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JONATHAN STOCK
1. INTRODUCTION
erhuis a
dominantformof two-stringedspikefiddlecurrently
THE Chinaandin Chinesecommunities
foundthroughout overseas.Itis
used by professionalaccompanistsin regionaldramaticmusic, by
amateursaspartof variousrecreational
instrumental ensemblestyles,by
streetbeggarsand,overthe lastseventyyears,by conservatory-trained
musiciansin a growingrepertoireof concertsolos, ensemblesand
orchestralmusic. Although previous research,principallyby Dr
LaurencePicken, has addressedearly forms of Chinese friction-
chordophone(seePicken,1965;Wolpert,1974),littlehasbeenwritten
about the subsequentproliferationand developmentby Chinese
musiciansof these instrumentaltypes. Furthermore, the openingof
mainlandChinato Westernresearchers and the expandingscope of
Chinesemusicologyduringthe last ten years have resultedin the
appearanceof materialwhichshedsnew lightuponthe earlyhistoryof
Chinese two-stringed fiddles. It is thus now possible to reassess the
origins of Chinese bowed instruments, and to consider the rise of the
erhu, the most commonly encountered form of two-stringed fiddle in
contemporary China. Before doing so, however, those unfamiliar with
this instrument may find helpful a brief description of its appearance,
construction and manner of performance (see also Thrasher, 1984).
Bow
Bow Hair -
------ Strings
Neck
---- Body
(Soundbox)
Snakeskin
Bridge
Stub
FIG. 1. Sketch
ofa typical Erhu,withbowdetached.
modern
84
CONSTRUCTION,AND PERFORMANCE
2. APPEARANCE,
OF THE MODERNERHU
The woodensoundboxof an erhuis diametrically piercedby a long,
roundedwoodenneck(seeFig.1). Twosteelstringsarefastenedto the
protruding lowerendof thispoleandthen,by meansof a smallbamboo
bridge, passedoverthe snakeskinfaceof the hexagonalsoundbox.
are
Afterbeingconstrained by a loop of cord,the stringsarewoundonto
tuningpegs, which arethemselves dorsallyinsertedintothe upperpart
of the neck.Bow hairmadefromhorsetailis fed betweenthe strings
before being reattachedto the bamboobowstick,a practicewhich
decisivelyaffectsperformance techniqueand,thus,the musicalstyleof
the erhu.
Additionalfeaturesmayincludea restbelow the soundbox,a small
pieceof materialwedgedbelow the bridgewith the aimof deadening
unwantedvibrationsandsometimesa smallfine-tuningdevicefixedto
the shorterstring.The top of the pole maybe shapedandheadedwith
bone or carvedinto the likenessof a creature'shead.The cavityat the
rearof the soundboxis generallyornamentedwith wooden lattice-
work. A violin-stylefrog is now incorporatedon the bows of good
instruments.
A standard erhustandsapproximately 79 cm high,excludinganyrest,
andthe hexagonally-faced bodymeasures10cmin diameterand13cm
fromsnakeskinfrontto latticedrear.Manufacturers havefrequently
experimented withdifferentsizes,shapesandmaterials,suchastubular
soundboxes madefrombamboo,butthetypicaldesigndescribedhereis
accepted-asstandardby playersandcraftsmenalike.
The majorityof thesestandard instruments aremadein factories,of
whichthemostrenownedarethosein Beijing,Shanghai andSuzhou.In
bothShanghaiandSuzhou,factorieswere formedin the movementof
collectivismafterthe CommunistPartygainedpowerin 1949.1*This
was done by amalgamating privateworkshops,often of long and
illustrious tradition. Although the majority of instrumentsare
principallymachine-madeon a productionline, each factory still
employsa numberof oldercraftsmenwho hand-makeor hand-finish
specialistinstruments whilstinstructingyoungerapprentices.
