Guzheng, also known as Han Zheng, is a Zheng instrument among the traditional musical instruments of the Han nationality and belongs to plucked musical instruments. It is one of the unique and important national musical instruments in China. It has a beautiful timbre, a wide range, rich playing skills, and considerable expressiveness, so it is deeply loved by the masses.

The guzheng is an ancient national musical instrument that accompanies China's long-standing culture and is native to this fertile yellow earth.

As early as the Warring States Period from the 5th century BC to the 3rd century BC, it was widely spread in the area of the Qin State (now Shaanxi) at that time, so it was also called Qin Zheng. Calculated to be more than 2,500 years old.

The guzheng is an ancient national musical instrument with a total of 10 levels. During the Warring States Period, it was prevalent in the "Qin" region, and the information cited in Sima Qian's "Historical Records" recorded in the "Biography of Li Silie: The Book of Exhortation to the Guest" is quite noteworthy. Li Si's "Book of Exhortations to the Guest" mentions a passage about the music and dance of the Qin State: "The husband hits the urn, knocks, plays the kite, and fights, and the song is whining and whining." The voice of the true Qin also. Zheng Weisang, Shaoyu, martial elephants, exotic pleasures. Now abandon the knocking, hit the urn and take the guard, retreat from the kite and take Shaoyu, if so, why not? Happy at present, just a good view. ”

Zheng is the "voice of the real Qin", so it has always had the name of "Qin Zheng", but if you look at it from the text, there is something worth scrutinizing, that is, "hitting the urn, knocking" and "Zheng Wei Sang" against each other, and "playing the kite, fighting the hip" and "Shao Yu, Wu Xiang" against each other, so there is a "abandon the knock today, hit the urn and Zheng Wei, withdraw from the Zheng Wei and take Shaoyu, if it is so, what is the precept". The so-called "sound of Zheng Wei" is "Sangjian Pushang", which is the folk music of Zheng Guo and Weiguo, so it can be seen that "knocking and hitting the urn" is the folk music of the Qin State at that time, that is, "Shaoyu" is "Shao Xiao", that is, Confucius praised it as "Shao in March".

It is also said that the zither was a weapon during the Warring States period, which was used to wave vertically and hit people. There is also an old saying that "the zither is a pleasure, and it becomes a soldier on the ground". Later, strings were added to it, and when plucked, it was found to be pleasant to the ear, so it developed into a musical instrument. With the passage of time, weapons became lighter and lighter, and the zither, which was large in size and not light in weight, was abandoned. Therefore, the zithers that people see today are in the form of musical instruments, with beautiful forms and decorations.

Guzheng pictures

It is said that this music was made by Dayu. The above refers to music, which is clearly not folk music, but court music. It can be seen that by the time Yingzheng was in power at the latest, the Qin State had replaced the Zheng with the "Shao Xiao", which belonged to the musical instrument used by the court at that time, and it should be more elegant than the reed and urn. As for the "fight", what Yu Zhi wanted to do was the "martial elephant". This "Wu", that is, "Dawu", is music and dance, and it is the Zhou people who sing praises to King Wu. It can be seen that "fighting hips" should be the court music and dance of the Qin State. The example cited by Li Si proves that the songs, dances, and music used by the Qin court are all from other countries, and there is no need for guest secretary Zhang Ben in politics in order to refute it. As mentioned in the text, Li Sijin's Book of Exhortations to the Guest was presented in 237 BC, so the popularity of the Zheng in the Qin State should have been before that. The production of Zheng is relatively perfect, and it should be earlier than Li Sishu's "Book of Exhortations to Guests".

There are two theories about the naming of the zheng: one says that it is split by Youse, and the other says that it is named because of the pronunciation of Zheng Zheng. "Jiyun" holds the saying of "dividing the seer into the zheng": "Qin vulgar is thin and evil, and the sisters have quarrels, and each of them has half of them, and it was called Zheng at that time." Of course, in addition to the argument between father and son, there is also the argument of brother and sister. These similar legends also illustrate the unreliability of these claims. In addition, as far as common sense is concerned, if the Se is divided into two, it becomes a broken Se, how can it be regarded as a Zheng? If the Se is broken into two and repaired into a Zheng, I am afraid it is far more difficult than making a Zheng and a Se, right? Another theory is that it is named because of the nature of its pronunciation, and Liu Xi's "Interpretation of the Name" says that "the Zheng, Shi Xian is high, and the Zheng is ran". It is said that the Zheng is pronounced "Zheng Zhengran" because of "Shi Xian Gao", this timbre is obviously for the soothing timbre of Se, which links Zheng with Se. Indeed, national musical instruments can be named after the origin of the instrument (e.g., the huqin), or by the method of development (e.g., the pipa), or even because of the timbre (e.g., Bau), and the name here is not unavoidable because of the timbre pronounced "Zheng (zheng) zhengran". Judging from the following text, the original Zheng and Se were not closely related, which lost the significance of the contrast between the timbre of the Zheng Se, which made it difficult to believe this statement.

