Chapter 13

Deng Haiqiong (Haiqiong Deng) Internationally renowned zheng (guzheng) virtuoso Director of FSU Chinese Music Ensemble

Zheng, History, Politics Chapter focus: “a particular instrument, the zheng, which we will discuss through the lens of Chinese history and the political movements and ideologies that have shaped it.” Dynastic era Qin (3 rd century BCE) Han (202 BCE-220 CE) Tang ( ) Ming ( ) Qing ( ) Republican Era ( ) Communist Era Initial Communist period ( ) Cultural Revolution ( ) Period of Openness\Internationalization (1980-pres.)

The Zheng Figure 13.1 – Labeled Diagram (p. 324) Board zither 21 nylon/metal strings Movable bridges Musical Guided Tour (transcript, pp ) Tunings, playing techniques and textures, ornamentation gua-zou = glissando

The Zheng in Imperial China Qin (3 rd c. BCE) Legend of “dispute” (= zheng) between two sisters in imperial palace In their fight, 25-string zheng broken in half. One “half instrument,” with 13 strings, sent by Qin emperor to imperial court of Japan, became koto; the other, with 12 strings, sent to court of Korea, became kayagum. Koto Kayagum CD 2-1 – traditional CD 4-24 Rin’s Sakitama – contemporary

Japan/Korea: Koto and kayagum Koto – “Tori no Yo ni (You ni)” (Like a Bird), composed by Sawai Tadao (same piece as CD 2-1) Sankyoku (koto, shamisen, shakuhachi) Rin “Sakitama” music video (recording CD 4-24) Also features the biwa Kayagum

Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220CE) Zheng had mixed reputation – “vulgar” for some, high moral character for others Solo tradition of zheng playing may date back to this era, though mainly an ensemble instrument. Confucius, Confucianism, and the qin (zither) Moral virtue as “right” social order Proper music/instruments for each social class Junzi “superior individuals” (though not necessarily by birth!) Seven-string qin (guqin) zither the instrument of choice for junzi Confucius himself played the qin CD 4-25 – solo qin performance (melody based on ancient Buddhist chant)

Clockwise: Qin; koto, qin … kayagum; zheng Junzi playing the qin (Could it be… Confucius?)

Qin videos “Remember Old Friends,” perf. by Deng Haiqiong From 8:20-end of the video (which is a TV profile of Haiqiong) Tao-Chu Shen qin performance Fight scene (Jet Li vs. Donnie Yen) from Hero (2004)

Tang Dynasty ( ) Another golden age for China Zheng reached its apogee during this period Music ministry – 30,000 musicians and dancers from throughout empire employed Zheng In many different ensembles elaborate decoration (silver-engraved frames, jade bridges), earliest known examples of notation Women performers (continuing association) – Emperor Xuanzong Silk Road – pipa and other instruments brought to China (CD 4-26 – zheng, pipa duet)

Silk Road Ensemble Wu Man (pipa) and Kayan Kalhor (kamanche) of the Silk Road Ensemble, directed by Yo-Yo Ma.

Ming and Qing dynasty Chinese opera Peking (Beijing) opera Traditional Golden age, early 20 th century (late Qing – Republican era) Revolutionary (Communist era/Cultural Revolution)

Peking Opera examples UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage “Peking Opera” video The Red Lantern (Legend of the Red Lantern) -- Revolutionary/Model Opera – 1964) Plot: three generations in family of Chinese revolutionaries, China-Japan war ( ) CD 1-5 (vocalist Wei Li) Leehom Wang “Mistake in the Flower Fields”

Regional Styles: Traditional Solo Zheng Music Crystallized late Qing dynasty era (mid/late 19 th c.) Shandong, Henan, etc. Each regional style: distinctive yun (regional character) Deng Haiqiong studied Shandong style w. Gao Zicheng “Autumn Moon over the Han Palace” (CD 4-27; pp ) Baban form -- length per cycle 68 ban (1 ban = ban + yan) 8 phrases per cycle All phrases 8 ban in length, except Phrase 5 (12 ban) Yijing of sadness (but complex – “gentle, moderate, controlled”) Intricate ornamentation of melody 16 steel-stringed zheng (rather than 21 nylon-steel)

Communist Era Conservatories and conservatory solo zheng tradition actually hark back to Republican era, pre-communism ( ) “Return of the Fishing Boats” (Lou Shuhua, 1936) Communism: music overtly political, ideological, “On the Golden Hill in Beijing” (CD 4-28, sung by Li Xiuqin) Folkloric research, appropriation of “folk traditions,” and harnessing of Western elements (compositional, piano/harp) all fed into solo zheng style “Spring on Snowy Mountains” (CD 4-29, pp ), comp. Fan Shang’e Programmatic music “Tibetan” melody, revolutionary program, piano/harp techniques (tremolos, arpeggiated chords, etc.)

“Fighting the Typhoon” OMI 26 (excerpt, performed by Deng Haiqiong Classic performance by the composer, Wang Chang Yuan 4&list=RDiclV4wcVBQ8 4&list=RDiclV4wcVBQ8 …and from a more recent concert by WC “High Mountain, Flowing Water”

Period of Openness – Turbulent years following Mao’s death (Gang of Four) 1980s – Deng Xiaoping ushers in “Period of Openness” “Whatever they write or create can only be investigated and resolved by artists. There will be no [political] interference in these matters.” (D. Xiaoping, 1979)

“Music from the Muqam CD 4-33 – “Music from the Muqam” (second half) Based on Uighur musical tradition Word muqam related to Arabic maqam Mode/scale (D F# G A C) Five-beat meter (aksak = “limping” rhythms) Melodic ornamentation Elements of formal design Chinese conservatory elements Profusely virtuosic style (e.g., gua-zou glissandi), and thus Western influence Equal-tempered “translation” of the traditional Uighur mode Problems of musicultural appropriation (also Tibetans and other “minority” groups in China)

Tan Dun CD 4-32 – “Desert Capriccio” from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – featuring Yo-Yo Ma (swordfight scene) Other scores include Hero

Cui Jian “Nothing to My Name” 854Xo#t= Xo#t=21 (live) (documentary) “Fake Monk” (w. zheng) featuring zheng)

Bei CD 4-31 – “Hot Thursday” from Into the Wind (music video)