The name Jiangnan sizhu is made up of two parts. Jiangnan is the traditional name for the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze river in southern Jiangsu, Shanghai, and northern Zhejiang. Sizhu, literally "silk and bamboo," refers to string and wind musical instruments, silk being the traditional material from which strings have historically been made in China, and bamboo being the material from which the Chinese flutes such as the dizi and xiao are made. The term sizhuby extension also came to refer to instrumental music in general, especially that played indoors. Other sizhu traditions also exist, particularly along China's southeastern coastal regions of Fujian and Guangdong.
History
The term sizhu is a 20th-century term that refers to the folk ensembles that first appeared in the Ming and Qing dynasties and have continued to the present day. Many regional variants exist, but the most influential has been the Jiangnan sizhu, which in the 19th century became established south of the Yangtze River, especially in the cities of southeast Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang provinces. By the early part of the 20th century, Shanghai had become the centre of sizhu activities; the city’s elite organized numerous amateur clubs that played for social functions and for their own entertainment. The Shanghai sizhu became the basis of the modern Chinese orchestra in the mid-20th century.
Instruments
Instruments typically used in Jiangnan sizhu include plucked, bowed, strummed and struck string instruments; flutes and sometimes also mouth organs; and small percussion instruments. The most commonly used instruments are:
Dizi - transverse bamboo flute, most commonly with traditional equal distant finger holes which does not produce an equal temperament, although the equal-tempered dizi is standard with professionals
Xiao - end-blown bamboo flute, as with the dizi, equal distant finger holes are preferred with the equal-tempered type standard with professionals
Erhu - two-string vertical fiddle, standard erhu D4, A4 tuning. A second erhu is sometimes used, known as fanhu or fan erhu, meaning "counter fiddle" or "cross fiddle"; it has thicker strings tuned a minor third or fourth below the leading erhu
Pipa - pear-shaped lute with four strings, uses standard tuning of A2, D3, E3, A3. Although G2, C3, D3, G3, a whole tone lower, is sometimes used, with other string instruments also tuned a tone lower
Yangqin - hammered dulcimer, smaller than the large professional solo type, has range of two octaves and a fifth; D3 to A5
Sheng - free-reed mouth organ, most commonly with 17 pipes
Sanxian - plucked lute with three strings, the small "southern" type is used, tuned to D3, A3, D4.
Qinqin - plucked lute, tuned to D3, A3,
Wooden clapper and small drum
Several other instruments sometimes are also used:
Zhonghu - two-string fiddle, larger and lower pitched than the erhu
Ruan - plucked lute with four strings
Liuqin - small plucked lute with four strings
Guzheng - plucked zither with movable bridges
Pengling – a pair of small bells
As in an Irish traditional music session, the instrumentation is not fixed, and so may vary according to the musicians who are available for a particular performance. Usually only one of each instrument is used, and an ensemble can range from as few as two to as many as ten or more musicians, with the erhu, dizi or xiao, pipa, and yangqin being the core instruments. Players may sometimes switch instruments between pieces.
Repertoire
Eight Great Pieces
At the centre of the repertory are the Eight Great Pieces or Eight Great Famous Pieces :
Hua San Liu 花三六
Huan Le Ge 欢乐歌
Man Liu Ban 慢六板
San Liu 三六
Si He Ru Yi 四合如意
Xing Jie 行街
Yun Qing 云庆
Zhong Hua Liu Ban 中花六板
The repertoire is based on old melodies such as "Lao Liu Ban", also called "Lao Ba Ban", which are elaborated to create new pieces such as "Zhong Hua Liu Ban", the latter of which is the most important piece of all the pieces derived from "Lao Liu Ban" .
Other pieces
These are other pieces that are played by Jiangnan sizhu music clubs. It includes pieces that were originally instrumental solos, music from narrative genres, and sizhu pieces from Jiangnan and other areas.
Zhong Liu Ban
Kuai Hua Liu Ban
Kuai Liu Ban
Lao Liu Ban
Man San Liu
Chun Jiang Hua Yue Ye 春江花月夜 adapted from an ancient pipa solo in 1925 by the Datong Music Club.
Deng Yue Jiao Hui 灯月交辉, ensemble piece from the Jiangnan area
Ni Chang Qu 霓裳曲, ensemble piece from the Jiangnan area, said to be from Hangzhou
Xu Hua Luo 絮花落, derived from Lao Liu Ban.
Yang Ba Qu 阳八曲, also called Fan Wang Gong 凡忘工 or 梵王宫 or 梵皇宫, ensemble piece from the Jiangnan area. The last fast section was arranged by Nie Er into the piece "Dance of the Golden Snake."
Zhe Gu Fei 鹧鸪飞, from Hunan, commonly played as a dizi or xiao solo.
New Jiangnan sizhu compositions include:
Chun Hui Qu 春晖曲
Hao Jiangnan 好江南
Social context
Jiangnan sizhu is generally considered to be a folk tradition rather than a professional one, and is most often performed by amateurs. It is typically performed in informal gatherings, often at tea houses. By the mid-20th century, it had also entered the curriculum of China's conservatories, where it continues to be performed by large ensembles of traditional instruments in fully scored arrangements.
Notable ''Jiangnan sizhu'' musicians
In the second half of the 20th century, a quartet from China playing Jiangnan sizhu repertoire as well as newly composed pieces comprised four men: dizi player Lu Chunling, pipa player Ma Shenglong, yangqin player Zhou Hui, and erhu player Zhou Hao. They brought the style to new audiences and performed together for many years.
Related genres
, which was developed in the mid-20th century, has a musical style and accompaniment that is closely related to Jiangnan sizhu.
