂律學、樂器學、聲學以及先進的冶煉鑄造技術，是因為曾侯乙墓出土的樂器及其組合；在世界所有古代文明的發展中，中華文明作為唯一不曾間斷的文明，在中外文化交流和溝通中能夠展示其世代延承的音樂，其中作品眾多、保留完整、內容豐富，也是最主要的音樂門類，就是那些不僅為華人所喜愛、並得到世界各國人民欣賞、讚譽的民族器樂；當人類希望用音樂與地外文明達成某種交流時，通過由西元一九七七年八月二十日美國發射的「航行者」號太空船攜帶的唱片而探尋與宇宙文明的接觸，唯一被選上的中國音樂，就是能夠成為體現「人的意識與宇宙的交融」的器樂——古琴音樂。歷史上保存下來的琴譜有一百五十多種，有近七百首琴曲。若加上同一琴曲的不同版本，其樂曲數則可達三千餘首。琴樂文獻，是曲目最為豐富的中國古代音樂文獻。古琴音樂，被視為數千年前中國以及人類音樂文明在旋律、曲目、技法、音樂思想方面達到最高水準的範例。
從現今留存的音樂文物可知，在新石器時期，就已經有了骨笛、骨哨、陶塤、陶鼓、陶鐘、石磬、鼉鼓等樂器。這類樂器在《尚書》、《呂氏春秋》等先秦文獻中也有記載。就器樂的演奏形式而言，《管子‧輕重甲》中就記載夏代（約西元前十六世紀）的末代帝王桀曾組織「女樂三萬人，晨噪於端門，樂聞於三衢」。《呂氏春秋‧侈樂》也記錄「夏桀殷紂，作為侈樂，大鼓、磬、管、簫之音……」。這些記錄雖然不可避免有傳說中的誇大，但在樂器製作和樂隊組織上追求奢侈、過度的享樂，恐怕是一種印象深刻的歷史記憶。到了周代，正是由於樂器種類的繁多，才第一次出現了被稱為「八音」的樂器分類法。雖說當時「樂」的活動，其藝術表現形式主要具有歌詩、器樂、舞蹈一體化的綜合藝術的特徵，但是器樂在一些祭祀活動中，是發揮著主要作用的。從《詩經‧周頌‧有瞽》中「應田縣鼓，鞉磬柷圉。既備乃奏，簫管備舉」的描寫看，器樂在祭祀活動中，發揮著重要作用。在《周禮‧春官‧宗伯》的記錄中，掌管樂器演奏（或同時掌管樂舞）的樂師佔了多數。在《詩經》一些作品的描寫中，琴瑟、塤篪、鐘鼓的組合相和，也有某種規律可循。
春秋戰國時期，不僅樂器的發展更為完善，器樂的演奏形式也更為豐富，樂隊的規模也更擴展了。可能也正是因為器樂在各諸侯國貴族音樂活動中的發達，當時很有影響的思想家墨子，才會有針對地提出「撞巨鐘、擊鳴鼓、彈琴瑟、吹竽笙而揚干戚，民衣食之財將安可得乎？」這樣的質問，甚而提出「非樂」的主張。在戰國早期曾侯乙墓葬中，除了墓中室由編鐘六十五件（含甬鐘四十五件、鈕鐘十九件、楚王鎛一件）、編磬三十二件、鼓三件、瑟七件、笙四件、排簫二件、篪二件構成的由一百一十五件樂器組成的鐘磬樂隊，在墓樂室，還有由瑟五件、琴一件、均鐘（亦稱五弦）一件、笙二件、鼓一件總共十件樂器組成的樂隊。這一時期，在器樂審美上，既有行樂求「和」求「樂」的雅樂審美觀，又有受到質問的「聽樂而震」（《國語·周語下》），以「昌大囂庶為樂」的享樂音樂審美觀。
在對器樂的審美上，戰國末期的大思想家荀子，在其《樂論》中描寫雅樂中不同樂器演奏在他心中產生的審美意象。他說，「鼓大麗，鐘統實，磬廉制，竽笙肅和，管籥發猛，塤篪翁博，瑟易良，琴婦好」（今譯：鼓聲宏麗，鐘聲渾厚，磬聲清晰，竽、笙肅和，管、籥昂揚，塤、篪廣遠，瑟聲平和，琴聲柔婉）。荀子還形容「樂」的審美意象為「故其清明象天，其廣大象地，其俯仰周旋有似於四時」。這樣的博大音樂氣象及其審美意象，可以說是直接由音色多樣、配置豐實的器樂演奏而促成的。
秦漢時期，器樂的重要發展是在軍旅、儀仗行進之樂上，即所謂「旌旗鼓吹」（《漢書》）。這類馬上演奏的軍旅之音，統稱為鼓吹樂。其中又有「鼓吹」、「橫吹」之分，「有簫笳者為鼓吹，用之朝會道路」，「有鼓角者為橫吹，用於軍中，馬上所奏者是也」（《樂府詩集》記「北狄樂」）。鼓吹樂被用於多種社會音樂活動，不僅用於儀仗行進，也用於宴樂群臣。且因應用場合、樂器編配的不同，分有黃門鼓吹、騎吹、短簫鐃歌、簫鼓等類別。
魏晉南北朝時期，器樂在清商樂的活動中得到較大的發展。清商三調（平調、清調、瑟調）的伴奏樂器，分別由笙、笛、節、琴、瑟、箏、琵琶、篪組合成不同的編制。在清商三調歌舞表演的三部性曲體結構中，開首即是被稱為「弦」的器樂段落。而在被稱為「歌弦」的部分，器樂也在其展開中、以及在與聲樂段落的對比中，發揮著重要作用。這一時期，一些由琴、箏、笙等樂器演奏的器樂獨奏形式，也從相和大曲、清商樂的樂隊演奏中獨立出來，並被稱為「但曲」，同時形成了自己的演奏曲目。如琴曲《廣陵散》（又名《廣陵止息》），就是這類脫胎出來的器樂獨奏曲。現存最早的、用文字譜記寫方式保存在下來的琴曲《幽蘭》，是經由南朝梁會稽人丘明（四九三至五九○）傳至唐代。後遠傳至日本，其譜本又於近代從日本帶回中國，並被中國琴家重新打譜演奏而得以重現其樂調。古琴的獨奏形式，在漢以來琴作為文人音樂的定位中，其獨立性被大大強化了。這一時期的器樂演奏和組合形式，還可以從這一時期遺存的音樂文物中領略一二。
由南北朝至隋唐時期，在與外族外域的音樂交流中，不僅新的樂器種類增多，並在不同的音樂歌舞表演中形成多種多樣的樂隊編制。唐人段安節在其《樂府雜錄》中聲稱當時的樂器有三百種左右。唐代的樂隊編制多樣，其中以清樂、龜茲樂、西涼樂較具代表性。鼓吹樂雖然仍保持有漢魏以來鼓吹樂的特徵，但在樂器使用和類型上，僅篳篥、鼓、角類就各有數種。唐代各類樂隊所用的樂器主要有：琵琶、五弦、彈箏、芻箏、笙、簫、笛、篳篥、豎箜篌、臥箜篌、拍板、羯鼓、毛員鼓、都曇鼓、答臘鼓、腰鼓、雞婁鼓、節鼓、齊鼓、擔鼓、和鼓、貝、銅鈸、琴、瑟、筑、鐘、磬、阮、葉、塤等。在唐高祖李淵的堂弟李壽墓的石壁上，刻有坐部伎、立部伎的奏樂圖，真實而直觀地展示了當時燕樂的樂隊演奏編制。除了史書上的記載，在保留至今的隋唐壁畫及陶俑等音樂文物中，能夠看到當時的各種樂隊組合方式。
在器樂獨奏方面，古琴保持其特有的美學品格和藝術魅力。唐天寶年間宮中琴待詔薛易簡曾作《琴訣》七篇。晚唐琴人陳康士寫的琴曲《離騷》也傳承至今。唐代器樂獨奏水準，從現存文獻中看，在許多樂器上都有集中體現。《樂府雜錄》中「琵琶」條，記長安康昆侖、段善本較量琵琶技藝，翻調彈奏；又記曹綱、裴興奴琵琶技藝各有所長，所謂「曹綱有右手，興奴有左手」。「箏」、「箜篌」、「笛」、「篳篥」、「五弦」、「方響」、「擊甌」、「琴」、「阮咸」、「羯鼓」、「鼓」、「拍板」諸條，都分別記寫當時有很高演奏技藝的樂人。唐人南卓撰有《羯鼓錄》，記善奏者與知音者諸事，以及一百多首羯鼓曲名。詩人白居易的長詩《琵琶行》，生動地描寫了琵琶演奏技藝達到的藝術感染力：
輕攏慢撚抹復挑，初為《霓裳》後《六么》。大弦嘈嘈如急雨，小弦切切如私語；嘈嘈切切錯雜彈，大珠小珠落玉盤。間關鶯語花底滑，幽咽泉流水下灘。水泉冷澀弦凝絕，凝絕不通聲暫歇。別有幽情暗恨生，此時無聲勝有聲。銀瓶乍破水漿迸，鐵騎突出刀槍鳴。曲終收攏當心劃，四弦一聲如裂帛；東船西船悄無言，惟見江心秋月白。
白居易還專寫有《五弦彈》一詩，專寫五弦琵琶獨奏產生的審美效應：
五弦並奏君試聽，淒淒切切復錚錚，鐵擊珊瑚一兩曲，冰瀉玉盤千萬聲。殺聲入耳膚血寒，慘氣中人饑骨酸，曲終聲盡欲半日，四座相對愁無言。
與唐代器樂演奏的高度發達相應，唐代也產生有用於各類樂器演奏的器樂譜，如古琴減字譜、篳篥譜、箏譜、笛譜以及羯鼓譜等。
唐五代時期，在當時權貴豪門的聲樂娛樂活動中，器樂演奏成為重要的音樂表演形式，並且演奏者主要是女性樂人。這方面，五代南唐宮廷畫家顧閎中的《韓熙載夜宴圖》，為我們提供了最為直觀的見證。其中的一幅畫面是有五位家伎組成「清吹」小樂隊（篳篥三支、橫笛二支）進行演奏，同時有一位貴客在旁參與，敲擊拍板；另一幅畫面是展示主客聚集在一起，專心欣賞琵琶獨奏。五代前蜀王建墓中石棺座三面刻有二十四塊樂舞伎正在奏樂的生動圖像，其表情、姿態栩栩如生，非常傳神，在古代音樂文物中不得多見。其樂隊的編制，可以看到從西域傳入的龜茲樂與代表漢魏傳統的清樂兩種樂隊編制融合的跡象。
唐宋之後，絃樂器有了較明顯的發展。唐代已有奚琴、軋箏，宋代有了用馬尾製成弓以演奏的胡琴類樂器。金、元時從北方傳入的嗩呐，使鼓吹樂的演奏形式發生重要變革。嗩呐成為軍旅樂隊和民間各種鼓吹中的重要樂器。
宋元時期的器樂，大體上可分為兩類，一類是獨立的器樂，一類是各類戲樂中的器樂。獨立的器樂演奏形式，以宮廷教坊樂最為典型。其樂隊建制基本承襲唐制，但其中值得注意的是，教坊樂隊中新增的嵇琴，在樂隊中的演奏人數，超過以往在傳統樂隊中一直居首位的琵琶。這表明弓弦樂器開始在樂隊中居有重要地位。宋代的民俗音樂活動中，有多種器樂演奏形式，如具絲竹樂特點的「細樂」、「清樂」。「細樂」所用樂器有簫、管、箏、嵇琴、方響等；「清樂」所用樂器有笛、笙、篳篥、拍板、方響、提鼓、札子等。宋代的散樂其樂器組合也較豐富，從禹州白沙宋墓散樂壁畫中，可以看到有樂伎十一人，演奏的樂器有篳篥（二）、橫笛、細腰鼓、拍板、鼓、笙、排簫、五弦、簫等。此形式與《遼史》卷五十四記載散樂的樂器大致相同。
明清時期，宮廷鼓吹統稱鐃歌樂，分為鹵簿樂、前部樂、行幸樂、凱旋樂四類。其中鹵簿樂就是帝王的儀仗樂隊。故宮博物院藏有描繪康熙一六八九年第二次南巡的《康熙南巡圖》，其中第一卷展示的是康熙南巡的「大駕鹵簿」，樂隊是其中的重要部分。鹵簿樂中使用的樂器有：大鼓四十八、仗鼓四、板四、龍頭笛十二、金（鑼）四、畫角二十四、金鉦四、小銅角八、大銅角八。當鑼鼓震響，號角齊鳴，樂聲激起，其氣勢之威武雄壯，可想而知。關於清宮各類樂隊使用的樂器，故宮所藏《皇朝禮器圖冊》，由乾隆二十三年（一七五八）允祿等上表纂修，至乾隆三十一年（一七六六）告竣，歷時八年。全書九十二冊，共分祭器，儀器、冠服、樂器、鹵簿、武備六部分，其中五十三至六十冊為樂器部分，每開分圖、文兩面，有樂器的繪錄和文字說明，共一百八十四開。
明清時期，民間的器樂演奏形式，種類繁多。大至可分為弦索樂、絲竹樂、鼓吹樂、吹打樂、鑼鼓樂五類。弦索樂是全部由弦樂器組成的樂隊。如著名的《弦索十三套》（收錄於清榮齋編器樂曲集《弦索備索》），以二胡、琵琶、箏、三弦四件樂器組成。其中十三部器樂合奏曲的曲名分別是：《合歡令》、《將軍令》、《十六板》、《琴音板》、《清音串》、《平韻串》、《月兒高》、《琴音月兒高》、《普庵咒》、《海青》、《陽關三疊》、《松青夜遊》、《舞名馬》。《河南板頭曲》主要以三弦、箏、琵琶等弦樂器組成；《潮州弦詩》以二弦、箏、琵琶等樂器組成；《廣東漢樂》以頭弦、箏等樂器組成。
絲竹樂是以一、二件弦樂器、竹管樂器為樂隊的主奏樂器，加上其他樂器而組成的樂隊。《二人台牌子曲》主要以四胡、笛子、揚琴組成；《江南絲竹》主要以二胡、笛子為主奏樂器；《廣東音樂》以粵胡、秦琴、揚琴、簫為主要樂器。
鼓吹樂在演奏形式上是以吹管樂器如嗩呐、笛子等為主奏樂器，同時配合其他弦樂器。其中的鑼鼓樂主要起伴奏、間奏作用，也會有少數獨立演奏段落。《冀中管樂》、《山西八大套》多以管子為主奏樂器。《山東鼓吹》分別以嗩呐、錫笛、笛子為主奏樂器。
吹打樂是以管弦樂器（或僅用管樂器）與打擊樂器配合演奏的器樂演奏形式。曲中也常有專門的鑼鼓或鼓的獨奏段落。《西安鼓樂》（又稱「長安鼓樂」）有「坐樂」「行樂」兩種演奏形式。「坐樂」樂器分為旋律樂器和節奏樂器兩類。旋律樂器有笛、笙、管、雙雲鑼、方匣子五種，以笛為主奏樂器，以眾笙相協笛聲，有時也用管子。節奏樂器有各種型制的鼓、鐃鈸、鑼，另有木梆、木魚、鈴等打擊樂器。至今仍有演出的坐樂套曲有《尺調雙雲鑼八拍鼓段坐樂》。另有《十番鼓》、《十番鑼鼓》、《浙東鑼鼓》、《潮州鑼鼓》等吹打樂。清人李斗撰《揚州畫舫錄》（一七九五）記《十番鼓》「用笛、管、簫、弦、提琴、雲鑼、湯鑼、木魚、檀板、大鼓十種，故名十番鼓。」比這早一百零六年，故宮所藏《康熙南巡圖》第十卷，畫康熙一六八九年第二次南巡到紹興祭大禹陵之後，取道返京至南京。卷中繪有南京秦淮河畫舫樂隊的實景圖像，有七八人演奏三弦、鼓、笙、笛、雲鑼、板、胡琴等樂器。