To constructan erhu,the craftsmanbegins by cuttingstrips of
importedpadoukwoodintoplanksof appropriate sizesforthebody(six
pieces),neckandtuningpegs.The piecesaresmoothedby hand,with
particular attentionpaidto the edgesof the body.The tuningpegsare
* For
endnotes,see p.110ff.
85
carved, and holes for them are bored into the upper part of the shaped
neck and for the neck itself in two of the six body segments. Further
stages involve gluing the body partstogether and affixing the stretched
sheet of python skin. The bow is simply-fashioned,the bamboo rod
being shaped over heat, and horsehairattachedat both ends through a
variety of methods. Finally,the complete instrumentwill be assembled
and tested. Normally this processis spreadover the period of a monthor
more, allowing glued partsto dry thoroughly.Assuminghe devoted his
undivided attention to the fashioning of high quality instruments,a
skilled worker would be able to finish, stage by stage, a batch of thirty
instruments in six weeks. Craftsmen generally specialise in one
particularinstrument,although some also supervisethe hand-finishing
of lower qualityproductionline models. It is usualfor a high qualityerhu
to be built entirely by one man and signed by him upon its completion.
The longer of the two strings, which is tuned to a lower pitch, is
nearer to the player's body when the erhu is held in performance
position and is termed the inner string. The higher pitched string is
known as the outer string.The stringsare normallytuned a perfect fifth
apart,most regularlyto d' and a' respectively. Such a tuning yields an
effective compass of two and a half octaves (see Fig. 2).
1-8vi-,
A-
AMi - i
4. HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT
(i) Introduction
In the discussionbelow, recoursehasbeen madeto historicalrecords,
poetry, literature, folk stories, paintings, sculptures,preserved
instruments,philological data and ethnomusicologicaltheory as
appropriate.However, much of this evidence must be treated
87
cautiously.In the caseof terminology,the samename,simultaneously
or subsequently,maybe appliedto morethanone instrument; the same
instrument be
may given more thanone name or maychangeradically
whilstretainingits originalname;or the nameof an instrumentmay
changewhilstit retainsits basiccharacteristics. The interpretation of
and
iconographic poetic sources, for theirpart, restson the (normally
unknown)assumptions thatthe artistor poet is both familiarwith the
instrumentin questionand desiresto portrayit accurately.
Sincemanydifferentinstrumental formsare mentionedbelow, the
mostimportantearlycitationsof key instruments havebeenabstracted
andarrangedin Table1. Generalcommentsconcernedwiththe means
of stringexcitationemployedandtheuseof eachinstrument by certain
peopleor in certainkindsof musichavebeen addedwhereavailable,
and the date and name of the early source which containsthis
information(and/ora contemporary referencediscussingit) havebeen
provided.Furtherdetailsof each of these instruments and sourcesis
given in the accountbelow.
The first part of the followingaccountconsidersthe origin and
formatof bowedinstruments in ancientChina.The secondexamines
the subsequent adaptation andpopularisationof the two-stringed fiddle
form duringthe thirteenthto seventeenthcenturies.The historical
accountis broughtup to 1992in the thirdsection,whichcoverstherise
of the two-stringedfiddleto a positionof someprominencein many
musicalgenres.Finally,briefattentionis paidto theaestheticidentityof
the fiddleformwithinChina,andto Chineseperceptionsof the erhu's
future.
or invention?
(ii) Ingress Up toA.D. 1279
Thissectionexaminesthe antecedentsof the erhuandthe introduction
of theconceptof bowingin China.It attemptsto answerthequestionof
whetherthe bowed spike fiddle was importedto China as a self-
contained,sound-producing deviceor was assembledtherefrompre-
existingbut discreteelements.Consideration is given to the cultural
stimuliandgeographical routesthatcouldhavecontributedto the rise
of suchan instrument.Before these, however,the etymologyof the
name erhuitself and relevantfolk stories and legends are briefly
inspected.
