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Bamboo music-making
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Bamboo music, which features instruments like the flute, dulcimer and various zithers made of the wood, was popular in Shanghai, southern Jiangsu Province and western Zhejiang Province, reaching its heyday in the late 1800s.
Today the music has fairly disappeared from downtown areas of Shanghai, but it is still played in the Zhongshan neighborhood and in the towns of Yexie, Xinqiao and Sheshan Hill in the Songjiang District. In 2011, it was added to the list of district “intangible cultural heritage.”
The music can be forceful or delicate, loud or soft, rapid or slow. In ensemble playing, bamboo music requires careful coordination among players. For that reason, the music has come to symbolize the Chinese cultural virtues of support and mutual help.
Yexie’s bamboo music ensemble was established in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and developed into dozens of music clubs that have become stalwarts at local holidays and festivals.
In the golden age of bamboo music, ensembles held competitions, often exchanging instruments and playing the famous repertoires of their competitors. There’s a record of two ensembles playing one after another for a whole night.
Shenshan Hill Town, once a holy center of Buddhism and Taoism temples, has long been a center for bamboo music. Lu Boquan, a farmer who was born in 1914, played the bamboo flute and zithers. Between 1940 and 2000, he opened 24 classes and taught more than 400 students in the traditional art. His ensembles have won numerous awards and performed at galas such as the Shanghai International Tourism Festival. His son Lu Zhenqiu has taken over his father’s music career to carry it forward for future generations.
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