鑼鼓樂是用打擊樂器組成的器樂合奏形式，民間有「清鑼鼓」之稱。鑼鼓樂可以以某一樂種中的一種演奏形式存在，如《十番鑼鼓》、《冀東管樂》，又可以以獨立的樂種形式存在，如《四川鬧年鑼鼓》。《十番鑼鼓》有多種樂器組合演奏形式。其中除打擊樂器外，兼用管弦樂器的稱「絲竹鑼鼓」（俗稱「勞葷鑼鼓」），只用打擊樂器的稱「清鑼鼓」（俗稱「素鑼鼓」）。而其中以笛為主奏樂器的絲竹鑼鼓，稱笛吹鑼鼓，以笙為主奏樂器的絲竹鑼鼓，稱為笙吹鑼鼓。
二、傳統民族器樂的人文情懷與美學範疇
中國音樂的美學特質，主要在於人文情懷的抒發。在音樂中，這種人文情懷的抒發，根據不同的心境或寄託，又有不同的指向。
器樂的審美，在音樂表現形式上，比之於聲樂、歌劇、舞劇等綜合性音樂門類，能夠更為集中而且高度調動器樂的音樂表現力和演奏技藝，器樂擺脫了歌唱中詞義的傳達，以及歌劇、舞劇等綜合類音樂體裁中被劇情籠罩著的情感氛圍，也不再通過人物行為情節和言語對白來轉達具體的、概念化的思想情感內容，而是單純以音響來描繪和展現投射於其中、卻又無法用概念性的語言來傳達的表現物件，其中包括從物象到心象、從情感到意識等諸方面在音響中的主觀構建。在一定的文化傳統和人文環境中，這種表現，在整體的風格構成上，又傳達著一種人文情懷，體現著某種藝術精神。無論是在器樂的創造、表現還是審美中，人對音樂的感知和體驗，始終與人的諸種感性體驗乃至精神體驗，處於隨時的溝通、互動之中。因此，器樂又可以成為在音樂和人的溝通和互動中，最為自由、最具精神性的音樂表現形式。
中國的傳統民族器樂，相較其他音樂門類，成為中國人通過音樂抒發其人文情懷，一種精神內涵最為深厚、想像力最為豐富、文化承載力最強、同時又最具自由度的傳統音樂門類。
中國人對於器樂的認識，比之於西方對樂器的選擇更強調某種音樂聲學標準的取捨來說，更注重對音色的認識。不論一件樂器多麼簡單，甚至其音色顯得如何「刺耳」、「沙啞」，只要其音色具有自己的個性，並且在文化的應用中展示著特有的風格、承載著特有的人文情懷，這一樂器就不會被某種聲樂標準而淘汰。
中國人對器樂的表現，比之於西方更注重對人在現實抗爭中激烈情感的抒發、以及與這種激情在心理上構成平衡的、寄託於神靈並充滿虔誠的宗教情懷表現，要更注重於音樂中人與宇宙、自然一體化的意境表現，以及以某種更為世俗化形式和充滿趣味化情態的音響，對山林溪谷之音和世俗生活情態以模仿、表現。
在中國傳統器樂作品中，人的哀思離情、感慨傷懷和所有人類音樂一樣，都有自己的表達，但是因其獨特的、個性化的樂器音色、演奏技法以及多種樂器編配、組合，更重要的是在其音響傳達背後，作為音樂展開的動力而不斷輸入能量的人文情懷，使其具有無可替代的、也是最為寶貴的文化個性。
中國傳統器樂審美所重者，首在人文情懷，即音樂中人文情懷的寄託與體驗。其音樂的表現，雖不乏對歡樂激情的震憾表達和對內心感傷的沉鬱直抒，但就傳統器樂所推崇的美學特質而言，並非是重情緒的外在展現，而是重心懷的內蘊表述。簡單說，是雖求「情態」卻更重「心懷」。此心懷，是主客一體、心聲相映、天人合一之「心懷」。
文人情懷
中國傳統器樂中最具中國人文精神者，首推琴。「驀回首觀往事鄭聲喧囂興極一時隨聲隨滅，誠感慨視如今琴樂猶存傳承百代心存心榮」，其人文情懷正在「樂以象德」。所謂「德者得也」，琴樂何所「得」？或者說據何而「得」？琴的歷史，並非琴藝的歷史，而是琴人的歷史；琴的歷史，並非琴工的歷史，而是文人的歷史；琴對於中國知識份子，真正有價值的、也是真正值得繼承的文化精神，承繼的並非僅僅是儒家的「守以自禁」，也不只是道家的「游心太玄」，而是儒道精神在出世、入世之間的張力與平衡。所謂「達則兼濟天下，窮則獨善其身」的通達、自覺，在「盡人事」與「知天命」兩端保持足夠的張力。猶如儒者關切的是人世倫理、博愛之心的實踐，而道者潛心的是擺脫異化、合於自然的超越。兩者共通處是仍須知行合一，同需事上修練。這樣一種藝術精神，在琴樂中的直接呈現，既有《神人暢》，又有《龍翔操》；既有《瀟湘水雲》儒道情懷的合一，又有《幽蘭》獨善執一的孤寂；既有《流水》的寄情自然、心懷山水，又有《憶故人》的孝悌仁愛、人倫思情……可以體驗到不同的文人情懷。
歡樂情態
傳統民間生活中的世俗情態，在音樂中的表達，以吹打樂的表達更為充分而盡興，其表現以節慶中的熱烈歡快氣氛見長。若要將此種情態提升、凝結為一種最具典型性的審美範疇，可以用一個「樂」字來表達。
就「樂」的民俗情態表達而言，吹打樂是最為直接、淋漓盡致的。人心底被激發出的、最具本能的快樂情態，最擅長表達的，就是鑼鼓一類打擊樂器。自遠古以來，鼓類樂器就以其震憾的聲響，真真切切地使人心產生震動，並由此宣洩或激起內心快樂的情緒。從神話中黃帝時期的雷神之鼓，直到今日民間的各種鑼鼓吹打，千百年來，鼓樂一直以其無可替代的魅力存在於世俗生活中。鼓樂的存在，透露著一個永恆的歷史資訊，快樂情態的率真表現，是需要一定的震撼的。即使這種情緒在生活中受到某種壓抑，也需要在某種時刻能夠讓其得到盡情的宣洩，體驗生命的激情和力量。這可能就是民俗音樂活動中，各類鑼鼓吹打經久不衰、代有傳承的原因所在。
吹打樂生存、紮根於民俗生活土壤。就其文化功能而言，吹打樂在民俗生活中，既用於婚、喪、求雨迎神等儀式的演奏，也用於春節、中秋以及廟會、賽龍船等民俗節慶活動中。其表現的歡樂，多為豐收中歡樂、節慶中的歡樂、婚俗中的歡樂。吹打樂的承載者，主要為各種民間班社，其成員無論是亦農亦藝的民間吹鼓手，或是有吹打之技的道士，甚至直接來自於百姓，當地的民俗活動，也就是他們的活動，他們就是民俗活動中百姓的一員。他們在情感的投入、審美態度上，並沒有「藝術家」與「人民」之間的距離感。
民間吹打的情態特徵，經常是情緒熱烈，氣氛紅火。在傳統民間吹打樂中，「樂」的情緒發展，是依據人生命情態的自然生發過程來呈現的，經常是在被結構化了的套曲程式中，由慢板、中板而至快板，直達高潮。在一些節慶吹打的邊走邊奏中，也會有優美、昂揚的慢板段，但整體上仍然具有由慢到快、層層遞進、推向高潮的過程。在吹打樂的演奏中，來自於戲曲曲牌、民歌小調的旋律段與打擊樂的鑼鼓段相為呼應，或交替演奏，或銜接呼應。即使有以獨奏樂器擔任主奏功能的鑼鼓樂，能夠擔任主奏的樂器，也是嗩呐、笛這類在音響上具有很強穿透力，甚至被某類「音樂的耳朵」認為「刺耳」的樂器。其實，正是這種穿透力，才使得這類樂器能夠在廣場式、民俗性的吹打樂活動中發揮其特有的藝術魅力。這也是與吹打樂擅長表現「樂」的世俗情態美學特質相一致的。
人生離情
傳統民族器樂曲中對人生離情的表現，雖然曲目並不算多，但在一些常見的經典曲目，選用題材卻相對集中：王昭君思念故土、蘇武牧羊、蔡文姬別子歸漢，都是漢時故事，另有據唐詩意境而作、反映邊塞離情的《陽關三疊》。這些都是深深刻印在中國人心中特有的、具有自身文化意識的一種歷史情感。
值得注意的，在這些歷史故事中的「離情」，在地域上，都跨越於中原與西域、邊塞這一空間範圍。這些樂曲所表達的情感，都有唐宋詩情的印記。如唐人盧照鄰《昭君怨》詩就有「漢地草應綠，胡庭沙正飛。願逐三秋雁，年年一度歸」的名句；唐人邊塞詩中，既有王昌齡《從軍行》詩中「琵琶起舞換新聲，總是關山別舊情」的詩句，更有王維《送元二之安西》詩中「勸君更盡一杯酒，西出陽關無故人」的名句。到了近代，當中國處於內憂外患之際，蘇武牧羊、蘇武思鄉的歷史題材，也在傳統器樂曲乃至學堂樂歌中得到表現。
可以說，在漢唐故事、唐宋詩情中提供的這些歷史情感，之所以會在多種民族器樂創作中，反復得到較為集中的表現，就是因為其中提供了一種包括有與母子訣別、朋友分手，以及飄泊異鄉的人生離情。這種歷史情感也因其深沉和傾述中具有情緒表達的強度，可以寄託久遠，並可以在不同的時代，通過不斷的演繹，甚至在這些樂曲中投射各種各樣的人生離情……這甚至可以說成一種歷史情結。我們今天可以在琴、箏、胡琴、琵琶、揚琴乃至箜篌這些民族器樂中不斷看到這種人生離情的複述。
在當代二胡的創作和演奏中，人生離情也同樣造就了諸如《江河水》、《新婚別》一類器樂獨奏曲乃至協奏曲。其中猶以《江河水》對生離死別中悲憤欲絕的情感表達，以及對人物內心情感變化的盡力刻劃和傾訴，幾乎成了凡是聆聽過這首器樂曲的人心中抹不掉的情感印跡。
宮怨情思
反映宮怨情思的器樂曲，更是具有中國宮闈女性文化特徵、反映傳統倫理道德規範下女性人物特定情思表現的音樂作品。而這類器樂作品中的歷史情結，比之於器樂作品中的人生離情要更為集中。「漢宮秋月」環境下的宮怨思情，成了這類器樂曲創作中一個揮之不去的歷史情結。
以《漢宮秋月》命名、或與漢宮情怨內容有關的器樂曲，琴、琵琶、箏、二胡以及三弦皆有之。漢宮情怨作為一個歷史情感題材，若要究其情感題材的來源，恐怕首先要提到漢成帝時班婕妤寫的詩篇《怨歌行》。其中「常恐秋節至，涼飈奪炎熱」，詩中以秋涼代替夏季的炎熱，暗喻成帝先是寵倖班婕妤，隨後移寵趙飛燕姊妹。班婕妤遂請求入長信宮侍奉太后，渡過寂莫餘生。
今傳各種版本的器樂曲《漢宮秋月》，其表達的內容基本一致：宮闈淑女，秋夜愁緒，抑鬱傷感，哀情抒懷。當然，在這類樂曲的傳承和不斷改編中，無論是表現的是漢宮中佳人怨情，還是後來以《陳隋》之名寫宮闈婦怨，無論其曲調來源是否一致或借用他曲作標題改換，但是，「漢宮秋月」這一情感意象，卻在民族器樂的審美中保留下來。
同樣是反映宮怨情思的漢宮軼事，還有以《長門怨》為題材的器樂曲。《長門怨》最初作為文學題材，與漢武帝「金屋藏嬌」典故有關，但寫的是陳阿嬌失寵被打入冷宮之後，花重金請司馬相如作《長門賦》，繼而復得寵倖之事。此事唐吳兢《樂府解題》記：「《長門怨》者，為陳皇后作也。後退居長門宮，愁悶悲思。聞司馬相如工文章，奉黃金百斤，令為解愁之辭。相如為作《長門賦》，帝見而傷之，復得親倖。後人因其賦為《長門賦》焉。」在音樂史上，《長門怨》曾作為相和歌作品而被演唱（《樂府詩集‧相和歌辭‧楚調曲》）。清代山東諸城琴派編纂的《梅庵琴譜》，收有琴曲《長門怨》。今又有黃桂芳以三弦演繹的器樂曲《長門怨》。此曲的琴聲古韻，故然可以以清冷委婉見長。然而吟、猱、滑、抹，行腔潤調，泣訴哀怨，卻也正是三弦所長。
悠揚心境
表現悠揚心境的民族器樂曲，其共通的審美意象，是人在與自然山水的同處中，於心中生成的意境。若作藝術的比較，或者可以說，反映悠揚心境的民族器樂曲，好比是繪畫中的自然山水畫。人處於山水環境中，以悠揚之心意映對其境，生發和成就主客一體的審美意境，此即謂「悠揚心境」。
在這類器樂曲所表現的審美意境中，就主體面對的自然物境而言，其特徵有三：一是自然山水環境；一是處於令人閒適自得的春秋之季；一是促人生悠思之情的晚景。而此種物境中，「靜」是其心理特點。只有「靜」，才能顯其悠揚、空曠、容其思遠。而只有在自然山水之境中，才會有心理上空曠的視界，也才會有音聲的漫長悠遠。這類審美意境，可以稱其為優美之境。
如《春江花月夜》、《漁舟唱晚》等一類具此種審美意境的民族器樂作品，或寫春江兩岸新柳嫩綠、春意盎然、月下花色，或寫彭蠡之濱秋水蕩漾，落霞滿天、漁歌迴響。這類民族器樂作品較多，其演奏大多音調優美和諧、生動悠揚，屬於世俗人倫情感的表達。
在這類樂曲中，若作人倫情感的比較，可以提到具道教情境的《月兒高》和具佛教情境的《普庵咒》。《月兒高》描繪月色仙境，表現意境顯然與歷史上唐明皇遊月宮聞記仙樂的神化傳說有關。唐代法曲《霓裳羽衣曲》的產生，就被附會上了這一傳說。然其恬靜淡雅的審美意境，卻讓人心曠神怡。《月兒高》同名曲，清《弦索十三套》中有此一套。又有用琵琶演奏、甚至以民樂隊形式合奏的《月兒高》。「月夜之境」已然成為傳統器樂曲中一個永恆的審美意象。《普庵咒》（也稱《釋談章》）中的音樂意境，據《天聞閣琴譜》題解記，「其音韻暢達，節奏自然。清夜彈之，逼真暮鼓晨鐘，唄經梵語。如遊叢林，如宿禪院。令人身心俱靜」。應當說，佛寺鐘鼓，頌經聲韻，稱得上是別種悠揚意境。
情趣生動
