中国传统器乐

阿伦‧费莎

中国传统器乐存在几个不同的类型，以古琴和琵琶为例的独奏音乐；传统的室内“丝竹乐”；和许多户外的“吹打乐”等。对于中西方的听众而言，鉴于独奏音乐的国际化，它早已让听众们耳熟能详了。许多独奏音乐都已经录制成了黑胶唱片或激光唱片进行分享。室内传统音乐却没有那麽火红，但在中国，这已经开始改变了。

自一九六○年代后，音乐学者们以“丝竹”这个词作为一个普遍对室内器乐演奏的称谓。最具代表性的是江南丝竹（苏南地区），潮州弦诗（广东省沿海地区），客家丝弦（广东省中部地区），闽南南管（福建南部及台湾），广东音乐（ 岭南地区及香港）。这些地区性的小乐队都是由使用丝弦的拉弹乐器及竹类吹管乐器所组成，传统的南方乐队主要是受清代中叶（公元一八○○）以来的北方弦索乐所影响演变而成。这些传统的地区性音乐多年来部份地已经发展为带有跨文化互动性质，特别是潮州音乐与客家音乐（他们许多曲调和乐器也是类似的）；客家音乐及广东音乐（客家音乐的旋律亦被广东作曲家应用）；以及广东音乐和江南丝竹（自二十世纪初以来香港和上海两个高度都市化地区的音乐家都有共同的音乐理念）。丝竹式音乐是普遍存在于家庭和乐社中，作为娱乐和个人修习，虽然，闽南音乐家有时也在佛教寺庙演奏，而江南音乐家也会在当地茶楼中献技。各地区的曲目大抵都是一些称为“曲牌”的旧曲调（命名曲调），旋律来自传统戏曲及民间曲调。最普遍的就是“八板”，它是由六十八拍来组成八个乐句的器乐曲牌。 “八板”在华南已经非常有影响力，许多著名作品也以其为基调，如昭君怨、寒鸦戏水、出水莲和饿马摇铃等。

大致来说，与南方丝竹音乐对比的是声响巨大的吹打音乐。这类型的音乐，在整个中国的每个地区都拥有著不同的组合和名称，如苏南吹打、山东鼓吹、西安鼓乐、潮州大锣鼓和台湾北管。这些乐种通常是用来进行户外庆典和巡游活动，如丧葬，祭祀和宗教仪式。传统来说，通常使用管子与笛子，伴以笙，或由小型乐队与唢呐（有笙或无皆可）；敲击乐器的使用，则包括铙钹锣鼓，在华北地区亦有使用“云锣”的，其音乐节奏本身往往是较为活泼及明快。

在我所作的“华南丝竹传统”研究中，我发现几个特点值得特别关注。第一，普遍地在潮州，客家及闽南地区的人士，都认为他们的音乐和演奏风格可以追溯到唐代，事实上，一些名词和乐器特色是可以追溯到唐代，但目前没有证据显示这些音乐的传承是在明初时期（ 一三六八至一六六二年）或以前已出现。另一种信仰，是他们的音乐反映了儒家美学和其他古老的意识形态，这对我来说是特别有兴趣，因为很多不同的音乐家都试图解释这种关係，如五架头，五声调式，有时甚至是某些词语，也与中国吉祥号码的五和八扯上关係；其次是，好的修养是需要有节制和含畜；再者是，旋律的演化应体现在自发的概念（道家的“自然”理念）；以及，也许最重要的是这些传统风格的音乐，鼓吹著人性的善良和美德（具有儒家理念）。潮州，客家及闽南的音乐家坚信他们的高雅音乐是儒家音乐（儒乐）。努力保存这些古老的意识形态在中国东南沿海地区的音乐传统，是我的新书《中国华南的丝竹器乐》之焦点。

二○○七年冬于加拿大温哥华卑斯省立大学

Alan R.Thrasher:

民族音乐学者

加拿大卑诗大学民族音乐学系主任

Traditional Chinese Instrumental Music

Alan Thrasher

Traditional Chinese instrumental music exists in several quite different types, notably: the solo genres, the gin zither and pipa lute repertoires being good examples; the regional indoor ‘silkbamboo’ chamber music traditions; and the numerous outdoor “‘blowing-hitting’ genres. The solo genres are reasonably well known to Chinese and Western audiences because these repertoires have become ‘nationalized’ and are also well recorded on LP and CD; but the regional ensemble types are not so well known outside of their districts, though in China this is beginning to change.