Chineseetymologydeclarestheerhuaninstrument introduced by the
'Hu',the 'Barbarians of the NorthandWest'.Thenameerhuis derived
from the older but not archaicterm huqin,which may be literally
translatedas 'barbarian
[hu]stringinstrument [qin]'.Sinceermeanstwo,
the word 'erhu'maybe glossedby a contemporary Chinieseas a two-
88
TABLE1. Summaryof SignificantEarlyCitationsof ChineseFriction-
InstrumentDateof Citation Meansof Excitation Region/Group
Yazheng mid 8th Century Pressed,ya, with a Domestic
moistened-tipped entertainmentmusic
bambooslip
Zheng 1257 Pressed,ya, with Urbanentertainment
moistenedbamboo ensemble
Jiqin mid 8th Century Drawn,yin, by bamboo [Not stated]
97
the necessarystimulusof musicianscalling for a sustainablestringsound
for use in new musical forms, the players of these latter instruments
might have in time developed the use of the horsehair bow
themselves.
99
A small technical feature encountered in art works of the Ming
Dynasty period (1368-1644) is the use of the restrairiingloop, first
recorded in China on a tubular huqinin the late sixteenth-century
paintingAutumnEntertainment at theUnicornHall by You Ziqiu (Liuet al.,
1988, p. 169).18As mentioned above, this loop has the effect of limiting
the vibratingpart of each string to the same length, as well as ensuring
that they remain at a balanced height. Without this loop, or a kind of
fingerboard'lip', the huqinwould be difficult to play in tune since the
player would have to familiarise himself with different fingering
distanceson each stringto producethe samerelativeintervals.Although
Chinese musicologistsdate the loop from its appearancein this painting,
it is difficultto conceive how the instrumentshown in Chen Yang'sBook
of Music(and reproducedin Fig.3) could have been performedwithout
one, unlessone stringwas used as a droneonly and melodies fingeredon
the other. It seems more plausible that this detail was overlooked on
earlier paintings of Chinese spike fiddles (which are very few in
number). Chen Yang'sxiqin is, after all, pictured without its bamboo
slip.
Names of instrumentswere as fluid as their designsduring the Ming
Dynasty. For example, recordsnote the constructionof a form named
the tiqinto accompanythe literarykunquopera style?9It would appear
that musiciansin many regions of China gave the spike fiddle a new
name when they adopted it and adapted the general design of the
instrument to increase its suitability for the local style of opera,
whatever that might be. Adaptationscould be physical,relating to size
and materials, or conceptual, concerning the fiddle's role and
responsibilitiesin the accompanying ensemble as well as stipulating
featuressuch as registerand tuning. This processbegan towardsthe end
of the Ming Dynasty but became importantonly during the following
Qing.
To summarise,the period 1279-1644 saw a widespreadacceptanceof
the fiddle by musiciansall acrossChina. This acceptancewas tempered
by an equally widespreadpropensity for adaptationof the instrument
and a gradualdecline of the qobuz-shaped huqinform. At the end of this
period, 'huqin'appearsto have meant what it does today: any one of a
variety of Chinese spike fiddles with bow hair fed between two strings
tuned a fifth apart and regulated by a loop of cord.
(iv) Promotionandproliferation
1644-1992
The thirdphase of the erhu'shistory has been dominatedby the themes
of proliferationand promotion, for in this period the spike fiddle has
enteredalmostevery musicalform in China, gaininga principalposition
100
in many.Itsadoptionby certainoperastyleshasalreadybeennoted,and
by the mid-seventeenth centurythis facetof the huqin'semployment
was becomingmuchadmired.
It was with the rise of the bangziqiang familyof operaformsin the
earlyQingperiod that thehuqinis known to havefirstbeenaccordedan
importantmusicalpositionin anyof China'sdramaticgenres.Someof
these, especiallyin northernChina,employeda spike fiddle with a
wooden-facedsoundbox,a banhu,but the bestexampleof an operatic
huqinis thejinghu. Beijingopera,jingju orjingxi(literally'capitalopera'),
wasthe late-eighteenth-century fusionof two musicalsystems,xipiand
erhuang, eachof whichfunctionsasa set of melodic,structural andtonal
outlinesfrom which operaticmusiccould be readilycreatedduring
rehearsaland performance.Knowntogetheraspihuangqiang, the xipi
constituentis believed to have developedfrom variousbangziqiang
melodic,structuraland tonal outlinesfrom the provincesof Shanxi,
ShaanxiandHubeiwhiletheerhuang part,alsoknownashuqinqiang, was
derivedfromAnhuiProvinceoperastyles(Miaoet al., 1985,pp.293-4).
