Yaji 15^th February 2004

This, the 6^th yaji of the London Youlan Qin Society, was our first gathering for 2004.

Venue

Sarah Moyse's house, London TW1.

Attendees

Susan Altabet
Chen Jinwei - played Ao Ai^# and Xiao Xiang Shui Yun^#
Chen Yimeng
Bryant Chen
Cheng Yu - played Jiu Kuang* and Ping Sha Luo Yan^#
Stephen Dydo - played Shishang Liu Quan⁺ and Yu Lou Chun Xiao*
Charlie Huang - played Yangguan San Die* and Sakura Sakura*
Dan Nung Ing - played Dongting Qiu Si*
Julian Joseph - played Fan Cang Lang⁺
Yoshiko Joseph
Chim Lim
Sarah Moyse
Peter Sahota
Marnix Wells - played Jiu Kuang*
Zhu Wencheng - played Qiu Ye Chang*, Changmen Yuan^#, Feng Lei Yin*, Yu Lou Chun Xiao*, Ping Sha Luo Yan*

* Played on a reproduction Tang style qin made by Ma Weiheng with silk strings
^#Played on a qin made by Li Guangyi with steel/nylon strings
⁺Played on a qin made by Pei Jinbao with steel/nylon strings

The Mei'an school of qin playing

Zhu Wencheng

In the China of the 1920's, there was conflict between traditional Chinese culture and Western ideas, such as socialism. The issues were the subject of much debate at Beijing University. It was at this time that Cai Wenpei began to teach the qin there, as did Wang Qinghui of the Shandong Zhucheng school.

Wang Yanqing, also of Shandong, was invited by Kang Youwei to teach qin on the Mei'an campus of Nanjing Normal University. He had many students, of whom the best known were Xu Lisun and Shao Dasu. After Wang Yanqing's death, Xu Lisun edited his scores into a collection called the Mei'an Qinpu (Mei'an Qin Handbook). The Mei'an qin school was named after the campus at which it was taught. After liberation, Shao Dasu moved to Taiwan.

The Mei'an qin school has two branches: one, headed by Xu Lisun, in mainland China; the other, headed by Shao Dasu, in Taiwan. Liu Chicheng, Zhu Wencheng's teacher, is the last surviving student of Xu Lisun. He is currently planning to set up a Mei'an qin society and research academy in Anhui province.

The Mei'an Qinpu contains 15 pieces, mostly inherited from the Shandong Zhucheng repertoire, with some thought to have been composed by Wang Yanqing. Wang Yanqing is said to have transcribed Qiu Ye Chang (The Long Autumn Night) from a pipa piece. This is a typical Mei'an style piece which is not performed by players of other schools, so Zhu Wencheng played it for us. One piece, Yueshang Wutong (Moon over the Paulownia Tree), was composed by Xu Lisun.

Ornamentation in Mei'an style playing differs from that of other styles. Finger techniques are often fast and lively, showing a "martial" spirit, but can on occasion be gentle. This sort of range is typical of Northern schools, and contrasts with the more subdued Southern styles such as Yangzhou or Yushan. There is heavy use of techniques such as lun [3 grace notes played in rapid succession using fingers].

Older Zhucheng players tended to play rather fast. Xu Lisun used to play much faster than Liu Chicheng. Perhaps this is a characteristic of the Shandong Zhucheng style, but there are very few historical recordings. Liu used to play quickly too, but in recent years has slowed down substantially, and this is reflected in the way he now teaches his students to play. Liu sometimes says "Wen qu wu tan; wu qu wen tan" (When playing a civil style piece you must have a martial spirit; when playing a martial style piece you must have a civil spirit). Zhu Wencheng illustrated these points by playing Changmen Yuan (Lament in the Changmen Palace), regarded as a typical Mei'an piece. This piece in particular is played much more slowly nowadays.

An electric qin

Stephen Dydo

On a previous visit to the UK, Stephen Dydo brought a qin he had made himself in New York. It was built according to traditional principles. This time, he brought a qin which is very different: it is constructed from a single, solid block of maple wood. It has no sound box... instead, it has a set of magnetic pickups near the bridge (yueshan). Sound is produced when the steel strings vibrate within the magnetic field they generate, and the resulting electrical signal is amplified, as in an electric guitar. Of course some sound is produced, but the volume is quite low, though it sounds surprisingly full when played on a resonant table. Stephen said it is ideal for practising in a hotel room without disturbing the neighbours! It goes without saying, then, that it cannot be used with silk strings. He said that when used with an amplifier, it sounds remarkably qin-like (and in this respect is a bit of a failure!), though one cannot hear the rubbing of nail and flesh against the strings. His next project will be to build a 2/3 or 3/4 size version, which he expects to have a more "electric guitar-like" sound. We look forward to seeing (and hearing) the result.