「趣」，是中國傳統音樂美學中應當受到重視、並且需要重建的美學範疇。在中國音樂美學史上，最早用「趣」這個詞來評價器樂演奏的，一是《列子‧湯問》所記「曲每奏，鍾子期輒窮其趣」，一是嵇康《琴賦》中所論「推其所由，似不解音聲；覽其旨趣，亦未達禮樂之情也」。值得一提的，這也是中國美學史上有關「趣」、「旨趣」的最早記載，並且都是針對琴樂審美而言。在後世包括琴樂在內的音樂美學理論中，「趣」在一定程度上被忽視了。
「趣」作為音樂美學範疇的主要特徵，一是主要指情趣（涵蓋趣味、旨趣、風趣、意趣等），二是具有突出的生動性。就「情趣」而言，主要指其表現有一定的意圖和意義，而「生動性」，則與某種高超、自然的演奏形態、技巧以及相關的心理體驗有關。「趣」，既體現在音樂美的創造中，也體現在音樂審美體驗中。情趣生動，就是對「趣」這一音樂美學範疇主要特徵的概括表述。相對於其他的民族音樂表現形式，民族器樂在其創作和演奏中，「情趣生動」的展示和體驗，是最鮮明，也是最具典型性的。
這方面的典型案例，如笛曲《鷓鴣飛》，原曲雖為湖南民間樂曲，但原來是用簫來演奏，在1926年嚴個凡編的《中國雅樂集》中，原曲題解稱「本曲不易用笛」。後來不僅用絲竹樂來演奏，並且改編為笛曲，久演不衰。其原因就是在該曲的情趣生動上，重新演繹，形神兼備，發揮了笛樂的優勢。雖為「由雅入俗」，反向移植，卻獲得極大成功。這可以說是器樂領域「情趣生動」美學實踐的成功。
在民族器樂曲上，我們既可欣賞到《老鼠娶親》（絳州鼓樂）、《老虎磨牙》（西安鼓樂）、《鴨子拌嘴》（西安鼓樂）、《滾核桃》（絳州鼓樂）、《沖天炮》（四川鑼鼓）這類富有情趣的鼓樂，也可體驗到笛曲《蔭中鳥》、嗩呐曲《抬花轎》、笙曲《鳳凰展翅》等趣味不一的獨奏曲。民族器樂曲中的「情趣生動」，一方面體現在「動象」模仿的生動，另一方面體現在「意象」表達的生動。尤其是在音樂審美中，「趣」直接相關於「情」而非「理」；「趣」並非僅僅是一種審美判斷力，同時也是一種創造和表現；「趣」也更重視「快樂」而非「平和」。相對而言，「趣」也更近民俗而非典雅。
生命抒懷
所謂「生命抒懷」，指的是在器樂演奏中對生命情懷、人生感悟以深切的抒發。其特點之一，是以直覺而自然的呈現，將爛熟於心的音樂曲調，在隨心而動、隨情而發的狀態下進行演奏和抒發。這種狀態甚至可以是處於下意識的、即興的演奏狀態；其特點之二，是其演奏所展示的，雖然只是樂曲的情緒化表現，但卻寄託了創作者以及演奏者對人生的體驗和深切感悟一類精神性內容，成為「有意味的形式」。因此，在這種器樂的演奏中，樂曲的情緒狀態本身就與演奏者的內心生活，或者說是生命的運動形式，具有類似性。由於這種生命的運動形式在音樂情感心理的整合中，綜合著多種心理活動，並且具有一定的節律感，隨著心緒不斷生成、延展，因此，其樂曲的展示，不僅有著豐富的情感意味，並且具有一定的節奏模式和自然成生、變奏的曲體特點。在民族器樂曲中，具有這種美學特質的、最為經典的樂曲及其演奏，就是華彥鈞的二胡曲《二泉映月》。
全曲的深沉感歎、抑揚起伏，在具一定規律的節律感的制約下，作即興性的、單一主題的變奏，正具有一種在長期的抒發中形成的表現方式。這種表達仍然可以延續下去。阿炳的表達，因其即興性，可以因時而異，可以不斷展開……這是真正具有生命運動形式的音樂，是演奏者對人生感懷的直接抒發。其存在已經超出了一部音樂會作品的意義。
這樣的民族器樂曲，在當今的中國音樂的寶庫中還能舉出多少？或者說還能產生多少？或許在劉天華的創作中、我們能夠體驗到這種「生命抒懷」，或許在當代的民族器樂創作中，我們還能聽到這樣的音樂？傳統民族器樂演奏的精髓之所以是重在「演繹」，就是因為這個過程。這是一個生命情懷的感受、蘊積被不斷抒發的心理過程。其即興性、延展性、節律感以及潛意識深處積蓄的人生感懷，在直覺狀態下的情緒性抒發，正是這種「生命抒懷」的美學特質所在。因此，這已經不是通常意義上所說的，一首音樂會曲目演奏那般意義上的演奏。
民族樂風
在藝術審美中，風格既是對某種藝術表現樣式的判斷，也關係到對其審美價值的評價。就像「風格」是音樂審美中一個很重要的判斷和評價標準那樣，在民族器樂審美中，一首作品是否具有其鮮明的民族音樂風格，同樣是審美判斷和評價中的重要標準。特定藝術風格的形成，不僅和包括創作技法、作品樣式在內的藝術發展有關，也和某一民族的藝術風格，某一時代的民族精神和審美意識相關。藝術作品的民族風格，基於特定民族文化群體中對其藝術樣式和表現方式的認同，既是個性與共性相統一的主觀表達，同時也是一個客觀的存在。在民族器樂創作和表現中，一部作品是否具有獨特的民族樂風，是否具有特定時代的民族精神，是審美評價中必須關注到的一個方面，同時也成為一種審美態度和要求。從這個意義上說，「民族樂風」也是一個音樂審美範疇。
民族器樂風格特徵的形成，其構成要素是多樣而統一的。其中既包括對各種民族樂曲、音調（包括方言音調）、音樂表現技法上的特點等作為素材在創作中的吸收和運用，也包括將構成民族音樂風格的各種因素，在創作上化為自己的語言，對作品的音樂風格作整體的把握和表現。從民族器樂的創作實踐來看，越是具有地方民族音樂風格的作品，就越容易為廣大民眾接受。例如陝西的秦腔、河南的豫劇、河北的梆子、京劇的曲牌、河北秧歌、廣東音樂以及新疆歌舞音樂，其鮮明而有特色的音樂風格，都直接影響並產生了一大批具「民族樂風」特徵的民族器樂曲。
壯懷激蕩
在民族器樂審美範疇中，如果說「悠揚心境」作為一種審美意境，其藝術表現可稱之為「優美」之境，那麼，表現「壯懷激蕩」的審美意境，其藝術表現可比之為「壯美」。當然，「悠揚心境」和「壯懷激蕩」作為民族器樂審美範疇，之所以不等同於「優美」、「壯美」，是因為更為突出人處於自然、社會環境中生成的審美意境。相比較而言，「悠揚心境」主要體現的是音樂中表現的、人在與自然山水同處中產生的審美意境，而「壯懷激蕩」則主要體現的是音樂中表現的、人處於充滿矛盾衝突社會生活中而形成的審美意境。這其中的「壯懷」，主要指壯美、悲壯之感懷；而「激蕩」則首先指音樂情感表現上的激蕩之情，這種激蕩之情，經常是與音樂作品中的宏大敍事聯繫在一起的。
稱得上是「壯懷激蕩」的民族器樂獨奏曲，可以提到琵琶獨奏曲《十面埋伏》、《霸王卸甲》。這兩首樂曲以歷史上的楚漢戰爭為其音樂題材，以題性敍事作為樂曲展開和情節描述的依據，在史詩般的戰爭場景中，或營造戰場氛圍，刻劃人物心態。只有在中國的民族器樂——琵琶中，才能將如此宏大的戰爭場景作繪聲繪色的表現。其中的許多表現技法的運用，雖然是具像的、甚至是像聲的，但全曲給人的體驗，卻是一種整體的、也是深刻的意象，在心靈上留下更多的，是一種氣氛上的心理印象。其獨特的音樂表現方式，恐怕對於現代派作曲家也是非常具有挑戰性的。
以民族器樂協奏曲的形式來表現「壯懷激烈」審美意境的作品，在當代音樂創作的宏大敍事中，產生有不少好作品。在這部典藏中就琵琶協奏曲《草原英雄小姐妹》、二胡協奏曲《長城隨想》、古箏協奏曲《汩羅江幻想曲》等。
以上對中國民族器樂的歷史與審美所作扼要的敍述和闡發，僅僅是一個粗線條的勾勒。其中有關中國民族器樂的人文情懷與審美範疇的論述，提出有一些新的見解。面對中國傳統民族音樂的美學特質，如何構建中國自己的音樂美學範疇體系，進行提煉、歸納和總結，仍需作不斷的探索。值此中秋之夜，聯想由古至今「月亮」在傳統民族器樂中作為審美意象，在中國人心中留下的深深文化烙印，特撰七言詩一首，與這部《典藏》中所收「月境」之曲相證：「自古中秋月有輝，無關晴雨亂雲飛。一鏡千心成眾願，猶如千手渡慈悲」。
本文撰寫應香港龍音製作有限公司之邀而作，是為《中國民族器樂典藏》之代序。
中國音樂學院 中國音樂史學研究中心主任
修海林
二○○七年中秋於北京和平里
修海林：
《音樂研究》編委
中國音樂史學會常務副會長
中國音樂美學學會理事
中國音樂學院教授
前中央音樂學院音樂研究所所長
前中國教育部高等學校社會科學發展研究中心研究員
前紹興文理學院蔡元培藝術學院院長
中國音樂學院中國音樂史學研究中心主任
The History and Aesthetics of Chinese Folk Music Instruments
Chinese Music Conservatory
Director of Centre of Chinese Music History Studies
Xiu Hailin
Hepingli Lane, Beijing, on Mid-Autumn Festival of 2007
[I] Retrace Folk Music Instruments in the River of Music History
Folk music instruments possess very unique historical values in the river of music history in China.
The origin of Chinese music history can be traced back to about eight thousand years ago, when bone flute of Jiahu Lake was discovered in historical relics.
After eight thousand years’ development, it is the instruments and their combinations which exist as the materialized morphology of music that allow people of current era to be able to hear the tunes and melodies which have enlightened and excited every Chinese in each historical period about their nation.
Thanks to its enlightening music culture which originated from Zhou Dynasty when people then were already enjoying the beauty of bells and chime stones, people of China can publicize and show off its ancient culture and traditions in the world of different nationalities and cultures in the name of descendents of “nation of rites and music.”
Only with the instruments and their combinations unearthed in century 5BC from the tomb of Yi, King of Zeng State, can Chinese people of current era display to the world its achievements in studies on melodies, instruments, vocality and advanced metal casting technologies of ancient Qin Dynasty, which are no lower than the “Big Four Inventions” of ancient China in terms of excellence.