Beijingoperawas thus a cosmopolitanoperastyle drawingmaterial
frombothsouthernandnorthernChinaandalsofromlocalfolk music
andrefinedkunqu opera.Boththeneckandthesmalltubular,snakeskin-
facedbody of thejinghuare madeof bamboo.Its namecombinesthe
fing'[capital]of Beijingandthe 'hu'ofhuqin.Incommonwiththegreat
majorityof Chinesefiddles,the bow hairis fed permanently between
the strings.Old illustrationsshow a curvedbow slacklystrungwith
horsehair,but thiswas supersededduringthe nineteenthcenturyby a
straighterbow with continuallytauthair(Miaoet al., 1985,p. 199).
Many subsequentopera styles have been influenced by the
accompanimental style of Beijingopera.Forexample,Shanghaihuju
andZhejiangprovinceyuejubothhavetheirownmusicalstylesin which
the accompaniment is led by a fiddle. Typically,both genreshave
evolvedtheirown varietyof huqinto fulfil this role. Varietiesof erhu
were also adoptedby the performersof numerousformsof shuochang
andquyi,orballadsinging.Especiallyin thenorth,thefour-stringed sihu
(literally'four-stringedfiddle', with stringsarrangedin pairs:the
secondandfourthbeingtuneda perfectfifthabovethe firstandthird;
and bow hair divided into two cords) has proved popular and
flexible.
Indeed,the fiddlebecamea convenientmusicalworkhorseformany
purposes.It waswidelyadoptedby the blindandthe poor,becoming
almostthebadgeof thebeggar,asnecessaryto himashisstickandbowl.
Wei's comment:'When destituteqingqu[Yangzhouballadsinging]
artistssoldtheirperformances alone,theygenerallyusedonlyanerhu',
101
musthave stood for manyothermusicalformsas well (Wei & Wei,
1985, p.27).
One of the most explicit descriptions of fiddle style dating from this
period is that of Huittner,a German who accompanied Macartney's
Embassy to China in 1797. He described a form of 'rjenn' [erxian] as
follows(Harrison,1973,pp.185-6):
The rj'ennlooks like a rather large wooden mallet, whose head has been
hollowed out for resonance. The two stringsof this instrumentdo not have a
fingerboard,but are nevertheless stopped with the fingers like the stringsof a
violin. The timbre of the rj'ennis somewhat hoarse, and is no less so in
performance,since insteadof going from one chord to anotherby simple scale-
steps one slides through all the interveninghalf- andquarter-tones,which soon
becomes tiring to Europeanears, although if used sparingly,as in our music, it
may just as well produce a good effect. The same may be said of their
continuous tremolo on this instrument.
103
instrumentwould be a time-consuming and thus expensive business;
mass-producedinstrumentsas well as many specialistones have instead
the elegant curve shown in Fig.1.
Players and craftsmenhave also experimented with the creation of
deeper-pitchedfiddles, with the aim of creatingChinese versionsof the
viola, cello and double bass. Examples of these are the zhonghu('mid-
[pitched] fiddle') andgehu ('reformed fiddle'), developed in the 1940s
and 1950s respectively (Miao et al., 1985, pp. 508, 118). The zhonghuis
much like a largeerhutuned a fifth lower, while the four-stringedgehuis
modelled upon and tunedjust as the cello. The bow hairofthegehu bow
is not fed between the instrument'sfour strings.These instrumentshave
been employed in some traditional musical genres but their most
important role is in the fairly recently devised orchestraof Chinese
national instruments with its four polyphonic sections of wind,
percussion, bowed string and plucked string instruments (see Han,
1979).
