Jiangnan sizhu (Wu Chinese pronunciation:[koŋnøsɨd̥zoʔ]) is a style of traditional Chinese instrumental music from theJiangnan region ofChina.[1][2]
The nameJiangnan sizhu (simplified Chinese:江南丝竹;traditional Chinese:江南絲竹;pinyin:Jiāngnán sīzhú) is made up of two parts.Jiangnan is the traditional name for the area south of the lower reaches of theYangtze river in southernJiangsu,Shanghai, and northernZhejiang.Sizhu, literally "silk and bamboo", refers to string and wind musical instruments,silk being the traditional material from which strings have historically been made in China, and bamboo being the material from which the Chinese flutes such as thedizi andxiao are made. The termsizhu by extension also came to refer to instrumental music in general, especially that played indoors. Othersizhu traditions also exist, particularly along China's southeastern coastal regions ofFujian andGuangdong.
Sizhu is a 20th-century term that refers to the folk ensembles that first appeared in the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911/12) dynasties and have continued to the present day.[3] Many regional variants exist, but the most influential has been the Jiangnan sizhu, which in the 19th century became established south of the Yangtze River, especially in the cities of southeast Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang provinces. By the early part of the 20th century, Shanghai had become the centre of sizhu activities; the city's elite organized numerous amateur clubs that played for social functions and for their own entertainment. The Shanghai sizhu became the basis of the modern Chinese orchestra in the mid-20th century.
Instruments typically used inJiangnan sizhu include plucked, bowed, strummed and struck string instruments; flutes and sometimes also mouth organs; and small percussion instruments. The most commonly used instruments are:
Several other instruments sometimes are also used:
As in anIrish traditional music session, the instrumentation is not fixed, and so may vary according to the musicians who are available for a particular performance. Usually only one of each instrument is used, and an ensemble can range from as few as two to as many as ten or more musicians, with theerhu,dizi orxiao,pipa, andyangqin being the core instruments. Players may sometimes switch instruments between pieces.
At the centre of the repertory are the Eight Great Pieces (Ba Da Qu, 八大曲) or Eight Great Famous Pieces (Ba Da Mingqu, 八大名曲):
The repertoire is based on old melodies such as "Lao Liu Ban" (Old Six Beats), also called "Lao Ba Ban" (Old Eight Beats).[4] These were elaborated to create new pieces such as "Zhong Hua Liu Ban" (Moderately Ornamented Six Beats), the latter of which is the most important piece of all the pieces derived from "Lao Liu Ban" (Old Six Beats) (Jones 276).
These are other pieces that are played byJiangnan sizhu music clubs. It includes pieces that were originally instrumental solos, music from narrative genres, andsizhu pieces from Jiangnan and other areas.
NewJiangnan sizhu compositions include:
Jiangnan sizhu is generally considered to be a folk tradition rather than a professional one, and is most often performed by amateurs. It is typically performed in informal gatherings, often attea houses. By the mid-20th century, it had also entered the curriculum of China's conservatories, where it continues to be performed bylarge ensembles of traditional instruments in fully scored arrangements.
In the second half of the 20th century, a quartet from China playingJiangnan sizhu repertoire as well as newly composed pieces comprised four men:dizi playerLu Chunling (1921–2018),pipa player Ma Shenglong (马圣龙, 1934–2003),yangqin player Zhou Hui (周惠, 1922–2011), anderhu player Zhou Hao (周皓, 1929-2023).[5] They brought the style to new audiences and performed together for many years.
Shanghai opera, which was developed in the mid-20th century, has a musical style and accompaniment that is closely related toJiangnan sizhu.