Do you know the origin of pipa?

Pipa is a traditional plucked instrument in East Asia with a history of more than 2,000 years. The earliest musical instrument in China was the pipa of the Qin Dynasty. The name "Pipa" comes from the so-called "pushing hand is loquat, leading hand is loquat" (the most basic plucking skill), so it is called "Pipa". Before the Tang Dynasty, the pipa was also a general term for all plucked instruments of the Pipa family in Chinese. Chinese pipa spread to other parts of East Asia and developed into Japanese pipa, Korean pipa and Vietnamese pipa.

pipa

Pipa, also known as "Pipa", was first recorded by Liu Xi in Han Dynasty. Interpretation of musical instruments: "Those were originally Hu Zhong's, and they immediately played drums. Say yes when you push your hand, and say yes when you pull it, just like when you drum, because you feel famous. " In other words, the pipa is a musical instrument that is played on a horse. It is called a batch when it is ejected forward and a handle when it is picked back. According to its performance characteristics, it is named "batch handle". In ancient times, knocking, striking, bouncing and beating were all called drums. At that time, nomadic people were good at playing pipa on horseback, so they "immediately beat drums." It was not until the Wei and Jin Dynasties that it was officially called "Pipa". Pipa evolved from straight-necked pipa and curved-necked pipa in history. According to historical records, the straight-necked pipa appeared earlier in China. "Qin Hanzi" in Qin and Han Dynasties is a kind of straight-necked pipa, with a round resonance box with a straight handle (both sides of the resonance box are covered), which was developed from the string pipa at the end of Qin Dynasty. "Ruan" or "Ruan" is a wooden round resonance box with straight handle, with four strings and twelve columns, and the pipa is played vertically by hand. Ruan Xianshan played this instrument in the Jin Dynasty, so it is commensurate with its name, which is today's Ruan. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, cultural exchanges were conducted with the western regions through the Silk Road, and the music pipa was introduced from Persia to China via today's Xinjiang. Qupipa is pear-shaped, with four strings and four phases (without columns), and it is played horizontally with a pick. It prevailed in the Northern Dynasties and spread to the southern Yangtze River basin in the first half of the 6th century. Among the nine or ten pieces of music in Sui and Tang Dynasties, pipa became the main musical instrument, which played an important role in the development of song and dance art in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. From Dunhuang murals and Yungang stone carvings, we can still see its position in the band at that time. In the 5th and 6th centuries, with the strengthening of commercial and cultural exchanges between China and western countries, a musical pipa was introduced from Central Asia, which was then called "Hupipa". Its shape is a curved neck, pear-shaped speaker, with four pillars and four strings, much like Ud or UD common in Arab countries now, or Barbat in ancient Persia. Hold the pipa horizontally and play it with a pick. Modern pipa evolved from this kind of music. In the Tang Dynasty (7th-9th century), the development of pipa reached a peak. At that time, pipa was indispensable from court band to folk singing, and it became a very popular musical instrument at that time, and it was in a dominant position in the band. This grand occasion is recorded in a large number of China's ancient poems. For example, Bai Juyi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, vividly described the performance and acoustic effect of pipa in his famous poem Pipa: "The big strings are like rain, and the small strings are like secret words. Buzzing, whispering-then mixing together, like pouring large and small pearls into a plate of jade. " By the late Tang Dynasty, the pipa had made great progress from playing techniques to production structure. The most outstanding innovation in playing techniques is that the horizontal grip is changed to the vertical grip, and the finger playing directly replaces the pick playing. The most obvious change in the structure of pipa is the increase from four phonemes to sixteen (that is, four phases and twelve tones). At the same time, its neck is widened, and the lower resonance box is narrowed from wide to narrow, which is convenient for the left hand to press the phoneme. Due to the above two reforms, pipa playing technology has been developed unprecedentedly. According to statistics, there are fifty or sixty fingerings of pipa. To sum up, the right-hand fingering is divided into two systems: one is the wheel fingering system, and the other is the snapping system. Left-handed fingering is also divided into two systems: one is shiatsu system, and the other is push-pull system. By the 5th century A.D./KLOC, a number of Wu Qu, represented by House of Flying Daggers and Farewell My Concubine, and Wen Qu, represented by Moon Height, Love for Spring and Zhao Jun Complaint, had appeared in Pipa. The so-called Wu Qu is characterized by realism and the use of right-handed skills; The so-called Wen Qu is characterized by lyricism and the use of left-handed skills. These pieces of music have become the treasures of China national music and pipa art.