Typicalprofessionalsin one of these orchestrasare now conservatory
graduates(over the last thirty years, increasinglywomen) able to read
both Western and Chinese forms of notation, and depending on a
composer to furnish music for their use. Such musicianslive in state-
provided homes and have their lives planned for them to an extent
presumably undreamt of by the earlier professional Qing Dynasty
jinghuplayer.
(v) Identityandfuture
The accountabove has attemptedto assessthe historyof the erhuwithin
China. The remainderof this article will examine the concept of the
instrumentitself and its position within Chinese and foreign literature,
and discuss perceptions of its future.
The instrument now known as the erhu carried with it several
associations. The name itself reminds the Chinese of its barbarian
antecedentsandpartlyexplainsthe contemptof Chinese scholarsin ages
pastfor it and, by association,its performers.However, this does not tell
the whole story, for recordsof all periods can be found which describe
positively the capabilitiesof this instrumentalform. One of the earliest
of these is that of Liu Chang (also mentioned above). Liu describesthe
sound of the xiqin with typical aplomb (Xue, 1990, p. 80):
S
. the stringsof doubledsilk are extremelyclear and solemn. In the
.
high halls may be heard wind, snow and cold, the seated guests droop
sorrowfullyin return.It is a true matchfor the dongxiao[verticalbamboo
flute] at singing,...
104
The Yuan Dynasty writer Zhang Yanghao(1269-1329) in his Ode to
the Huqin claimed, even more metaphorically(Fang, 1938, p. 1):
The finestof the 'eightsounds'is thatof strings.Northof the GreatWallis a
new soundin whicheachtone is clearand rounded.[The soundis like] an
oriolecallingfroma blossomingtree, a phoenixcryingat sunrise,a flowing
brookin a desertedvalley ...
Marco Polo was another enthusiast for whatever variety of two-
stringed instrument it was that he had heard performed by Mongol
warriors,and subsequentofficial disapprovalof the instrumentseems to
stem from its widespread use by the peasantry, the blind and the
destitute rather than its foreign provenance.
Westernwriters about Chinese music in the first half of this century
generally echoed the sentiments of the Chinese literati. Laloy (1909,
p.78) noted that: 'This instrument is reserved for street singers and
mendicantswho scrapeit mercilessly'.His contemporarySouli6 (1911,
p. 28) describesvarietiesof huqinand mentionsthatin manyprovincesit
was used by the blind to signal their approach.'Yet,' he records, 'in the
hands of an accustomed executant, its tone is sweet, the rhythm and
movement of the melody are respectableand its very pure accents are
not without some charm' (ibid., p.30).
Marks (1932, p. 606) described nearly all of Beijing's professional
musiciansin the early 1930s as blind, and during my own periods of
research in China, the majority of the musical beggars whom I
encounteredplayed some kind of erhuand gave the appearanceof being
blind. A blind erhu player known as Abing (1893-1950), whose
compositionsare particularlywell known in China, was fairly recently
'canonised'by the Chinese state in a film, and his life, as presented in
that medium, now typifies the existence of the pre-Communist folk
musician to many in China.2
A similarportraitis painted in StreetCornerMusicianfrom Li Mai's
collection of historical stories involving music (1983, p.201). More
unusual is the tale of the Tang Dynasty scholar Chen Zi'ang who
solicited employment by contrastinghis worth to that of a 'crudely
made huqin'which he smashesbefore a crowd of onlookers hoping to
hear new music (ibid., pp. 175-8).
As Terence Liu has pointed out (1988, p. 37), intellectualstended to
prove more resistantto the instrumentthan the lower classeswho made
far greateruse of it. Liu deals with the development of the concept of
the erhuin the twentieth century at some length and duplication is
unnecessaryhere, suffice it to say that within contemporaryChina the
erhu is no longer considered necessarily a coarse, vulgar or simple
105
instrument, although this attitude was frequently expressed by Chinese
living in Malaysia with whom I spoke between 1985 and 1987. The
elevation of its status in the Chinese mainland was a result of the efforts
of several generations of teachers and performers, some of whom are
now household names in China, and was carried out in conjunction with
profound social and educational change, such as the establishment of
Chinese music conservatories.
