Free Courses Keep Sanxian Strumming

--- SEARCH ---

Learn to Cook Chinese Dishes

Exchange Rates

Hotel Service

China Calendar

Hot Links

China Development Gateway

Chinese Embassies

Free Courses Keep Sanxian Strumming

It is not often these days that you see or even hear a traditional three-stringed Chinese musical instrument called sanxian (three strings). You won't find it in Chinese orchestras, and it is not included in popular Chinese ensembles like the 12 Girl's Band either.

The sanxian is still used in the more traditional quyi music. Quyi is a general term for various local folk performing arts in which speaking, chanting or both are used. It is also used in modern works by contemporary Chinese composers; for example, in Tan Dun's Mountain Song, Chen Qigang's San Xiao and Qu Xiaosong's Life on a String (Ming Ruo Qinxian).

But unfortunately, not many people listen to these two kinds of music, and many people today don't even know what a sanxian is.

"Sanxian is a representative instrument of the music culture of Beijing and Tianjin, but it is in decline now," said Xiao Jiansheng, one of the most distinguished sanxian players and a retired professor at the Beijing-based China Conservatory of Music.

That is the reason why Xiao started his cost-free amateur sanxian class for primary school students at the China Conservatory of Music in 1998.

Now 75, Xiao still teaches the class. Zhao Chengwei, an associate professor at the conservatory, is a co-founder and regular teacher of the class. Zhao used to be a student of Xiao, and Zhao's student Wang Lifeng, who is now a teacher at the Academy of Chinese Traditional Opera, also teaches for the class.

"We three generations of teachers volunteer to do this work because we do not want the sanxian to die out," said Zhao.

Unique place

The sanxian is a three-stringed plucked instrument with a python skin membrane stretched over a resonator made of padauk or red sandalwood.

Although the earliest written record of the instrument dates back to the 14th century, people believe it originated at a much earlier time.

The sanxian, known as the shamisen in Japan, uses a long, fretless fingerboard, which enables the player to produce a broad range of scales and slides. With its rich tonal quality, great volume and wide range, the sanxian has a unique place in Chinese music.

There are two types of traditional sanxian. The smaller, with a range of two and a half octaves, is used in some musical genres of the areas south of the Yangtze River, such as tanci (narrative singing in different dialects, of especially Shanghai, Jiangsu and Fujian) and nanyin (a traditional form of Chinese opera popular in southern Fujian Province).

The larger sanxian, with a range of three octaves, is used to accompany northern narrative singing forms such as jingyun dagu (narrative musical performances in Beijing dialect with drum accompaniment) and danxian (narrative chanting accompanied by sanxian and octagonal tambourine).

Xiao used to study with old folk musicians, and he has transcribed a great deal of sanxian music from various local forms of folk music.

To remedy the insufficiency of original sanxian works, Xiao and Zhao also adapted many pieces written for other instruments, and even foreign works, such as Mozart's "Turkey March" and Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Four Little Swans."

These are all included in the textbook that Xiao and Zhao have compiled for sanxian players.

"Sanxian is an instrument of strong personality but is lacking in harmonic potential," said Zhao.

That is probably the reason that led to its exclusion from Chinese orchestras, which in turn has discouraged people from studying the instrument.

Of the nine conservatories of music in China, only the China Conservatory, Central Conservatory, Xinghai Conservatory and Tianjin Conservatory still offer majors in sanxian.

In the China Conservatory of Music, there are now six students of sanxian, far less than the students of other Chinese instruments such as pipa (the four-stringed Chinese lute) and erhu (a two-stringed bowed instrument).

Fortunately, the free sanxian class for primary school students offered at the China Conservatory of Music is helping to expand the numbers of sanxian players.

Every Saturday morning and afternoon, about 30 students attend the three grades of free sanxian courses at the conservatory.

However, they have to pay a deposit of 500 yuan (US$60) in advance to guarantee that they will finish three years of study. Once they graduate from the class the deposit will be returned, but for each absence from class 20 yuan (US$2.40) will be deducted from the deposit, unless the student is ill or has to attend other school activities. Anyone who drops out of the course at any time over the three years will not be reimbursed, but deposits will be returned to those who have to quit because of failure in term examinations.

The lessons go on all through the year, except for two weeks at the time of the Spring Festival.

"I didn't know anything about sanxian before, but I thought it was a good chance for my child to study music free of charge," said Wang Zhongfang, the mother of Liu Ke, who is studying in the third grade of the sanxian class.

"I have found that practicing sanxian has helped my child's hand co-ordination."

Li Jianqqun, the father of Li Miao, said that practicing sanxian has improved his child's memory. In addition to playing sanxian, Li Miao also studies piano. Li Jianqun said that when the sanxian class is finished, he wants his daughter to continue to take private lessons.

Both Wang Zhongfang and Li Jianqun said they would be very happy if their children prove talented enough to enter a conservatory in the future, but will encourage them to study music regardless of their level of success.

"I send my daughter here to study sanxian not for any practical reasons, but to improve the quality of her life, for music is an important part of life," said Zhang Zhiqiang, father of 13-year-old Zhang Liangxiao.

In addition to sanxian, Zhang Liangxiao also plays flute, and she has just been enrolled in the No 20 Middle School of Beijing as a result of her flute playing ability. However, Zhang's father believes that she should also study a traditional Chinese instrument to keep in touch with Chinese culture.

Some students at the sanxian class are very talented.

Su Yanning and Jiang Mei, two graduates of the sanxian class, have been admitted to the middle school attached to the Academy of Chinese Traditional Opera to study sanxian. Another student of the class, Wang Peipei, is now studying at the middle school attached to the China Conservatory of Music.

Their proficiency in playing sanxian have helped many other students of the class get into key middle schools .

"Through the class, we hope not only to ensure a continuous stream of sanxian players, but also that more people will get to know about sanxian," said Xiao.

Xiao's hopes have already been realized, as students of the class introduce the sanxian to people around them when they perform in their schools.

Great plans

On October 31, 2002, all the students of the sanxian class took part in the Beijing Music Festival, performing in a concert of Chaozhou (in eastern Guangdong Province) music held at the Poly Theatre in Beijing.

With Zhao leading them, the children performed a work for sanxian ensemble titled "Eight Beats" (Da Baban) which is a classic in the Chaozhou repertoire.

To provide the sanxian students with an opportunity to continue their studies, Xiao and Zhao are now planning to open an advanced class for those who have finished the three years course. They will also put together a sanxian ensemble drawn from students of the advanced class.

However, the sanxian class is now facing a problem in attracting new students. Since the lessons are free, Xiao and Zhao have no money to advertise the class. They recruit students at present by going in person to nearby primary schools.

But this means that the class is known to the students and parents of a very limited number of primary schools. In addition, Xiao and Zhao are sometimes not welcomed by some schools, for the staff there do not know about their work and do not believe that they really offer lessons for free.

Lack of publicity is hindering development of the class. Only eight students were enrolled last year. However, teachers of the class said they will stick to their work regardless.

"We are now working to preserve the art of the guqin (a seven-stringed Chinese zither) because it was proclaimed by the UN to be a 'masterpiece of oral and intangible human heritage,' but why had we almost lost it in the first place?" said Xiao. "I hope that we won't wait until the sanxian is on the verge of extinction before we move to preserve it."

(China Daily June 30, 2004)