Pipa is traditionally pentatonic. By the time of the Republic of China, the piano code had been increased according to the law of twelve averages. At present, the standard pipa has 30 pieces in eight phases, and its expressive force and adaptability have been greatly strengthened. It can play not only traditional music, but also western and modern works, which is conducive to cooperation with symphony orchestras. This has created conditions for further development. In the middle and late 20th century, the art of pipa had a new development. In the production of pipa, the original silk strings were changed into nylon steel strings, and some even used silver strings, which increased the volume and resonance of pipa. In terms of techniques, the use of left thumb and chords has greatly improved the expressive force of pipa again. As a result, a large number of excellent solo works combining traditional music and modern composition theory have emerged, as well as duets of various instruments and pipa concertos of small bands and symphony orchestras. Entering the 2 1 century, the pipa not only returned to its heyday in China, but also attracted more and more attention from music lovers all over the world. Many traditional music and contemporary works are loved by Chinese and foreign audiences. It can be said that the pipa has begun to move towards the international music scene. Play stringed instruments. Liu Xi's explanation of the name is called "Pai Handle": "Pai Handle originated in the middle of the lake and was immediately drummed. Pushing hands was approved before, and when you hold hands, it is called a handle, just like its drum, because of its name. " After approval, it was rewritten as a pipa. From this point of view, pipa is derived from pictophonetic characters. About the 4th century AD, there were pear-shaped speakers, curved necks, four pillars (now called phase or product) and four strings. String instruments played with plectrum were introduced to the north from India through the western regions. Because its head is bent back, it is different from the straight neck round neck lute that was circulated at that time, so it is called the famous piano. Sui Shu? Chronicle of Music: "Today's music is a pipa, a noble disciple, and it comes from the western regions, not an ancient China." Because it comes from Qiuci, it is also called Qiuci Pipa, Tiger Pipa or Huqin. After the Song Dynasty, it was called Pipa. In modern times, the old four-phase pipa with 10, 12 and 13 grades was basically not used, and it was replaced by six-phase pipa with 18, 24, 25 and 28 grades. Arrange according to the law of twelve averages. The back of the pipa is made of rosewood, rosewood and rosewood, and two transverse sound beams and three sound columns are built in the abdomen, which are bonded to the panel. The hand mask is made of mahogany, ox horn, ivory or old bamboo, and there is a sound hole inside, also called "Yin Na". The first part of the piano is engraved with words such as longevity, music, bat, ruyi and phoenix tail, and some of them are inlaid with jade and precious stones. The neck of the piano is called the phoenix neck, which is connected with the chord groove and the mountain pass. Stick a phoenix pillow on the front and a phoenix pillow on the back. It is made of ox horn, mahogany, ivory or jade. The product is made of bamboo, mahogany, ox horn and ivory, which is the symbol of phoneme. The total length is about 96 cm. There are twelve kinds of pipa tunes. The commonly used tunes are A, D, E, A .. Pipa ranges from A to A-G3, with six phases and twenty-eight notes. The right hand has fingering such as playing, picking, pinching, rolling, double-playing, double-picking, dividing, hooking, rubbing, buckling, brushing, wheel and half-wheel, and the left hand has skills such as rubbing, reciting, picking up, knocking, virtual pressing, twisting strings, overtones, pushing, pulling, pulling and filling. You can play various chords and chords. It is widely used to accompany national bands and various local operas and quyi. Famous music includes House of Flying Daggers, Overlord Dismantling Armor, Moonlight in Xunyang, Chun Xue, Moon Height, Spring Rain, Boarding Zhao Jun, Moonlight on a Spring River, Swan in the Sea, Concerto of the Five Strong Men in Langya Mountain, Little Sisters of the Grassland Heroes, etc.

Edit this paragraph of pipa development

pipa

During the development of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, cultural exchanges were carried out with the western regions through the Silk Road, and music pipa was introduced from Persia to China via today's Xinjiang. Qupipa is pear-shaped, with four strings and four phases (without columns), and it is played horizontally with a pick. It prevailed in the Northern Dynasties and spread to the southern Yangtze River basin in the first half of the 6th century. From the Northern Qi Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, it was the first peak in the development history of pipa. The Pipa family in Cao Shi, which originated from Cao State (now northeast of Samarkand, Uzbekistan), is one of the outstanding representatives. For example, Cao Miaoda from the Northern Qi Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty was crowned king in the Northern Qi Dynasty for playing pipa well. After entering the Sui Dynasty, he was appointed as a court musician and taught pipa skills in Le Tai. Among the nine or ten pieces of music in Sui and Tang Dynasties, pipa became the main musical instrument, which played an important role in the development of song and dance art in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. From Dunhuang murals and Yungang stone carvings, we can still see its position in the band at that time. The Tang Dynasty was the peak of the development of pipa, and a large number of pipa players and music emerged, such as Cao Bao, his son Cao Shancai and Sun Caogang, who all lived in Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty. They are all famous pipa players and are highly praised by the world. The poet praised their superb skills. Cao Gang's right hand is vigorous and powerful, and Pei Xingnu, who is also famous, plays the strings delicately with his left hand. Father Pei, a famous "five-string" performer in Shule, Western Regions, is one of the most valued court musicians of Emperor Taizong, who initiated the fingering method of pipa. Kang Kunlun is known as the first hand of pipa, and Duan Shanben is a famous Buddhist musician. After competing with Kangkunlun Pipa, he entered the court and became a royal musician. Tong Dian, a friend of the Tang Dynasty, said: "The geisha is Le Yan, who is mainly pipa, so it is called pipa music." In the literature records and poems of the Tang Dynasty, there are many wonderful chapters describing pipa music, which shows that the pipa playing skills at that time were highly developed and the expressive force was very rich.