Of the future, many of my informants foresaw no great change.
Craftsmen talked of refinement not redesign. Players commented on
the lack of performing, publishing and teaching opportunities, an
income now regarded by them as low, and a decline in standards of
student dedication. They talked of a need for a louder instrument with a
wider range 'like the violin' but saw no immediate way of achieving
this. Students remarked on the lack of public interest in Chinese
traditional music, many hoped the erhu might be their means to a more
lucrative career outside China or looked to singing in bars for a higher
income than that resulting from employment in a state-run ensemble.
The erhu now appears to be approaching something of a turning
point. Having achieved the status of an art instrument, it now may be
losing the bastion of popular support that sustained it for many hundreds
of years, and is being implicitly redefined by many of China's youth as
an instrument more suitable for the portrayal of old Chinese culture and
the addition of pastoral character to film scores than for the musical
expression of their personalities. The debate amongst them is no longer
whether the erhu is respectable or not but whether it is relevant or not.
Much as in the past, however, those who employ the erhu the most,
whoever they may be, can be expected to continue their own trends
whatever the most commonly expressed externalisations by non-players
might be.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
106
OF CHINESETERMS
GLOSSARY
Importantmusicaltermsandinstrumental namesreferredto in the text and
notesarelistedalphabetically
below,togetherwithChinesecharacters written
in the 'simple'form now standardin mainlandChina.
dongxiao zi alternative
nameforthexiao,a
vertical bamboo notchedflute,
sometimes called xiaoguan
guzheng t '
see zheng
guoha , a
two-stringedfiddle of the Miao
Minority
huju Shanghaiopera
. 'Ii
hulei ancienttwo-stringedlute
107
huobusi (or huobisi) • ~. qobuz, CentralAsian four-
stringedlute
ji 'to strike'
n
jiqin ancient struck stringedinstrument
aU 4
niutuiqin ox-leg fiddle of the Dong and
Miao Minorities
pipa l e four-stringed,pear-shapedlute
qin seven-stringedzither;generalterm
for 'string instrument'
rnan i four-stringed,round-bodiedlute
se ancient pluckedzitherwith up to
twenty-five strings
108
taogu -0 ritualrattledrum
109
NOTES
1 This information has been derived from interviews with craftsmen and
factoryadministratorsas well as professionalplayersfrom Shanghaiand Suzhou
carried out during 1989-90 and early 1992.
2 This is in contrastto the repertoriesof variousother spike fiddles in which
both strings may be sounded together, for example the gicak of Northern
Afghanistan (see Slobin, 1976, p.245). Previous Western literature has not
always noted this aspect of the erhu'sperformance;see for example Marcuse
(1964, p. 174).
3Some sources, for instance Miao et al. (1985, p. 287), state that this
instrumentis typical of the Dong minority ratherthanthe Miao. However, the
guoha,which is undisputedlya Miao instrument,is almost identical in structure
to the niutuiqin.
4 In these paragraphsthe
findings of Picken (1965) and Zhong Qingming
(1989) are summarisedand combined.
5 Chinese terms pertainingto the excitation of an instrument'sstringshave
been consistently translatedthroughout this article in the following manner:
bola,strummed;ji,struck;lie, twisted; tan,plucked;ya, pressed;andyin, drawn.
Alternative translationshave been noted below.
6 Picken (1965, p. 84) translatesya as 'to creak'.
7 Despite its identical romanization, a different characterfor the
syllable
'zheng'is used in each of these two instrumentalnames (see Glossary).Both this
zheng and the yazheng should also be distinguished from the twenty-five
stringed plucked zither named zheng or guzheng popular in contemporary
China, although they may have been related to its ancient Chinese
predecessors.Picken (1965, p. 88) discussesthis instrument,but romanizesits
name as 'ch'in',(qin in present day pinyin romanization).
