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Sound of music from simple strings transcends the ages, uplifts the spirit
By Victoria Fei |
June 29, 2013, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
TO one resident in Huacao Town, the sound of an ancient Chinese stringed instrument is music to the ears.
Jiang Guocui owns 100 huqin, a family of bowed string instruments typically featuring a square or hexagonal sound box attached to a long neck. Huqin are often called "spike fiddles," though their sounds are unlike Western fiddles.
Jiang's house in Huacao has the air of a private museum lovingly set in the ambience of Old Shanghai. A variety of coffee pots and grinding machines sit on an old piano. An old cash register beside the piano harks to stories about the prosperous business culture of Shanghai in its heyday. A vintage typewriter and old black-and-white photos round out the nostalgia of the home.
Amid all the remembrances of things past, the 100 huqin are proudly displayed.
"I believe an international city like Shanghai needs the traditional culture of musical instruments to enrich itself," Jiang said.
He tells the tale of Min Huifen, a well-known erhu player in China, who once paid a visit to his home. She was enthralled about Jiang's collection of musical instruments and told him he was probably the first person in China to have amassed a collection on this scale.
One huqin in his collection, obtained more than a decade ago, has an odder shape than the others. It has the peg head of a guitar placed on the traditional body of huqin. Jiang explained that this instrument displays a perfect marriage between Chinese and Western cultures.
This instrument never gained much popularity and thus is rare. Jiang said he was lucky to obtain one.
Another huqin in his collection features a peg head shaped like that of a bat. Jiang said he first encountered the instrument at a folk music exhibition at the Minhang Museum several years ago and began to search for one to add to his collection. He finally found it at a fair in the Chenghuang Temple.
Jiang has been in love with Chinese culture, and by default, with Chinese traditional instruments, since boyhood. He recalled his first encounter with a huqin when he was 14. Love at first sight.
In 1972, when Jiang was in the middle school, a teacher who loved folk music started a small student stringed ensemble. Within a few weeks, most of the players lost interest. Not Jiang.
"My classmates didn't like folk instruments," Jiang said. "But I was so obsessed with the huqin. I loved its look, its feel. The sound of the strings evoked a sense beauty deep inside me."
First collection
His father took him to a secondhand store on Huaihai Road in downtown and bought him his first huqin. "I still remember that it cost 16 yuan (now about US$2.6), which equaled two months of living expenses for my father and me," he said.
Jiang practiced the huqin after school. Sometimes he got so engrossed in the music that he would forget to eat. He often stayed up late practicing. If he heard someone playing the huqin anywhere, he stopped and listened until the playing ended.
In time, he learned of the various categories of huqin: the yuehu, gaohu, erhu, banhu and Mongol stringed instruments.
His first huqin was a shenhu, an instrument used in the orchestra of the Shanghai Opera but not played as a solo instrument.
After graduation from school, Jiang worked as an apprentice in the Shanghai Nanyang Motor Factory. The salary at that time was 18 yuan a month. He could hardly afford a huqin.
He recalled going to the Shanghai First Department Store on Nanjing Road E. to gaze at the selections of huqin for sale.
After three years, he finally saved up enough to buy his second huqin. It was an instrument for solo playing. It cost him 29.8 yuan. At that time, his salary was 36 yuan per month.
Becoming a collector
When China opened up to the outside world in the 1980s, Jiang got serious about huqin. He knew he wasn't good enough to be a performer, so he decided to become a collector.
"It took me some time to realize that huqin were not considered fancy possessions," he said. "The instruments were often played by poor street performers. No matter how well constructed, many of those instruments became damaged and discarded in the end."
Jiang spent most of his spare time on this collection, prowling for instruments in antique shops and street fairs.
"I took great pleasure in collecting, more than I ever did making money," Jiang said. "I paid close attention to the materials and shapes of huqin, as well as other distinctive features. Now, I collect five to six huqin on average every year."
In 2010, his collection passed the 100 mark. Many needed repairs, so he began restoration work.
His technique was so masterful that it drew praise from experts of traditional instruments.