Among ancient cultures of the world, Chinese culture is the only one that has never been interrupted in its development. In this culture, it 1s also the folk instrumental music which is enjoyed by not only Chinese but also people of other parts of the world that is inherited and passed on from generation to generation in the international cultural communication and exchanges, and that is rich in product types, complete in forms and colorful in contents and becomes the mainstream music type.
When human beings wanted to use music to reach certain communication with extraterrestrial civilization, and when America decided to bring some music with the spacecraft to be launched on Aug. 20″, 1977 so as to get in touch with other possible cultures in the space, the only Chinese music selected was that of gugin, considered to be instrumental music that represents the “mingle of human consciousness with the space.” There are over 150 types or saying over 700 pieces of music score books passed on in the history. If different editions of the same score books are considered, the amount reaches over 3,000 pieces. Scriptures about gugin music are most abundant ones in the Chinese ancient music field. Gugin music 1s the example that can show the highest level of the music cultures in China or the earth in fields of melodies, music pieces, techniques and music philosophy thousands of years ago.
According to music antiques still existent nowadays, there were already instruments such as bone flutes, bone whistles, pottery xuns, clay drums, clay bells, stone gings (chimes), tuo drum. Such instruments were also recorded in such ancient Qin scriptures such as “Shang Shu” and “Lushi Chunqiu (A Work of Diversified Subjects Compiled by Lu Buwei, an official in Qin Dynasty)”. As for the performance types of those instruments, there were related recordings in “Guanzi— Qin Zhong Jia”. It says that the last king of Xia Dynasty (around 16″ century BC)—Jie—once organized “thirty thousand female musicians” to play “in the morning at Gate Duan”, which echoed all around the thoroughfare.” “Lushi Chunqiu—She Yue (Big-Scaled Music)” writes, “Jie of Xia Dynasty and Zhou of Yin Dynasty liked to organize big-scaled and exaggerated music, played by big drums, gings, pipes and xiaos (vertical bamboo flutes), etc. Such recording was no exceptions to some legendary exaggerations, but it is an unforgettable description of the historical happening when people of that time searched for luxury and over-enjoyment by organizing super-big bands to make instruments’ performance. When the time reached Zhou Dynasty, there emerged for the first time the classification of instruments of “Ba Yin (music sounds produced by ancient instruments of eight different materials—metal, stone, string, bamboo, gourd, clay leather and wood)” due to too many types of instruments. Though the activity of “yue” at that time was a combination of performance types as poems’ singing, instrumental music and dancing, music performance played by various instruments was still the most important among activities for offering sacrifices to gods or ancestors. Descriptions in “Collection of Poems—Odes to Zhou Dynasty—You Ye” such as “Yingtian county drums and Taoqing Zhuyu, are ready for performance, and so are xiaos and pipes” show the importance of instrumental music in such activities. In descriptions in “Rites of Zhou Dynasty—Chun Guan—Zhong Bo”, music masters responsible for instrumental performances (or dancing music performances as well) covered the largest proportion of the band. Among works in “Collection of Poems”, combinations of gins and sehs, xun s and chis, chimes and drums are popular and organized regularity.
In Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period, not only instruments developed even more, but also performance types became more colorful and bands bigger in sizes. Maybe it was due to the prosperity of instrumental music in activities held by nobles of various states that Mo Z1, a great thinker of the ancient Qin period and founder of Mohism, sharply questioned such activities like this—*“super bells and drums are stricken, gins and sehs are played, yus and shengs are blown, but where can people get their clothes, food and other properties?” He even advocated “no music activity” any more. In the tomb of Yi, king of Zeng State in the early stage of Warring States, people found not only one big-scaled chime-and-qing band in the Middle Hall of consisted of 115 pieces of instruments, including 65 bel/ sets (45 pieces of yong chimes, 19 pieces of niu chimes, and one piece of King Bo of Chu), 32 chime sets, 3 drums, 7 sehs, 4 shengs, 2 pai xiaos and 2 chis, but also a 10-instrument band in the music hall of the tomb consisted of 5 sehs, 1 gin, 1 jun bell (also called jive-strings), 2 shengs and one drum. At that time, in the aesthetics on instrumental music, people preferred not only “Ya Yue (court music)” which searched for “harmony” and “happiness” of music, but also the hedonistic music which was mainly for “Guo Yu—Zhou Yu Xia”) (“Guo Yu” is the earliest work in China about histories of different states) as “astonishing when music is played.”
