Erquan Yingyue (short story) Zhang Baotong

As soon as Mr. Yang Yinliu returned to Beijing, he called the Prime Minister's Office, and then took the six pieces recorded for A Bing to the Government Council to report to Premier Zhou. However, when the prime minister and some staff members entered the small conference room and sat down to listen to the recording, the recording made a high-pitched and hoarse sound, which was very uncomfortable to listen to. Yang Yinliu immediately broke out in a cold sweat: The audition room is still good, how could there be such a problem? He turned off the tape recorder and checked it. However, the tape recorder seemed to be fine, and there seemed to be nothing wrong with it, so he played it again, but the sound was still sharp and harsh. Yang Yinliu immediately felt confused: he thought that the prime minister had given him such an important task, but he failed to complete the task.

Although the prime minister did not criticize him, he himself could not forgive himself. He recounted to the Prime Minister in a heavy manner and said, "Prime Minister, I have not been able to complete the task you have given me. The prime minister knew that the quality of this kind of wire tape recorder was not up to par, so he said to him, "You have to go to Wuxi again, it is best to invite A Bing to Beijing, first, the conditions and equipment in Beijing are good, and the recording effect will be better; Even if you can let Ah Bing come here to recuperate. ”

Yang Yinliu took the train south to Wuxi with Cao Anhe that night. When he saw Ah Bing, Yang Yinliu told him about the distortion of the recording and Premier Zhou's invitation to go to Beijing to re-record and recuperate. When he heard that he was going to take a train to Beijing, Ah Bing was very excited, because although Ah Bing had seen a train, he had never taken a train before. But Ah Bing has been practicing too much recently, overworked, relapsing of old diseases, his body is cold and hot, coughing nonstop, and often dizzy, I don't know if he can withstand the bumps of the journey. Although Ah Bing felt weak and uncomfortable, this was the hospitality of the Prime Minister of the country, how could he not go? So, he took some medicine and recuperated at home for three or two days, feeling much better, so he had to urge Mr. Yang Caoliang to take him on the road.

When they arrived in Beijing, the premier sent a car to take them to the compound of the General Office of the Government Council. As soon as Yang Yinliu and Cao Anhe helped A Bing out of the car, they saw Premier Zhou Enlai walking out of the house with a few office staff. Before Yang Yinliu could introduce Ah Bing, Premier Zhou Enlai had already come over and said to Ah Bing, "Mr. Hua Yanjun has worked hard all the way", while supporting Ah Bing. As soon as Ah Bing heard this familiar and friendly accent, he knew that the prime minister was talking to him. He immediately said to the Prime Minister, "Prime Minister, you have worked hard for the country all day long, and you still have a blind man like me in your heart. The prime minister smiled and said, "You are the wealth and preciousness of the country!" With that, he helped Ah Bing into the house.

Accustomed to living in a cold environment, and suddenly living a comfortable and superior life, Ah Bing felt very unaccustomed, especially when he was used to walking in the streets and alleys of Wuxi for many years, as soon as he lived in a courtyard house in Beijing, and was taken care of by others everywhere, Ah Bing felt that he was physically and mentally imprisoned, so he lived in Beijing for a few days, and felt that he couldn't stay anymore and had to go home. The staff had no choice, so they begged the prime minister, so they sent him back to his hometown in Wuxi.

After returning to Wuxi from Beijing, Ah Bing has been excited. He felt that he was a blind artist who had been poor and wandering all his life, but he was so valued by the country and the prime minister that he felt that this kind of kindness could not be repaid, and he could only dedicate his talents and songs. So, he kept recalling, thinking, capturing, and practicing the pieces he had played in the past. Some of the pieces had not been practiced for years, or even a decade or two, and he could hardly even remember the tune or name, but as soon as he had the slightest inspiration and impression, he immediately picked up the erhu or pipa, or the bamboo flute or the yueqin and began to try to practice. In addition to recovering and practicing those unfamiliar pieces, he also improvised a lot of new pieces. He knew that his health was very bad and that his days were numbered, so a sense of urgency and responsibility to dedicate his music repertoire to the world made him often anxious and unable to sleep at night. Sometimes, when he fell asleep, he felt a gossamer-like inspiration creeping in his half-asleep consciousness, so he immediately got up, sat down on the bed, picked up the instrument, played the music in his feelings from memory and impulse, and then rehearsed it several times so as not to forget.

