Home » Feature » Beats of History
Enchanting symphony of plum blossom
Print Edition
PLUM flowers which blossom in freezing winter with a special fragrance have a unique place in the hearts of Chinese writers, poets, musicians and artists.
“Three Stanzas of Plum-blossoms” (Meihua San Nong) is one of the masterpieces which oaks the plum for its pure and unbending features. “San nong,” or three stanzas, has a similar melody that is played three times in the piece.
The earliest existent score of “Three Stanzas of Plum-blossoms” of a bamboo-flute piece was collected in Zhu Quan’s “Shenqi Mipu” (literally “magic secret scores”) in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is said to have been created by Huan Yi, a well-known scholar, military officer and musician in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 318-420).
As the story goes, calligrapher Wang Huizhi, the 5th son of Wang Xizhi, was on his boat to Jiankang, when he saw a carriage passing by. When he learnt that Huan was in the carriage, he invited Huan to play a piece for him.
Even though he was a high-ranking official at that time, Huan did not refuse as he also appreciated Wang’s calligraphy though they had not met before. He went to Wang’s boat and played the piece which later came to be known as “Three Stanzas of Plum-blossoms.”
After finishing the piece, he left without talking to Wang. The two scholars, giving no importance to formalities and rituals, simply enjoyed the music. This unexpected encounter gave birth to the “Three Stanzas of Plum-blossoms.”
It went on to become one of the most popular bamboo-flute pieces on the Qinhuai River in the Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. It was later adapted into a piano piece by Chinese composer Wang Jianzhong in 1972, while a pop song by Keung Hang with the same name in the 1990s was also inspired by this piece.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