Another great thinker at the end of Warring States period Xun Z1 (also called Xun Kuang, known for his doctrine of man’s natural wickedness), described in his work “On Music” different artistic conception created in his minds by different instruments in “court music.” He said, “Drums sound so grand and magnificent, be//s so sonorous, yus and shengs solemn, pipes and yue exciting, xun and chi far-reaching, sehs peaceful, and gins elegant.” Xun Z1 also described the artistic conceptions that “yue—court music” created in his mind “as clear as the sky and as wide as the earth and its far-reaching influence is forever.” It is fair to say that such majestic music phenomenon and artistic conceptions were directly contributed by instrumental performances of various tones, modes and rich combinations of instruments.
The important development of instrumental music in Qin and Han dynasties was mainly in that played in military events and rituals, i.e., “drums played to the flying of army flags.” (“Han Shu (History on Han Dynasty)”). This kind of military music played on horses was classified as “Gu Chui Music (ensemble of wind and percussion music), which again included “Gu Chui” and “Heng Chui”. “If there are xiao and jia (a kind of whistle made of reed), it is called Gu Chui and normally used on the road for royal gathering.” “If there are clarion and horns, it is called Heng Chui and normally used in military events and played on horses.” (recorded in “Beidi Music” of “Yuefu Shiyji (Poem Collection of Royal Music Bureau)’). Gu Chui music was widely used in many social events, not only in the marching ceremonious of guards of honor, but also in banquets held for officials. Due to different occasions and organization of the instrumental bands, there are also classifications of Huangmen Guchui, Qi Chui (performance on horses), Duanxiao Naoge (music played by short flutes and nao) and Xiao Gu (music by xiao and drums).
In periods of Wei, Jin and South-North-Dynasty, instrumental music achieved considerable development via Qingshang Music activities. Instruments used for accompaniment in Qingshang Three Tones (Ping Tone, Qing Tone and Seh Tone) are normally different combinations of sheng, flute, jie, gin, seh, zheng, pipa and chi. In dancing and singing performances in Qingshang Three Tones which were normally in three-chapter patterns, the beginning was normally instrumental music chapter called “xian (string).” Meanwhile, in the chapter named as “ge xian (literally songs and strings)’, instrumental music continued, and exerted its important influence as comparison to the singing paragraphs. At this period of time, some solo performance type by instruments like gin, zheng, and sheng also derived from some band performances of Xianghe Daqu and Qingshang Music, and was named as “Dan Music,” and formed its own repertoire works. For example, gin work “Guangling San” (also named “Guangling Zhix1’) was one solo piece derived from them. Qin work “You Lan (Fragrant Lily)”, which is the earliest qin piece recorded by character notes so far, was passed on to Tang Dynasty by Qiu Ming (493-590) from Huiyji of Liang State in South Dynasty. It was later spread to Japan, and its score tablature was brought back to China from Japan. Chinese gin musicians re-scored it for performances so that its ancient tunes were recovered. The solo character of qin performances greatly strengthen since gin music has been considered as music for scholars. We can still know a little about the instrumental performances and bands’ organization of this period of time from some music relics excavated.
In South-North-Dynasty, Shui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, people had more music exchanges with exotic regions, which brought up more types of instruments as well as diversified organizations of bands in various dancing and singing performances. Duan Anjie of Tang Dynasty said there were around 300 types of instruments at that time in his work of “Yuefu Zalu (Tittle-Tattle about Royal Music Bureau).” The organization of Tang’s bands diversified a lot, among which Qing Music Band, Guizi Music Band and Xiliang Music Band were most typical. Guchui Music still maintained its characters since Han and Wei dynasties, but changed somewhat in the usage and organization of instruments. For example, there were different types simply in instruments like bili, drums and clarions. Instruments used by bands of Tang Dynasty mainly included pipa, ftve-strings, tan zheng, chu zheng, sheng, xiao, flute, bili, vertical kung-hung, lying kung-hung, clapper, jie drum, maoyuan drum, dutan drum, dana drum, waist drum, jilou drum, jie drum, qi drum, dan drum, he drum, bei, brass cymbals, gin, seh, zhu, bell, ging, ruan (a kind of pipa), ve, xun, etc. In stone walls of the tomb for Li Shou (cousin of Li Yuan, first emperor of Tang Dynasty), there were inscriptions of pictures showing performances of Zuobu Ji (sitting professional female dancer or singer in ancient China) and Libu Ji (standing professional female ones), which visualized the organization of instrumental bands of Yanyue Music at that time. Besides historical recordings, we could also see the organization of various bands on music relics like frescoes and pottery-cotta figurines of Shui and Tang dynasties maintained so far.
In solo instrumental performances, ancient gin always maintained its unique beauties and artistic charms. Xue Yijian, a gin official serving in Tang court during the reign of Tianbao, wrote seven articles named as “Qin Jue (literally secrete scores of qin).” The qin piece “Li Sao (the title of a long poem authored by Qu Yuan of the state of Chu during the Epoch of Warring States in which Qu Yuan vented his grievances for being disparaged and discarded by the king)” composed by Chen Kangshi, a qin musician in late Tang Dynasty, was also passed on today. Solo performances in Tang Dynasty were of high level in many instruments based on existent scripts. In the volume “Pipa” of “Yuefu Zalu’, it described the competition of pipa between Kang Kunlun and Duan Shanben in Xi’an city. In this story, one of the musicians played solo pipa piece backward from the end to the beginning. It also thought highly of the skills of pipa performances by Cao Gang and Pei Xingnu by writing “Cao Gang has his excellent ‘right-hand performance’ and Pei Xingnu is good at ‘left-hand skills’.” In volumes of “zheng”, “kung-hung”, “flute”, “bili”, “five strings”, “fangxiang”, “ji ou”’, “qin”, “ruanxian”, “jie drum”, “drum”, and “clapper’’, the author wrote all kinds of excellent performers at that tme. Nan Zhuo of Tang also wrote the book “Jie Drum Lu (On Jie Drum)” to retell stories about the performers and their audience, and also recorded about 100 jie drum works. The long poem “Pipa Xing (Pipa Song)” written by Bai Juyi described vividly the great artistic charms of pipa performance when it reached certain level.
Slightly touching and then plucking,
Playing first “Ni Shang” and then “Liu Yao.”
Bold strings-they pattern like the dashing rain,
Lighter strings-they sound like lovers’ whispers. C
hattering and pattering, pattering and chattering,
As pearls, large and small, on a jade patter fall.
One time, they sound smooth as the chirping of golden oriole under the valley flowers;
The other time, they become chopped water fighting to run through the ice.
Like the water is stopped by ice, strings were frozen as well;
And sounds gradually pause in the middle.
Thus, depressing sentiments revolve around persons present;
No music now, but more exciting when silent.
Suddenly, a silver pot breaks, and bursts out the water;
In such a power, it is like iron cavalry charging without fear.
Here comes the end when plectrum plucks in the middle;
Four strings create one sound of cracking.
No voice from the audience on this boat and either on that boat;
Only the autumn moonlight whitely reflects itself in the middle of river!
Bai Juyi also wrote one poem “Wu Xian Tan (Five Strings)” to especially depict the beauty of solo performance of five-stringed pipa.
Listen to the five strings;
Sad, miserable, and then powerful.
One or two pieces played with plectrum;
Like pearls, large and small, on a jade patter fall.
Sounds of battlefield echo around—cooling the blood in the skin;
Miserable like when hunger in stomach and aching in bones.
Now, long after music ends;
Still nobody talks, in sadness.
In accordance to the advanced development of the instrumental music performances in Tang Dynasty, there emerged also scores used by different kinds of instruments in this dynasty, such as Jian Zi Pu (Scores in Simplified-Word)” for ancient gins, Bi Li Score, Zheng Score, Flute Score and Jie Drum Score.
In Five Dynasty Period, among various vocal and music entertainment activities held by the powerful officials and rich and influential clans, instrumental performances were important ones and were mainly played by female musicians. The painting “Han Xizai Evening Banquet” by the court painter Gu Hongzhong of South Tang State during the Five Dynasty Period provided to us the most visualized proof of such kind of performances. One of the scenes in the painting showed a “pure organ instrument” band (including 3 pieces of bili and 2 flutes) formed by five professional female musicians serving in nobles’ families were performing, while one of the noble guests was clapping beside. Another scene showed guests and the host got together and enjoyed the solo performance of pipa with great concentration. In the tomb of Wang Jian in the Early Shu State of Five Dynasty Period, people found 24 vivid pictures on three sides of his coffin showing professional dancers dancing with lively and delicately painted facial expressions and gestures, which was quite rare in the ancient relics related to music. The organization of their bands showed traces of the integration of two kinds of bands—the guizi music band imported from Turkestan regions (currently Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region) and Qing Music band—the representative of traditions passed on from Han and Wei dynasties.
Stringed instruments achieved very obvious development after Tang and Song dynasties. There were already xi gin and zha zheng in Tang dynasty, and some urheen-like instruments played with bow made of horse tails in Song Dynasty. So-na which was introduced from the North in Jin and Yuan periods greatly reformed the performance types of Guchui Music. So-na became an important instrument in military bands and various Guchui Music activities in folklore.
Among instruments of Song and Yuan dynasties, there were generally two categories: one was for those played in independence; and the other was for those played in operas. Royal court Jiaofang Music was the typical one among independent instrumental performances, and the organization of bands inherited the tradition of Tang Dynasty. However, it is noteworthy that ji gin, a new instrument in Jiaofang Music Band, was played at that time with most performers within the band, even beyond the number of pipa performers which used to be the highest in traditional band. This shows that bow-and-stringed instruments began to hold important status in bands. Among folklore music activities in Song Dynasty, there were diversified performance types, such as “Xi Music” and “Qing Music” specialized in bamboo-and-stringed instruments. In “Xi Music” performances, common instruments included xiao, pipe, zheng, ji gin and fangxiang; while in “Qing Music” performances, performers normally used flute, sheng, bili, clapper, fangxiang, ti drum and zhazi, etc. In “San Music” performances of Song Dynasty, the combinations of instruments were also very colorful. From the San Music murals excavated from Song tombs in Baisha of Yu Zhou, we could see 11 professional music lady performers using 2 pieces bili, and horizontal flute, narrow waist drum, clapper, drum, sheng, pai xiao, five strings and xiao. This organization was almost same as those instruments recorded for San Music in Volume 54 of*Liao Shi (History of Liao).”
In Ming and Qing periods, Guchui Music in courts was called Nao Ge Music, classified again into four categories: Lubu Music, Qianbu Music, Xingxing Music (Xingxing means either emperors travel outside of the courts or they stay overnight in certain concubines’ courts) and Trrumph Music. Among them, Lubu Music was played by royal guards of honors. “Kangxi Nanxun Tu (Picture on Emperor Kangxi Travels South)’ (Kangxi, an emperor (1662-1723) in Qing Dynasty) kept in the Imperial Palace Museum described what happened when Kangxi made an imperial inspection tour of the South for the second time in 1689. Volume I showed “Dayjia Lubu” (the royal guards of honors), for which the band was one important part. Instruments used in Lubu Music Band included: big drums (48pcs), zhang drums (4pcs), clapper (4pcs) dragon-head flutes (12pcs), jin (gongs) (4pcs) hua jiao (painted clarions—24pcs), jinzheng (4pcs), small brass clarions (8pcs), and big brass clarions (8pcs). When gongs and drums were stricken and clarions were blown, sounds suddenly burst out, and the grandeur and power was vividly mirrored in people’s minds. Yun Lu, one official in Qing Dynasty, asked for the royal permission to edit the “Collection with Pictures of Royal Ritual Objects” in 1758 (year 23 of the reign of Qianlong, an emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1736-1796)), which included various instruments used in royal bands. The collection was completed in 1766 after eight years’ edition and revision. It included 92 volumes, including six parts as for funeral objects, ceremonious objects, official costumes, instruments, lubu and military equipment. Volumes 53 to 60 were for instruments and two sides of each page were devoted respectively to the picture and literature explanations about the instruments. Totally, there are 184 pages.