Music scholars from the 1960s onward have used the term ‘silk-bamboo’ (sizhu) as a general category in identification of the chamber music types. Most representative are Jiangnan sizhu (southern Jiangsu), Chaozhou xianshi (‘string poem’ music, coastal Guangdong province), Hakka sixian (‘silk string’, interior Guangdong province), Minnan nanguan (‘southern pipe’ music, southern Fujian province, Taiwan), and Cantonese yinyue (‘music’, southern Guangdong province, Hong Kong). These ensembles are dominated by relatively soft instruments with ‘silk’ strings (Lutes, fiddles and zithers) and flutes of ‘bamboo.’ Most southern traditions are related to the historic ‘string’ genre of North China (xiansuo), a chamber music type well documented by the mid-Qing dynasty (c1800) but in performance before this. Among these traditions there has been a good amount of cross-cultural interaction over the years, notably between Chaozhou and Hakka peoples (many of their tunes and instruments are similar), between Hakka and Cantonese peoples (Hakka melodies have been adapted by Cantonese composers), and between Cantonese and Jiangnan peoples (the two highly urbanized regions of Hong Kong and Shanghai having shared musical ideas since the early 20th century). Sizhu-type music is generally played in homes and in music clubs for entertainment and self-cultivation, though Minnan musicians also sometimes perform at Buddhist temples and Jiangnan musicians play in the local teahouses. The regional repertories are based upon a group of old tunes called gupai (‘named tunes’), melodies derived from traditional opera and other song-types. Most widespread is Baban (“Eight Beat”), an instrumental gupai of 68 beats, organized in eight phrases. The Baban form has been extremely influential in South China, serving as a foundation for such famous pieces as Zhaojun Yuan (“Lament of Zhao Jun”), Hanya Xishui (“Winter ravens playing in the water”), Chushui Lian (“Emerging lotus blossoms”) and Ema Yaoling (“Hungry horse shaking its bells’).

Broadly speaking, the southern sizhu music may be contrasted with chuida (“blowing-hitting’) music, which is dominated by louder wind instruments and percussion. This type of music is found throughout China, each region possessing its own variants and names, such as Sunan chuida (southern Jiangsu province), Shandong guchui (‘drumming-blowing’), Xi’an guyue (‘drum music’, Shaanxi province), Chaozhou daluogu (‘great gong-drum’) and Taiwanese beiguan (‘northern pipe’). These types are usually employed to perform for outdoor celebrations and processions, such as funerals, calendrical rites and religious ceremonies. In most traditions, wind instruments dominate, typically with the guanzi reed-pipe and dizi flute, supported by the sheng mouth-organ, or in other ensembles with the suona shawm (with or without the sheng). Percussion instruments include cymbals, gongs and drums, and in North China sets of ‘cloud gongs’ (yunluo). The music itself tends to be ‘lively’ (qingkuat) in its movement and bright in tone colour.

In my own research on the ‘silk-bamboo’ traditions of South China, I have found several characteristics to be of particular interest. First, the widespread local belief among the Chaozhou, Hakka and Minnan that their music preserves styles and practices dating back to the Tang dynasty (618-907). In fact, some terminology and points of instrument design can be traced back to Tang sources, but there is no evidence of these exact musical traditions appearing before the early Ming period (1368-1662). Another belief among these cultures 1s that their music reflects the virtues of Confucian and other ancient ideologies. This I have found especially interesting because of the many different ways musicians have tried to explain this relationship: that five-piece ensembles, pentatonic modes and sometimes even certain phrase lengths are associated with (even determined by) auspicious Chinese numbers such as five and eight; that good embellishment style requires moderation and control (hanxu); that melodic variations should be realized in a spontaneous manner (ziran, a Daoist ideal); and, perhaps most important, that these traditional styles of music encourage virtuous behaviour (a specific Confucian goal). Chaozhou, Hakka and Minnan musicians indeed say that their refined music IS Confucian music (ruyue). The survival of these ancient ideologies in the musical traditions of coastal southeast China is the focus of my new book, Sizhu Instrumental Music of South China (E.J. Brill, 2008).

Alan R. Thrasher

University of British Columbia