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Musical master brought famed flute factory to city
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Chinese flutes come in many varieties, the most common include dizi, a side-blown bamboo flute, and xiao, a vertical bamboo flute. These two flutes are widely used in many genres of Chinese folk music and popular among Chinese people.
The dizi and xiao are small and easy to carry, and it may appear that no skills are needed to make them. Flute maker Ying Mingzhang, however, can prove that latter idea is not true.
Ying, 62, has been making Chinese flutes for more than 40 years. He opened the nation’s first large, privately owned flute production company in modern times, Jiaying Musical Instrument Factory, in 1984 in Rui’an County in the south of Zhejiang Province, and moved it to Hangzhou in 1992.
Now, Jiaying is still one of China’s important flute factories and it has a good reputation among amateur players and professional performers.
Most Chinese flutes are made of bamboo. Though China has much bamboo, not all varieties are fit for flutes.
Kuzhu, literally translated as bitter bamboo, is considered the most suitable. It is not found in many parts of Zhejiang Province, but flourishes in Tonglingqiao Village in Yuhang District of Hangzhou.
That was one of the reasons that Ying moved the mill to Hangzhou. Another was renowned dizi master Zhao Songting (1923-2001), who lived in the city. Zhao, dubbed “king of dizi in south China,” was both teacher and friend to Ying.
“When I first opened the factory in the early 1980s, I was only an experienced dizi maker without any theoretical knowledge. After gaining expertise through Zhao’s teachings, I gradually put my factory on the right track,” Ying said.
Once Ying finished a batch of dizi he would take them to Zhao to try out and provide advice.
Jiaying’s current annual production is about 10,000 flutes. It takes workers seven to 10 days to finish a flute ranging from 200 yuan (US$32.80) to 1,300 yuan.
Jiaying flutes are distinguished by accurate tuning and exquisite appearance. Every dizi has to undergo tuning conducted by Ying himself.
Ying is an excellent flute player. In 1964, he was apprenticed to a Rui’an dizi player, which is how he got his start. “A flute maker should be a good player at the same time,” Ying said.
Dizi, xiao, and other bamboo flutes share some playing techniques, so experts like Ying can play most kinds.
During the “cultural revolution” (1966-1976), he joined a group that spread revolutionary propaganda through music, and he became familiar with many of Zhejiang’s rural areas. While his days as a musician ended with the political movement, Ying did not want to abandon the dizi, so he decided to make them.
Without any equipment or capital, Ying found it hard to get started. He had to cut his own bamboo in the mountains and forests.
“I still remember that one day I climbed a mountain in Jingning County, Wenzhou, on a snowy day. It was so cold and when night fell, I still had no idea how to get out. Luckily, I discovered a small village where I put up for the night,” Ying said.
After 30 years, Ying has developed a network of bamboo collectors. Apart from the kuzhu from Tonglingqiao village, he purchases black bamboo, mottled bamboo and other precious varieties from Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan and Sichuan provinces.
Jiaying factory not only produces the common dizi and xiao, but also the uncommon Chinese flutes like the chiba (known as shakuhachi in Japan, but originally from China) and paixiao (Chinese panpipes).
Ying now uses advanced equipment in making flutes, and his workers have created high-efficiency machines with environmentally friendly properties. Chen Zhongqiu, 55, who has worked in the factory for 21 years, created a tool to dry bamboo tubes that replaced the original equipment heated by coal.
But Ying’s success has brought him a dilemma: To whom will he pass his flute-making skills and the Jiaying factory?
His son shows no interest in carrying forward the enterprise, so Ying has been looking for a capable young man among local flute-lovers.
“The guy should be smart and dexterous with good character, and above all, he must be a skillful flute player,” Ying said.
Address: 28 Fengling Rd, Wuchang Avenue, Yuhang District
Tel: (0571) 8867-0316
Website: www.jiayinyueqi.com
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