Folk instrumental performance types in Ming and Qing dynasties wer every diversified. They could be roughly categorized as Xiansuo Music, Sizhu Music, Guchui Music, Chuda Music and LuoGu Music.
Xiansuo Music was played by bands with only stringed instruments. Famous ones included “Xiansuo Shisan Tao (Xiansuo Thirteen Ensembles)” (collected into the music collection of “Xiaosuo Beisuo” compiled by Rongzhai of Qing Dynasty) played by bands of wrheen, pipa, zheng and sanxian (three strings). The thirteen instrumental works are respectively “He Huan Ling”, o> ce 29 “Jiangjyun Ling”, “Shiliu Ban”, “Qinyin Ban’, “Qingyin Chuan’, “Pingyun Chuan’, “Yue’er Gao”, “Qinyin Yue’er Gao”, “Pu’an Zhou”, “Hai Qing”, “Yangguan Sandie”, “Songqing Yeyou” and “Wu Mingma.” “Henan Bantou Qu” was played by bands composed of sanxian, zheng and pipa, etc. “Chaozhou Xianshi” was played by bands of erxian (two strings), zheng, pipa, etc., and “Guangdong Hanjia” was by bands of touxian, zheng, etc.
Sizhu Music was played by bands with one or two stringed or bamboo-pipe instruments as the leading ones plus other instruments. “Er’rentai Paizi Qu” was by sihu, flute and cimbalom; “Jiangnan Sizhu (South Yangtze River Stringed and Bamboo Music)” mainly by urheen and flute; while “Guangdong Music” mainly by Guangdong urheen, qin qin, cimbalom and xiao.
Guchui Music was mainly played by wind instruments such as so-na and flutes accompanied by other stringed instruments. Gongs and drums also served as accompanying instruments and sometimes solo instruments in certain chapters. “Jizhong Pipe Music (Middle Hebei Pipe Music)” and “Shanxi Eight Ensembles” mainly used pipes; while “Shandong Guchu1” mainly used so-na, xi flute and flute.
Chuida Music is a kind of performance type mainly using orchestra instruments (or sometimes only wind instruments) accompanied by percussion instruments. There are often solo chapters of gongs and drums. “Xi’an Guyue (also named “Chang’an Gu Yue)” has two kinds of performances— “Zuoyue Music (Music Played When Seated)” and “Xing Yue (Music Played When Walking)”. Instruments of “Zuoyue Music” are classified into two types respectively for melody and beats. Those for melodies include flutes, sheng, pipe, shuangyun gong and fangxiazi, with flute as the leading one and sheng group or sometimes pipes to accompany flute sounds. Those for beats include drums, naobo, gongs, wooden bang, muyu (wooden knocker) and chimes in various shapes. Zuoyue Music works that are still played nowadays include “Chidiao Shuangyun Gong Music with EightBeat Drum Chapter’, “Shifan Drum”, “Shifan Gong and Drum”, “Zhedong Gong and Drum” and “Chaozhou Gong and Drum”. Li Dou of Qing Dynasty wrote “Yangzhou Huafang Lu (Recordings in the Tourist Boat of Yangzhou)” (1795) described “Shifan Drum” like this—‘Performers used ten kinds of instruments as flute, pipe, xiao, xian, tiqin, yun gong, tang gong, muyu, tan clapper and big drum. Therefore, this kind of music is called Shifan Drum.” 106 years earlier than this, in Volume X of “Kangxi Nanxun Tu” kept by the Imperial Palace which showed Kangxi took the route of Nanjing to return to Beijing after paying his tribute to Dayu Tomb in Shaoxing in his second royal inspection to the South in 1689. There was real picture about the band in the tourist boats along Qinhuai River of Nanjing where seven or eight peopled bands used sanxian, drum, sheng, flute, yun gong, clapper and urheen.
Luogu (gong and drum) Music is a kind of ensemble performance type using percussion instruments mainly. There was another name of “Qing Luogu (pure gongs and drums)” in the folk. Luogu Music can exist as a kind of performance form within certain music type,such as in “Shifan 999 Luogu” and “Jidong Guanyue’” it can also exist as an independent music type, such as in “Sichuan Naonian Luogu (Sichuan Gong and Drum Music to Celebrate Festivals)”. There are different performance forms for “Shifan Luogu’”. That played by percussion instruments as well as orchestra instruments is called “Sizhu Luogu” (more worldly name is known as “Laohun Luogu (literally means mixed luogu)’”). That simply played by percussion instruments is called “Qing Luogu” (more worldly name ias “Su Luogu (literally means pure luogu)”). Among Sizhu Luogu, there are also Dichui Luogu which uses flutes as major instrument, and also Shengchui Luogu which uses shengs as Major instrument.
[ll] Humanistic Sentiments and Aesthetic Ideography of Traditional Folk Music Instruments
The aesthetic nature of Chinese music mainly lies in the expression of humanistic sentiments. In music, such expression of humanistic sentiments can differ from different states of mind and wishes and can also have different directions.
The aesthetics of instrumental music can be more concentrated and more enlightening in activating the expressiveness and performance skills of music than other comprehensive music types such as opera, vocal music and theatrical music in terms of music representation methods. Instrumental music gets rid of the limitations that meanings need to be expressed with words in singing or by the emotional atmosphere popular in the dramatic contents of opera or music theatres. It also doesn’t require the acting plots and dialogues of the personnel to express the concrete or conceptual contents of thoughts and motions. Instead, it uses pure audio effects to depict and display subjects that are innate but hard to be expressed with generalized languages. Such subjects include such subjective constructions depicted by the audio effects as materialized images as well as mental images, from motions to consciousness. In certain cultural traditions and humanistic environment, such depiction and representation again pass a kind of humanistic motions and represents a kind of artistic spirit in terms of overall stylistic construction. No matter it is the creation, representation or aesthetics of instrumental music, people’s senses and experiences of the music keep communication and exchanges at all times with their perceptual experience or even spiritual experience. Therefore, instrumental music becomes the most free and spiritual representation method in the communication and interaction between music and people.
Chinese traditional instrumental folk music, compared with other music types, has become the type with the deepest spiritual connotations, the most colorful imaginations, the strongest power to convey cultures and the highest flexibility that Chinese people can use to express their humanistic motions.
Compared with western people who stress more on the choice or giving-up of some music types based on certain music or vocal standards, Chinese people stress more on the understanding of music timbres of certain instruments. For one piece of instrument, no matter how simple it is and no matter how “sharp” or “rough” its timbre is, so long as it has its own individuality and can display its unique style in applications and convey unique humanistic sentiments, this instrument will not be eliminated simply due to certain vocal standards.
Westerners like to express by music the strong emotions that people have in minds when struggling with the reality as well as the loyal religious sentiments that people have developed to balance their strong feelings by placing hopes on gods. Rather than that, Chinese pay more attention to the expressions of minds achieved by the integration of human, the space and the nature, and also to mimic and represent the sounds in the woods, the water and the valleys as well as the real lite by using more worldly and interesting audio effects.
In traditional Chinese instrumental music works, people have their own ways to express depressions due to parting from families, relatives and friends like the music of all other nationalities. However, due to their uniqueness and individuality in timbres, performance skills and the organization and combinations of multiple instruments, and more importantly, due to the humanistic sentiments that lie behind the music and that continuously give power to the expressions of music, traditional instrumental music possesses the most powerful and valuable cultural characters that are not to be replaced.
The aesthetics of traditional Chinese instrumental music focuses first on humanistic sentiments, i.e., the entrustment and experience of humanistic sentiments inside music. Though there are no exceptions to direct expressions of the movement due to happiness and excitement or depressions in mind, but aesthetical natures that traditional instrumental music most prefers are more on internal implications rather than external expressions. Simply speaking, Chinese instrumental music makes “emotional expressions” but stresses more on “internal implications.” “Internal implications” mark the integration of the subjects and the objects, the integration of minds and sounds expressing the minds, and the integration of human beings and the heaven.
Scholarly Sentiments
The instrument embedded with the most humanistic sentiments among traditional Chinese instruments is gin (lyre). “All of sudden, when (1) turned my face back, I remembered many things in the past. Music of Zheng State still echoed in my mind, but now everything has become silent after years’ fluctuation. It is really touching to think that so many gin music works have been inherited from generation to generation, while generations of gin musicians have passed away.” The scholarly sentiments embedded in this poem imply “enjoying music 1s ethical”. There is saying, “Ethical people can obtain more things.”, What does gin music “obtain?” Or let’s say gin “obtains” from what. The history of gins is not that of gin art, but that of qin masters. The history of qins is not that of gin players, but that of scholars. The most valuable and more inheritable cultural spirit that qins have contributed to Chinese scholars does not lie simply in the philosophy advocated by Confucians that “to maintain is to self-control,” or not in the “free mind” advocated by Taoist. Instead, it is the integration of Confucius and Taoist philosophies that are more valuable for Chinese scholars which give tensions to and at the same time balance the spirits of “living in high profile” and “living in low profile” in the human world. The philosophy of being self-sensible and self-aware of having obtained what one is searching for which can be best explained by the saying that “A person should be concerned of other people of the world if being wise and powerful; or otherwise, he should do his best to perfect himself’ keeps good tensions as well as balance between the two ends of “being in search of all the things in the world” and “being satisfied with what has been obtained.” Confucians are concerned about advocating logics in the human world and practicing the universal fraternity, while Taoists bury themselves in shaking off dissimilation and becoming in accordance with the nature. The common points of the two lie in that practitioners of both philosophies must practice what they advocate. The direct presentation of such artistic spirit can be found in such works as “Shenren Chang” and “Longxiang Cao”. In other works, such as “Xiaoxiang Shuryun (Water under the Cloud in Xiaoxiang River), we can feel the integration of Confucius and Taoist sentiments; in “You Lan ( Fragrant Lilies)”, we can sense one’s stubborn loneliness; in “Liu Shui (Running Waters)”, we can see people’s emotions entrusted in the natural beauties of waters and mountains; in “Yi Guren (Remembering Old Friends)”, we can imagine the loyalty and respect to superiors, siblings, relatives and friends, etc. From different works, we have experienced different humanistic sentiments.
Joyful Mood
Among various instrumental music, wind and percussion instrumental music is the one which expresses to the most extent the joyfulness and happiness of traditional folklore life. It is especially strong in expressing the warmth and happiness of the festival celebrations. If we need to summarize this nature of the wood-wind and percussion instrumental music by using an aesthetic 1deographical term, the word “Le (meaning happiness)” 1s the most suitable one.