The naming of the zither mentioned above also involves the origin of the zither. Since the saying that "the kite is divided into the kite" is not credible, then the zither that happened is not broken. So how exactly is the kite formed?

In the Han Dynasty, Ying Shao's "Customs and Customs" contained: Zheng, "I would like to press the "Book of Rites and Music", five strings, and build a body. Today, Liang Erzhou Zheng is like a seer, I don't know who changed it. Or it is said that it was created by Meng Tian. ”

From Ying Shao's "Customs and Customs", it can be seen that the system of Zheng before the Han Dynasty should be "five strings, build the body", but at that time, "and (mountain) Liang (Gansu) two states of Zheng shape like a seer", Ying Shao did not know who made the reform, but also recorded the rumor of "made by Meng Tian", which shows that the Han Dynasty has spread the shape of the Zheng in the northwest region.

Du You of the Tang Dynasty said in "Tongdian Le IV": "Zheng, Qin Shengye." Fu Xuan's "Zheng Fu Preface" said: "I thought it was made by Meng Tian." Looking at its instrument today, the upper is like the sky, the lower is flat like the ground, the hollow quasi-sixth, the string pillar is intended to be December, the four images are set up, the drum is five tones, the instrument of benevolence and wisdom, how can it be the minister of the country who died of the country. And there is a note that says: "Jinqing Lezheng has ten two strings, and he Leken has ten three strings." Roll the zither and roll it with bamboo slices to run its end. The kite is played with bone claws, more than an inch long, to refer to it. ”

The above two pieces of information are quite noteworthy, Ying Shao is a native of the late Eastern Han Dynasty (late second century, early third century), and his record of "five strings, building the body" is according to the record of the "Rite and Music Records", not witnessed, and what he saw "and Liang Erzhou, the shape of the zither is like a seer", but does not mention whether the shape of the zither in other regions is different. Du You at the end of the Tang Dynasty, a ninth-century man, explained in detail in the General Dictionary that the Zheng was completely resident at that time, and this shape also met the standards of orthodox ritual vessels. Of course, Du You also raised questions about the legend of "Mengtian making kites".

Guzheng pictures

In recent years, some people believe that Meng Tian is an all-round talent in civil and military affairs, and it is entirely possible for him to make a kite. However, according to the chronology, Mengtian does not have this possibility. Meng Tian's grandfather, Meng Tian, died in 240 BC (the seventh year of the reign of King Qin), at this time Meng Tian was only a young man in his 20s, even if the young Meng Tian had the talent to make a zheng, but after it was made, it was made to become popular in the Qin State in just a few years, and became the court instrument of Qin at that time, it seems that there is no such possibility. Some people even say that the Zheng was built by Meng Tian when he built the Great Wall. This is even less likely. Because Meng Tian built the Great Wall, it was after the destruction of the Qi Kingdom in the 26th year of King Qin (221 B.C.), which was at least 16 years later than Li Sicheng's "Book of Exhortations to the Guest"! It is also said that Meng Tian created a "pen", and the ancient traditional Chinese "pen" is similar to the "zheng".

Ying Shao's "Customs and Customs" said that the zither is "five strings and building the body". However, what kind of style "building" is, the literature of the past dynasties is unknown. In 1973, the No. 3 Han Tomb of Mawangdui in Changsha unearthed a Han Ming vessel. The reason why this building is said to be a Ming vessel is because although the vessel is painted with black lacquer, it is carved from a single wood. Solid, not conducive to resonance, if used to play, can not get enough volume. In addition, the instrument is about 34 centimeters long, which is obviously too short for playing, and the "Tongdian" records that the length of the Tang Dynasty is four feet three inches, and although there are differences between the evolution of the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, the difference is not so great. These reasons are enough to prove that it is a Ming vessel, which is like a small seer with a handle, and the first nail of the surface is nailed with a horizontal row of bamboo nails, a row of five, which is consistent with the record of "Customs and Customs". The style of this Ming vessel is the same as that of Se, which seems to indicate that the styles of Se, Zhu, and Zheng are extremely similar.

If the styles of Se, Zhu, and Zheng are really the same, then we can only conclude that the difference between the Zheng and the Zheng is not only different in timbre, but the external difference mainly lies in the number of strings, that is, there are 25 and 50 strings, while the Zheng in the Tang Dynasty was only 12 and 13 strings, and the building at that time also developed into 12 and 13 strings, so what is the difference between the Zheng and the Zheng? In this way, the main difference is that the zither is a plucked instrument. Of course, "Tongya" also noted under the building: "Like a zither, a small item", and this "fine item" has become the main difference between the form of the building and the zheng. It turns out that the first test of the building is to hold the neck with the left hand and play with the right hand, so the "fine item", which is more than four feet long in the Tang Dynasty, is obviously impossible to hold, and this fine item seems to have preserved the old system. "Tongya" also notes under the entry of the zither that "the kite is rolled with bamboo pieces to run its end, and the kite is played with bone claws." long inches, to refer to the description". This note is to explain that the CHOU (手部诌去言) and the Zheng are the same object, and the difference in their names is only that one is played and the other is played.