The news that Ah Bing went to Beijing to record and recuperate quickly spread in Wuxi, and for a while, Ah Bing became a local celebrity in Wuxi. On a late autumn night in 1950, Ah Bing was invited to play at the Wuxi Theater. Hearing the news, Wuxi citizens rushed to the theater to watch the performance. For the blind A Bing, Wuxi people can be said to be a household name, but they have only seen him walk through the streets and alleys to perform and sing, but they have never seen him perform on stage. That night, Ah Ping was helped by a young man to the theater and walked onto the stage. Ah Bing is used to walking in the streets and alleys of Wuxi, and has never been on the stage, so when he heard the thunderous applause in the theater, he showed a look of sincere fear and overwhelmed. He had never heard so many people applauding him, like hundreds, like thousands, in short, many, many.

Listening to the applause of the audience and thinking back on his bumpy and tragic life, Ah Bing couldn't help but feel emotional, and his heart was full of gratitude. He hurriedly greeted the audience. In this way, the applause of the audience is more enthusiastic, and it is endless. After Ah Bing's salute, he was helped by the young man to sit on a wooden chair. In order to calm himself and get used to the atmosphere of the theater, Ah Ping tried to tune the strings. After the applause of the audience stopped, a beautiful woman walked to the front of the stage and said, "Please listen to the erhu solo "Erquan Reflecting the Moon", which is performed by Hua Yanjun, an old folk Taoist artist in Wuxi. “

This is Ah Bing's first time playing on stage, and it is also the first time he has heard people call him a folk artist. He was inspired by this warm atmosphere, and the feeling of sitting on the stage also made him feel that he was no longer the blind man Ah Bing who had a tragic and poor fate in the past, but an artist who was respected and well-known. Just like "Yixin Song" was renamed "Erquan Reflecting the Moon", although the song is still the same song, its bearing and identity are completely different.

At this time, he pulled the erhu, and his whole body and mind were immersed in the emotion of memories and contrasts. The music gradually breaks the silence, from deep calm to sonorous and passionate. His whole body and mind began to tremble violently and boil as the music was played. Then, he uses the bow to be weighty, strong and weak, and uses an off-tune technique to develop it, pushing the mood to new heights, like cascading waves and bursting magma. However, the music comes to an abrupt halt when the melody of the music sinks abruptly after being frozen in the high register, and ends weakly with a meandering and unfinished tune. Due to the extreme weakness of his body and the lack of physical strength, Ah Ping suddenly began to cough violently and continuously, and then fell on the table of the theater with a bang as his body shook and trembled.

The audience was frightened when they saw this scene, some looked at the stage with frightened eyes, and some shouted Ah Bing in a crying tone. The theater staff immediately ran to pick him up. But he only breathed but had no strength, and vomited blood. So, the staff carried him to the hospital. However, the 58-year-old Ah Bing was extremely weak due to illness, and his condition deteriorated, and finally vomited too much blood and died on a cold night.

Ah Bing died, and hundreds of pieces of music disappeared forever with his death, but he left "Erquan Reflecting the Moon" behind. This heavenly swan song of life has become the sad and unyielding voice of our nation.

Soon, the recording of "Erquan Reflecting the Moon" began to be broadcast on the radio, causing great repercussions, and subsequently, it quickly became popular throughout the country. The following year, the "Two Springs Reflecting the Moon" record was released throughout the country. In 1954, "A Bingqu Music" was published. After that, "Erquan Reflecting the Moon" was rated as the first of China's top ten folk classic music by the United States. When Seiji Ozawa, a famous Japanese music conductor, came to China to conduct the Central Orchestra to perform "Erquan Yingle", he said: This piece should be listened to on your knees.

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