Wood-wind and percussion instrumental music is the most straight, vivid and incisive expressive method to display the nature of “Le.” Percussion instruments such as gongs and drums are the best instruments for people to play to express the happiness that 1s generated from depth of mind and that is most natural emotion of human kind. Since far ancient times, percussion instruments have fundamentally moved human minds with their powerful sounds to such an extent that people utter their emotions fully and are also stirred up with real happiness. From the “Drum of Thunder’s God” said to exist in Huangdi Emperor period in the mythology to various kinds of gongs and drums used in current days, wood-wind and percussion music has prospered thousands of years in people’s life with its irreplaceable charms. Its existence implies a piece of eternal historical information, which is the real and straight expressions of pleased minds require certain powerful methods to release. Though such emotions might be pressed in the life, it requires certain time to let them released so as to experience the enthusiasm and power of life. This might explain why various wood-wind and percussion instruments such as gongs and drums are prosperous from generation to generation without interruption in various folk music activities.
Wood-wind and percussion instrumental music is deeply rooted in the soil of folklore life. In terms of its functions, wood-wind and percussion music is not only used in performances for marriages, funerals and other activities offering respect or sacrifices to the god or to pray for rains, but also used in other folk festival celebrations such as Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and temple celebrations as well as dragon-boat matches, etc. The joyfulness presented by such music is mainly that of good harvests, festivals and marriages. Major players come from local groups consisted of players who are both farmers and also musicians, or Taoists who are good at playing instruments, or simply local residents. Local folklore activities are also their activities so that they are members of those activities. Therefore, in terms of the devotion of emotions and aesthetic attitude, there is no sense of distance common between so-called “high-level artists and “folklore audience.”
The wood-wind and percussion instrumental music normally creates warm emotions and hot atmosphere. The development of the emotion of “joyfulness” in the music also mimics the real development of the natural feelings of human beings in the structured patterns—trom adagio to moderato to allegro and finally to the climax. In some festival celebrations where musicians play instruments while walking along the road, there are also episodes of adagio with beautiful and highspirited melodies; but in general, the music of such kind develops from adagio to allegro in steps and finally reaches the course of climax. In such wood-wind and percussion instrumental music performances, melodies originated from local opera pieces or folklore songs echo with paragraphs solely played with gongs and drums, played on turns or paragraphs of this kind played in connection of paragraphs of the other kind. There are also solo performances of certain wood-wind and percussion instruments, but instruments that can be played solo are mainly those like so-na (Chinese trumpets) or flutes that can create sounds with penetrating forces or even “sharp” sounds to some “musical ears.” Actually, only with such penetrating power can those instruments be used to perform and exert their unique charms in activities held for folklore celebrations at big-sized locations such places. This is also in accordance to the worldly aesthetical nature of the wood-wind and percussion instrumental music, 1.e., to express “joyfulness.”
Sorrows of Parting
There are not so many works in the traditional folk instrumental music toexpress sorrows and depressions due to parting from home or friends, etc., and some classical pieces are mainly concentrated on several subjects. For example, Wang Zhaojun misses her hometown is one of the subjects. (Wang Zhaojun, a court lady during the Han Dynasty, was given to the chieftain of a northern tribe as his wife in the performance of matrimonial diplomacy.) Other examples in Han Dynasty include Su Wu herbing sheep (Su Wu (C. 143-60 B.C.) was an emissary spending 19 years in captivity among the Hu ethnic people in Han Dynasty) and Cai Wenji returning to Han court after parting from her husband and son (Cai Wenji, a talented woman whose father Cai Yong was a famous scholar at the end of the Han Dynasty, was kidnapped by a northern tribe for 12 years before she was ransomed when she left both her husband and son for the Han.) There are also other works, such as “Yangguan Sandie”, made out of sorrowful and depressed sentiments of poems in Tang Dynasty to express soldiers trouped at the border of the country missing their hometowns. All those works expressed a kind of historical sentiment which is deeply rooted in Chinese people’s minds and is rich in self-awareness and self-consciousness of Chinese cultures.
It is note-worthy that “sorrows of parting from hometown” in those historical stories normally spanned central China at that time, Turkestan regions (current Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region) and Chinese border at that time in terms of space. From emotions expressed by those music pieces people can find traces of poems in Tang and Song dynasties. For example, “Depression of Zhaojun” written by Lu Zhaoling of Tang Dynasty says like this, “Fields of Han must have been in green now, but here in Hu regions, they are still covered by flying sand. How much I hope to become a wild goose and be able to head back home in every autumn!” Among poems written on people staying at the border of the country, there are well-known sentences like those in “Cong Junxing (Traveling with the Army)” by Wang Changling—“Dances start to the new tunes of pipa, but what I memorize is still old friends and hometown. , and also the one in “Song Yuan’er Zhi Anxi (Sending Yuan’er Off for the West)’ by Wang Wei—“Friend, please drink another cup of wine, because after getting out of Yangguan (the west border of Tang Dynasty) this time, there will be no friends any more.” In modern China when the country was placed in worries and depressions created by internal corrupted government and external invasions, subjects such as Su Wu Herbing Sheep and Su Wu Missing Hometown were also very popularly presented in many traditional instrumental music pieces as well as songs sung in schools.
It is fair to say that those historical sentiments provided by stories and poems from Han, Tang and Song dynasties are repeatedly presented by various instrumental music pieces with great concentration is because they provide a channel to utter sorrows people feel when parting from parents, descendents, friends and when traveling outside of home. Such historical sentiments can create far-reaching influences and also be depicted and presented repeatedly in different ways at different times because of their depth and power in utterance, and therefore be able to be mirrored by different emotions created out of those music works……. This almost becomes a kind of historical complex. Today, we can see how folk instruments repeatedly retell us such historical complex via pieces played by gins, zhengs, hu qins, pi-pas, yang-qins and kung-’hou.
In the creation and performance of urheen works, sorrowful sentiments also help the development of such instrumental solo or concerto pieces as “Jianghe Shui (River Water)” and “Xinhun Bie (Parting upon Newly Married)”. Especially in “Jianghe Shui” where the hero cries his bitterest sorrows and angers due to separation by death and where the hero’s internal emotional changes are vividly depicted and uttered so that it leaves irremovable memories and traces on almost everbody who has listened to this piece.
Sorrows and Depressions of Court Ladies
Instrumental music pieces depicting sorrows of court ladies were normally works created under special cultural environment where Chinese court ladies were regulated and limited by traditional moralities and ethics. The historical complex represented in such music pieces is even stronger and more concentrated than that in works depicting sorrows due to parting from home. The court sorrows and depressions in the environment of “Han Court under the Autumn Moonlight” becomes a repeated historical subject in creations of instrumental music works.
There are works for all those instruments such as gins, pi-pas, zhengs, urheen and san-xians (three strings) in the name of “Han Court under the Autumn Moonlight” or with contents about sorrows and depressions of court ladies in Han Dynasty. The subject about court ladies’ sorrows and depressions actually originated from the poem “Yuan Ge Xing (Sorrowful Songs)” written by Ban Jieyu (Concubine Ban) in the reign of Emperor Cheng. The sentence “Fans help reduce the heat during the hot summer, but when autumn comes, they are thrown into rubbish cans” implies that Emperor Cheng first doted on Ban Jieyu but later favored Zhao Fetyan and her sister so that Ban Jieyu lost his attention from then on. Ban Jieyu pleaded to serve at the court of queen mother so to spend the rest of her lonely life there.
Several editions of the instrumental music piece “Han Court under Autumn Moonlight” existent nowadays depict almost the same contents: ladies in the court can’t hold their sorrows and depressions in the autumn evenings that they have to express in certain way. Of course, in the inheritance and continuous revisions of such kind of music pieces, no matter they are about ladies’ sorrows and depressions in Han court or in other courts as written later in pieces named as “Chen Shui’, and no matter the origin of their melodies is same or they come from different titles, the phenomenon of “Han Court under the Autumn Moonlight” is maintained in the aesthetics of Chinese folklore instrumental music.
There are other instrumental music pieces which also depict sorrows of Han court ladies with the subject of “Changmen Yuan (Sorrow at Changmen Court).” “Changmen Yuan” was originally a literary subject related to the story that Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty built “ a house of gold to hide A’jiao,” but it mainly retold the story that Chen Ajiao re-gained favor of the emperor after she knew she lost the emperor’s preference but she paid highly to Sima Xiangru (great literarist in Han Dynasty) to write the poem “Changmen Fu (Poem on Changmen Court).” This story was recorded also in “Yuefu Jieti (Explanations on Court Poems)” by Wu Jin in Tang Dynasty. He said, “The work “Changmen Yuan” was made for Queen Chen. When the queen lost emperor’s favor and was placed in Changmen Court, she become very sorrowful and depressed. Once she heard that Sima Xiangru excelled in literature, so she paid him hundreds grams of gold to Xiangru to write poems so as to utter her sorrow. Xiangru wrote the poem “Changmen Fu”, which was read later by the emperor and brought up memories of the queen in his mind. Then, the queen re-gained the favor of the emperor. This is the ongin of “Changmen Fu” In the music history, “Changmen Yuan” was sung as Xianghe works. (as seen in “Yuefu Poem Collection—Xianghe Ge Ci—Chudiao Qu (Collection of Court Poems—Volume on Xianghe Songs—in Tunes of Chu State)’. The gin piece “Changmen Yuan” was later included in the “Mei’an Qin Pu (Mei’an Qin Score Collection)” compiled by followers of Zhucheng Qin Sect of Shandong Province in Qing Dynasty. Today, there is also the piece “Changmen Yuan” played by Huang Guifang with san xian (three strings). The charm of this ancient qin work lied not only in its melodious and elegant tunes, but also in the sadness like murmuring 1n tears created by various skills like singing, rou (rubbing), hua (sliding), and mo (brushing), which are skills that san-xian (three strings) is normally good at.
Free and Relaxed State of Mind
The artistic conceptions in the instrumental music works created free and relaxed state of mind by placing the audience in co-existence with the nature, the mountains and the waters. In terms of artistic features, folk instrumental music which creates free and relaxed state of mind can be compared with paintings that depict natural sceneries such as mountains and waters as well. When people are located in natural beauties of mountains and waters and naturally generate a kind of free and relaxed state of mind which integrates the subjects—the audience—and the objects— sceneries—together, and this is so-called “free and relaxed state of mind.”
In the artistic conceptions of such kind of instrumental music, the natural objects that subjects are facing have the following three features: first, natural water and mountain environment; second, normally in seasons of summer and autumn which are comfortable and relaxing; third, normally evening sceneries which can activate people’s free-thinking. “Peace” is the psychological feature under such environment, because only in peaceful state the environment can become lingering, spatial, and far-reaching to allow free thinking. Also only in natural beauties of waters and mountains people can have the psychological room for free thinking and the music can be resounding and lingering. This is so-called beautiful environment.
Music pieces such as “Chunjiang HuaYue Ye (Moonlit Night on the Riverof Spring and Flowers)” and “Yuzhou Changwan (Singing on the Returning Fishing Boats)” are works with such aesthetic sentiments. They either depict the tender spring atmosphere of freshly green willows, and flowers under the moonlight on both sides of the river in spring; or the waving waters, red clouds full in the sky, beautiful and echoing of songs from the fishing boats at the side of Boyang Lake. There are quite a lot of this kind of music works normally with beautiful and harmonious tunes and lively beats, expressing the happiness of worldly life.
