Ancient performing art Nanyin returns to stage
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The music hall of Nanyin Art Center is located in the center of Quanzhou city, Fujian Province. Each week it hosts at least two shows of Nanyin, music of the south, performed by the city's highly regarded Quanzhou Nanyin Ensemble.
When 24-year-old Shi Bo went to a see their concert recently, she did not realize it would move her to tears. "I was intoxicated by the beauty of the music," she said. Nanyin is also known as "Nanguan," "Xianguan" and "Nanqu." It is a performing art that integrates singing and instrumental music. The traditional opera sung in Quanzhou dialect dates back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) and is one of the oldest musical genres in China.
"If my friends come to Quanzhou, I will introduce them to Nanyin," Shi Bo exclaimed, "definitely!"
On September 30, UNESCO listed Nanyin on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. According to UNESCO, Nanyin was selected as it is an excellent traditional art that still prevails today and is constantly recreated as time goes by.
There are two main types of performance in traditional Nanyin: one by a soloist who plays the clappers, another with four singers performing in turn. A typical piece may be as brief as two minutes or as long as 40 minutes.
Nanyin originated as music for the royal palace but eventually established itself in southern China when court musicians migrated there as a consequence of civil wars.
"You can still find many ancient Chinese tones in the music," explained Wu Shaochuan, head of Quanzhou Nanyin Ensemble.
The main instruments used in Nanyin are all traditional: dongxiao, a vertical flute; nanpa, a bent-neck pipa; erxian, a two-stringed vertical instrument; sanxian, a three-stringed plucked instrument; and paiban, clappers.
The vertical fl ute and pipa have retained their shape, playing technique and features of ancient music, which have vanished in other contemporary genres. The pipa is held horizontally, in a fashion similar to the one prevalent during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
Nanyin notation employs five characters that correspond with the traditional Chinese pentatonic scale. The are 3,000 scores of Nanyin including The Three Anthology of Nanyin Repertory printed in 1604 and a variety of folk manuscripts, which use unique symbols to indicate fingering and rhythm.
"Only after I had listened to Nanyin could I dare to claim that ancient Chinese music still survives today!" said Tian Qing, vice director of China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center.
The news that Nanyin was listed by UNESCO fell on the same day as the memorial of Meng Chang, an ancient emperor of Later Shu (934- 965) that all Nanyin musicians recognize due to his dedication to the arts. A large-scale celebration had coincidentally already been planned.
Nanyin troupe gatherings are quite common in Quanzhou. There are more than 500 folk associations with 10-50 members each, as well as research institutes and professional troupes. They meet to exchange performing skills and enjoy the ancient art.
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