8
The name of the instrumentmentioned in Meng's poem would today be
pronounced asfiqinbut, as Liu notes (1988, pp. 29-30), the character'ii'was in
fact pronounced 'xi' in ancient China and was sometimes used in place of the
character'xi', as used for the Xi tribe, 'to avoid the negative connotations of
[that character]'.
9 Contemporary Chinese sources, such as Li et al. (1989, p.60), often
describe the xiantaoas a forerunnerof a different kind of lute, the ruan,which
has a rounded soundbox and a straightneck, somewhat closer in form to the
xiqinillustratedby Chen Yangthan the pear-shapedpipa.There is also an actual
rattle-drumcalled the xiantao;this has a certain, inverted resemblanceto Chen
Yang'sxiqin.
10I am obliged to Wu Zhimin for this quotation. Xiang (1992, pp. 119, 123)
names the source of this quotation as ShiyuanWenXiqin Zuo, or 'Composed
upon Hearing the Xiqin from the Examination Hall'.
11I am obliged to Liu Dongsheng for the provision of approximatedates
both for Chen Yuanjing and the original publication of his compendium
(personal communication, 10.11.91).
12 Chinese scholars to whom I have suggested this possibility consider it
over-cautious. Chen Yingshi has also proposed that maweimay be a place
110
name (personalcommunication,4.4.92). However, the great majorityof places
with this name in Chinese historical records were located in the south of the
country, well away from the Hu tribes: Lin Guanfu (personalcommunication,
17.4.92).
13 This painting is held in the Museum of Chinese History, Beijing. The
exact date of its composition and the identity of its author are unknown: Liu
Dongsheng (personal communication, 10.11.91).
14 Liu
Dongsheng (personalcommunication,10.11.91) dates the composition
of the Yulin murals to the twelfth century.
is See Lee (1982, p. 23 and inside front cover). However, cultural reasons
connected with the use and function of this instrument in Korean court
ensembles may underlie the desire not to modify the haeguim.Support of
Picken's theory may in this case be coincidental.
16Liu
Dongsheng (personal communication, 10.11.91).
17Liemay also be translatedas 'to turn'. Picken (1965, pp. 86-7) suggestsuse
of 'thrummed'.
18sThis painting is held in the Museum of Chinese History, Beijing. The
exact datesof its composition and of You Ziqiu's birth and death are unknown.
Also called You Qiu, this artist'searliestknown paintingdatesfrom 1572 (Shen,
1987, p. 75; Yu, 1991, p. 28). Dr RobertProvine has shown me Koreansources
dating from 1451, 1474 and 1493 which portray the restraining loop on
diagramsof the haegUm(personalcommunication,2.9.91). These considerably
predate You Ziqiu's painting.
19Tiqinis now better known as the Chinese name for instrumentsof the
violin family.
20
Personal communication, 16.3.90.
21
This film, The MoonReflectedon the SecondSprings,is discussed by C. P.
Mackerras (1981, pp. 140-3, 168). In March and April 1992 an eight-part
television dramatisationof Abing'slife was broadcastin China. Althoughcloser
in some respectsto documentedevents thanthe earlierfilm had been, this series
still presented Abing as an extremely romantic figure, composing his
masterworksduring moments of great passion.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
S. A. M. Adshead,Chinain WorldHistory(London:Macmillan,1988).
W. Bachmann,transl. by N. Deane, The Originsof Bowing (Oxford: OUP,
1969).
E. Emsheimer,transl. by R. Carroll, 'EarliestReportsabout the Music of the
Mongols',AsianMusicXVIII (1986), no.1, pp.1-19.
FangWenxi, HuqinYanjiu(Beijing:Wen LanyiPrintingBureau, 1938).
Han Kuo-huang,'The Modern Chinese Orchestra',AsianMusicXI (1979), no. 1,
pp.1-43.
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113
(a) (b)
PLATE VII