If we talk about the ethics and moralities implied by this kind of works, we should mention “Yue’ er Gao (Moon High in the Sky)” which is rich in Taoist atmosphere and “Pu’an Zou” which is full of Buddhism sentiments. “Yue’er Gao” depicts the fairy land in the moonlit beautiful environment related to the fairy tales that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty made a tour in the court of moon and heard the fairy music. The emergence of the big-scaled music piece “Nishang Yuyi Qu (The Dance in Leathery Clothes)” in Tang Dynasty was also said to be due to this fairy story. The beautiful, peaceful and elegant sentiments that the music implies are very pleasing. The music piece of the same name as “Yue’er Gao” 1s also included in one suite of the “Xiansuo Shisan Tao (Xiansuo Thirteen Suites of Music Pieces).” There is also another kind of ““Yue’er Gao” played by Pipa, or even by the folk instrumental band. “Beautiful Scenes in the Moonlit Evening” has become an eternal artistic conception in the traditional instrumental music works. The music conception of “Pwan Zhou” (also named “Shi Tan Zhang”) is similar to the explanation of the title of “Tianwenge Qinpu (Tianwenge Score Book of Qins)’—“Its phonology is so smooth and beat so natural. When played in the evening, the sounds were so like to those of drums in evenings or bells in mornings, and the mystery is like that of canons or Sanscrit. The audience who listens to such music feels complete peace and security both physically and mentally, like traveling in green woods or staying over-night in holy temples.” It is fair to say that drum and bell sound in temples or sounds of monks’ singing of canons or Sanscrit are another kind of artistic conception which makes people relaxed and pleased mentally.
Lively Taste
“Taste” is an aesthetic category to which Chinese traditional music aesthetics’ researchers should pay high attention and that requires re-construction nowadays. In Chinese music aesthetics studies in the history, there are two earliest occasions where people used “tasty” to comment the instrumental performances. One occasion was recorded in “Liezi—Tang Wen” when the author described, “Whenever the music is played, Zhong Ziqi (famous ancient gin player) fully displays the taste of the piece.” The other occasion was in the work of “On Qins” by Ji Kang (famous man of letters in East Jin Dynasty) where he wrote, “If we try to reason the meaning of music, it seems not very understandable; if we consider its objective as a whole, it hasn’t reached the level for music with ethical beauty.” It is worth mentioning that those recordings were also the earliest recordings about “taste” and “objective” in Chinese aesthetics studies; meanwhile, they were related to aesthetic conceptions about gin music. In music aesthetic principles including those for gin music works in latter centuries after the above two examples, “taste” had been ignored to certain extent.
“Taste”, as the major character in the category of music aesthetics, mainly refers to “sentiment” (which covers the implications of interest, objective, and wittiness) on one hand; and to very obvious liveliness on the other hand. In terms of “sentiment”, it means the music presents certain objective and meaning; in terms of “liveliness”, it refers to certain technical and natural performance posture and related psychological experience. “Taste” is not only implied in the creation of music beauties but also in the experiences of music beauties. Lively taste is a summarized description of this major character in this music aesthetic category. Compared with other types of national music performances, the display and experiences of “lively taste” of folklore instrumental music in its composition and performances is the brightest as well as most typical.
Typical examples in this field include flute work “Zhegu Fei (Flying Partridge).” This music originally comes from the folk music in Hunan Province, but it was originally played with xiao. In “Collection of Chinese Yayue Music” compiled by Yan Gufan in 1926, the author explained that “this piece is not suitable for performance by fiute.” Later, this music was played not only by bamboo and stringed instruments but also revised for performance of flutes; and became a repertoire piece. The reason was that composer revised the music work to re-present the “lively taste” both in patterns and also in music conceptions, and fully exerted the advantages of flutes. Though such revision was opposite to the normal way and went in direction “from being elegant too being worldly”, it won great success, and can be considered as one successful experiment in the “lively taste” of the aesthetic music category.
Therefore, we can not only enjoy the “tasty” drum music works such as “Mouse Gets Married” (Jiangzhou drum music), “Tiger Grinds His Teeth” (X1’an drum music), “Yazi Banzui (Ducks Squabble)” (X1’an drum music), “Gun Hetao (Roll the Walnuts)” (Jiangzhou drum music), “Chong Tianpao (Pigtail Directing to the Sky)” (Sichuan gong and drum music), but also other works of different tastes including flute music “Yinzhong Niao (Birds in Shadows)”, so-na music “Tai Huajiao (Carry the Bride’s Sedan)” and sheng music “Fenghuang Zhanchi (Phoenix Extends Wings)”. The “lively taste” of folklore instrumental music pieces is implied by the lively mimicking of “moving images” on one hand, and by lively interpretation of “conceptive images” on the other hand. Especially in music aesthetics, “taste” 1s directly related to “sentiments” rather than “reasoning”. “Taste” is not simply the judgment on beauties, but also a kind of creation and presentation. “Taste” also emphasizes “happiness” rather than “peace.” Comparatively, “taste” is closer to folk customs rather than elegance.
Ode to the Life
So-called “ode to the life” refers to the in-depth expressions of the understanding and inspiration about life. One of the characters is to perform melodies with which performers are already so familiar in a kind of intuitive and natural way led by performers’ minds and sentiments. Such kind of performing status is like when somebody is under sub-consciousness and improvising. Another character is that such kind of performance of music, though being only a kind of sentimental presentation, becomes a “meaningful object” where the composer and performers entrust their mental subjects such as their experiences and in-depth sentiments about life. Therefore, in this kind of instrumental performances, the mental sentiments the music creates itself are similar to the mental movements of performers or a kind of movement of life. The movement of life continues accumulating to create the sentimental atmosphere of the music and integrating multiple kinds of psychological movements; it is also melodious and continues growing and extending with the development of performers’ feelings. Thus, the performance of music is not only entrusted with a lot of sentiments, but also endowed with a lot of melodious patterns and music features and changes that naturally emerge. Among folk instrumental music pieces, the most classical work and performance with such kind of aesthetic feature is the urheen one “Erquan Yingyue (Two Springs Reflecting the Moon)” by Hua Yanjun.
The whole piece is melodious, enlightening, and in some order; however, despite of such limitation of patterns, the deep sentiments and exclamation and the rise and fall of tunes of the music experience a kind of improvised variation centering a single subject. Such kind of presentation develops itself along with long-term psychological movement and accumulation; and it will continue developing itself. The performance of A Bing (Hua Yanjun) can differ from time to time and continue developing itself because he always improvises in certain way……. Such music 1s real music with life and movement. It is the direct expression and ode of the performers for the bitterness and sweetness of life. Its existence has already gone beyond the meaning of a simple music work.
How many other examples of such kind in current Chinese folk instrumental music pieces? Or, we should say how many more can come out. Maybe we can still experience some “ode to the life” in compositions of Liu Tianhua. Or maybe we can still hear such music in current folk instrumental compositions. That the essence of traditional instrumental music works is on the “performance” is due to the process of this experience of “ode to the life.” This is a psychological process where sentiments about life are continuously generated, accumulated and expressed. It is in the intuitive expression of sentiments, which are improvised, to be developed, melodious and subconscious, that beauties of such sentiments of “ode to the life” exist. Therefore, those performances already go beyond the normal understanding of “performances” such as on stages.
Folk Styles
In the appreciation of arts, styles are not only the judgment on certain artistic performance but also are related to the appreciation of its beauty and value. “Style” is therefore an important standard for people to judge and comment in music appreciation. Similarly, whether one folk instrumental music work has its unique and prominent “folk style” can greatly decide whether it can be appreciated or not. The formation of some special artistic styles is not only related to such innate artistic development as composition skills and patterns, but also to the artistic styles and the spirit of certain nationality, as well as aesthetic conceptions of this nationality at certain stage. The national styles represented by artistic works, based on the acknowledgement of a special group of cultural population on its cultural type and presentation method, are not only a subjective expression of the integration of individuality and generality, but also a kind of objective existence. In the compositions and presentations of folklore instrumental music, it is necessary and also a kind of attitude and requirement for one to judge and enjoy a piece of work by appreciating the unique national style and also the spirit of this nationality in a special stage. In this sense, “folk style” also becomes an element in the category of music aesthetics.
The formation of folk styles requires multiple but unified elements. It not only requires the absorption and application of such materials as various folk music, tones (including dialect tones) and music presentation skills but also requires the composers to transfer those stylistic elements into their own music language and conduct overall maneuver and presentations of the music styles. In reality, the more local and folklore stylistic the music works are, the easier they can be accepted by people. Music works of such types as Qin Quang (literally meaning voices of qin region, currently Shan’x1 Province), Yu Opera of Henan Province, Bangzi of Henbei Province (one of local opera tunes in China with wooden clappers to strengthen rhythms), Qu Pai (names of tunes of Beijing Operas), Yangge of Hebei Province, Guangdong music and dancing music of Xinjian region all possess very special and prominent music styles. They have directly affected the creations of large amount of folk instrumental music pieces with “folklore styles.”
Sentiments of Grandeur and Fluctuations
In the aesthetic field, if we say “free and relaxing” performance creates a kind of “beautiful” status and atmosphere in artistic expressions, then, the performance in “grandeur and fluctuations” creates the beauty of power. Of course, “free and relaxed state of mind” and “sentiments of grandeur and fluctuations” are not equal to “free and relaxing beauty” and “powerful beauty” because the former two emphasize more on human kinds’ sentiments and aesthetic enjoyment when placed in the nature and social environment. “Free and relaxed state of mind” mainly tells people’s aesthetic experiences in music which mirrors for people beauties of the natural waters and mountains; while “sentiments of grandeur and fluctuations” display how people experience in the music the bitterand-sweetness when located in middle of various social conflicts. “Sentiments of grandeur” mainly refer to those feelings in power but solemnity; while “sentiments of fluctuations” focus first on those mental movements created by variations of music sentiments, and such varied sentiments are normally related to grand story-telling in the music.
Folk instrumental solo performance works that can be labeled as music of” sentiments of grandeur and fluctuations” include pipa solo piece “Shimian Maifu (Ambush at Ten Sides)” and “Bawang Xiejia (Heroic Emperor Takes off His Armor)’. These two music pieces used the battle between Chu and Han states in the history as their subjects. They center on the narration and plotting of the stories and re-create the battlefield atmosphere and vividly present the mental movements of characters by displaying epic scenes in front of the audience. It is only with the Chinese folklore instrument—pipa—that performers can so vividly present to the audience such grand battlefield scenes. Though many applications of the skills give concrete images, even onomatopoeic images, they leave the audience with more conceptive and psychological feelings and experiences. Many unique music presentation methods applied in those two pieces are even challenging for many contemporary composers.
There are also a lot of good works emerged out of the story-telling method where performers use the type of concerto to present the aesthetic “sentiments of grandeur and fluctuations.” In this collection we can find pipa concerto work “Chaoyuan Yingxiong Xiao Jiemei (Heroic Sisters from the Great Grassland)”, urheen concerto work “Changcheng Shuixiang (Capriccio on Great Wall)” and guzheng concerto work “Muiluojiang Huanxiangqu (Fantasia of Miluoyiang)”.
Above paragraphs and words are only a broad-brush description and explanation on the history and aesthetics of Chinese folklore instrumental music. I offered some new ideas on the humanistic sentiments and aesthetic conceptions. In the meantime, I think we still need to continue our efforts to refine, induct and summarize actions needed to construct the aesthetic features of Chinese traditional folklore music. On the eve of Mid-Autumn Festival, I wrote a seven-word-patterned poem in relation to the traditional and irreplaceable aesthetic conception on “moon” in Chinese instrumental music, which might also be a good echo to music works about “moonlit atmosphere” compiled in this “Collection”. “Mid-autumn moon reflects light since ancient times, No matter fine or rainy clouds flying at times; A mirror perfecting lots of people’s longing, As if Goddess of Mercy blesses many times”.
This article is written upon the invitation from Dragon Music Co., Ltd. of Hong Kong as the pre-lude for “Classical Collection of Chinese Traditional Instrumental Music”.