"Each huqin carries its own story," Jiang said. "Someday, I will donate my collection to a local museum so that generations to come can come to appreciate, as I did, this rich cultural heritage."
Jiang Guocui owns 100 huqin, a family of bowed string instruments typically featuring a square or hexagonal sound box attached to a long neck. Huqin are often called "spike fiddles," though their sounds are unlike Western fiddles.
Jiang's house in Huacao has the air of a private museum lovingly set in the ambience of Old Shanghai. A variety of coffee pots and grinding machines sit on an old piano. An old cash register beside the piano harks to stories about the prosperous business culture of Shanghai in its heyday. A vintage typewriter and old black-and-white photos round out the nostalgia of the home.
Amid all the remembrances of things past, the 100 huqin are proudly displayed.
"I believe an international city like Shanghai needs the traditional culture of musical instruments to enrich itself," Jiang said.
He tells the tale of Min Huifen, a well-known erhu player in China, who once paid a visit to his home. She was enthralled about Jiang's collection of musical instruments and told him he was probably the first person in China to have amassed a collection on this scale.
One huqin in his collection, obtained more than a decade ago, has an odder shape than the others. It has the peg head of a guitar placed on the traditional body of huqin. Jiang explained that this instrument displays a perfect marriage between Chinese and Western cultures.
This instrument never gained much popularity and thus is rare. Jiang said he was lucky to obtain one.
Another huqin in his collection features a peg head shaped like that of a bat. Jiang said he first encountered the instrument at a folk music exhibition at the Minhang Museum several years ago and began to search for one to add to his collection. He finally found it at a fair in the Chenghuang Temple.
Jiang has been in love with Chinese culture, and by default, with Chinese traditional instruments, since boyhood. He recalled his first encounter with a huqin when he was 14. Love at first sight.
In 1972, when Jiang was in the middle school, a teacher who loved folk music started a small student stringed ensemble. Within a few weeks, most of the players lost interest. Not Jiang.
"My classmates didn't like folk instruments," Jiang said. "But I was so obsessed with the huqin. I loved its look, its feel. The sound of the strings evoked a sense beauty deep inside me."
First collection
His father took him to a secondhand store on Huaihai Road in downtown and bought him his first huqin. "I still remember that it cost 16 yuan (now about US$2.6), which equaled two months of living expenses for my father and me," he said.
Jiang practiced the huqin after school. Sometimes he got so engrossed in the music that he would forget to eat. He often stayed up late practicing. If he heard someone playing the huqin anywhere, he stopped and listened until the playing ended.
In time, he learned of the various categories of huqin: the yuehu, gaohu, erhu, banhu and Mongol stringed instruments.
His first huqin was a shenhu, an instrument used in the orchestra of the Shanghai Opera but not played as a solo instrument.
After graduation from school, Jiang worked as an apprentice in the Shanghai Nanyang Motor Factory. The salary at that time was 18 yuan a month. He could hardly afford a huqin.
He recalled going to the Shanghai First Department Store on Nanjing Road E. to gaze at the selections of huqin for sale.
After three years, he finally saved up enough to buy his second huqin. It was an instrument for solo playing. It cost him 29.8 yuan. At that time, his salary was 36 yuan per month.
Becoming a collector
When China opened up to the outside world in the 1980s, Jiang got serious about huqin. He knew he wasn't good enough to be a performer, so he decided to become a collector.
"It took me some time to realize that huqin were not considered fancy possessions," he said. "The instruments were often played by poor street performers. No matter how well constructed, many of those instruments became damaged and discarded in the end."
Jiang spent most of his spare time on this collection, prowling for instruments in antique shops and street fairs.
"I took great pleasure in collecting, more than I ever did making money," Jiang said. "I paid close attention to the materials and shapes of huqin, as well as other distinctive features. Now, I collect five to six huqin on average every year."
In 2010, his collection passed the 100 mark. Many needed repairs, so he began restoration work.
His technique was so masterful that it drew praise from experts of traditional instruments.
"Each huqin carries its own story," Jiang said. "Someday, I will donate my collection to a local museum so that generations to come can come to appreciate, as I did, this rich cultural heritage."
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