Of course, there are also people who believe that the Chinese Zheng was transmitted from foreign countries. Nao Tanabe of Japan, in his History of Oriental Music, put forward the view that the Zheng was introduced to the Qin State from the West at the end of the Warring States period. Another Japanese scholar, Kenzo Hayashi, argues that Tanabe's argument is insufficient.

From the above discussion, it can be seen that whether it is a zither or a zither, the initial test form of the zither has not been clarified so far. Therefore, the origin of the zither is still a mystery and needs to be explored. The search for the origin of the zither is obviously impossible to find a basis in the literature, and it seems that it is necessary to resort to new archaeological discoveries.

In conclusion, it is likely that the zither originated from a simple musical instrument made of five strings or less made of large bamboo tubes. The date should be in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period or before the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and it is impossible to be in the Qin Dynasty after Qin Shi Huang unified China.

The relationship between Zheng, Zhu and Se is neither divided into Zheng, nor evolved from Zheng to Zheng, but is likely to be the same source of Zheng and Zheng Coexistence. The five-string bamboo zither evolved into a twelve-string wooden zither, and the cylindrical resonance structure evolved into the long box-shaped resonance structure of the Se body, which may have been reformed with reference to the structure of the Se.

The strings, the pins are arranged on the left side of the panel parallel to the yard, the strings are made of metal (steel or copper), and the tortoiseshell nails (i.e., fingernails) are generally worn on the right hand when playing. The tuning is a three-octave range of pentatonic scale (i.e., the first key), and is mostly used in the key of G or D, and is rarely used in the key of F or C or A.

Right-handed playing techniques: Zheng playing techniques are quite numerous, the right hand has support, split, pick, wipe, tick, hook, shake, pinch, arpeggio, scratch, chord tone, etc., the most characteristic of which is scratching and chord sound, scratching is also called flower finger, has a great impact on the expressiveness and melody of the melody.

Left-handed playing techniques: the left hand playing techniques of the Zheng have pressing, sliding, kneading, trembling, overtones, etc., the Zheng is a semi-fixed scale instrument, it sets the strings with the pentatonic scale, the so-called "rhyme complement" is the left hand to press the sound of the playing, and the sound outside the sound of the string is called rhyme. By highlighting the left hand to press the trembling to take the rhyme, the expressiveness of the zheng is enriched, and the unique personality of the zheng's melody is highlighted, that is, it becomes "supplementing the sound with rhyme". [2]

"But the wonder of the Fu Zheng is extremely subtle of the five tones, the sound of the bud group is the master, the crown of the music is the teacher, the Qing and Yu Lu Lu, the cage silk wood to become a resource. He is six feet long, and he should be counted according to the law. Therefore, those who can clear the sense of death, the turbidity of the ground, the five sounds are used together, the movement is simple, the big is small and attached; Fold and reinforce. Repeatedly, emerging and suppressing, rising and falling, the sound is wonderful. I don't know what to do, I am evenly adjusted, and I am not slow. Slow and fast fit, the title of a gentleman, generosity, Zhuo Li, the festival of the strong man, the high and low, the wonderful chicken worker. Boya can play the piano, and the thousand zills are the membrane. Jiao is afraid of birds, and Shu is worthy of its traces; prolonging the new voice, how can it be the same; Chen Hui and Li Wen, Shu can be met. ”

"Yves Zheng is the body, but it is bright and special. The six laws should be repaired (and harmed) and the seven are the beginning of the merciful news. Including the essence of the eight tones, the expression of the superordinate instrument. After the love of the creation, Chino tested. The column is a law (Chen), both harmonious and flat. The degree is exemplary, not shrinking or surplusing. There are always eight winds and Xitai, and the shaking is carried out and the cave is spiritual. Yashi scrambled and struggled, and Zhong Si leaned his ears to silence. Play the horn of the wonderful, chant crepe Yu and (to) deer song. The beast dances and leads the dance, and the phoenix gathers in the court. Flooding ups and downs, Yi Xiang plays. The bird is like a desperate bird, and the bite is like a return. Er is a secret and glamorous song, Zhuo Li is different, circling and staying, and it is ever-changing. ”

The clouds are fluttering green, and the flowers are beautiful and red. Cut autumn water with both eyes, and peel spring onions with ten fingers. Chu Yan is the gate valve, and Qin Sheng is a female worker. A Ming silver Dele, the pillar touches the jade exquisitely. The ape cries bitterly and smits the moon, and the warbler speaks in the wind. Shift sorrow to the bottom of your hands, and send hatred into the strings. Zhao Seqing is similar, but Huqin is different. Slowly bounce back to the broken goose, and play the flying canopy urgently. Frost Peiqiang returned the commission, and the ice spring was reopened. Zhulian was smashed thousands of times, and the knife ended with a single sound. Yili is mentally determined, and she can be integrated. The rest is continuous, and the rest is endless. Under the lamp of the youth night, the white head in front of the bottle. And the hearing should be there, and the old ears are not much deaf.