The last 'Frontier Island' facing Taiwan
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CRI, December 27, 2011
This is the famous erhu solo "Two Springs Mirroring the Moon". It was written by noted composer and erhu musician Hua Yanjun, a blind street performer who is considered one of the most important Chinese musicians of the 20th century.
To mark the 60-year-anniversary of his musical career, a concert featuring the blind musician was held in his hometown in eastern China's Wuxi city. Sponsored by the China Association of the Blind, the concert has drawn musicians and officials from across China. Today we'll meet some of the participants at the concert and we'll tell you about the late musician whose life is a sad story.
Better known in China as Abing, Hua Yanjun was a blind musician specializing in the erhu, a two-stringed Chinese fiddle, and the pipa, a plucked instrument. He died in 1950 in Wuxi at the age of 57.
"Two Springs Mirroring the Moon" is Abing's most famous piece which was named after a spring in Wuxi. It is still played as a standard piece of erhu solo music in China.
The concert was held on October 21st at the concert hall of Wuxi's Museum of Chinese Traditional Music. Some of the top blind musicians from around China took part in the concert and performed well-known pieces by the late musician.
This is erhu player and blind educator Zhou Rongzu, performing a signature piece of Abing called "Listening to the Pine Trees". Zhou has been blind since a very young age. He has received a formal education and was trained to be a skilled musician in traditional Chinese music.
"Abing is a role model for blind people. I played this piece to pay a tribute to Abing for his indomitable spirit surmounting the hardships of life."
Abing was born in Wuxi in 1893. His father was a Taoist priest and his mother was a widow. Her re-marriage to a priest was resented by her family. She remained depressed and died a year after Abing's birth. Abing was raised by his extended family until the age of eight, when he went to live with his father at the temple and was sent to school.
Abing's father was proficient in a number of musical instruments and Taoist religious music. His father trained him in drums and the dizi, or the Chinese flute from the age of 10. Abing began learning the erhu at age 12, undergoing a rigorous set of training. At age 17, Abing first performed in religious ceremonies, and won acclaim for his musical talent, presentation, and voice.
The erhu can be traced back to instruments introduced into China more than a thousand years ago. Also known as the Chinese two-stringed fiddle, the erhu is a very versatile instrument. It is played as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles and large orchestras and is used in both traditional and contemporary music arrangements, such as in pop, rock, and jazz.
In 1914, upon the death of his father, Abing took charge of the temple along with his cousin. However, badly run operations at the temple, and an opium addiction, drove Abing into poverty. At the age of 34, he contracted syphilis and progressively lost sight in both his eyes. He became homeless and earned a living as an itinerant street performer. In 1939, he married Dong Caidi, a country widow from a nearby village.
After his marriage, Abing performed every afternoon in a public square in Wuxi. He became famous for incorporating topical issues into his music and songs, especially the Chinese people's war against Japanese aggresion. After the performance, he would walk through the city's streets, playing the erhu. This was a prolific period for Abing, and his most famous composition, "Two Springs Mirroring the Moon" was written and performed during this period.
One audience member at the concert is Li Zhijun, vice-chairman of the China Disabled Persons Federation and chairman of the China Association of the Blind. He speaks highly of Abing's musical achievements and the important role he plays in modern Chinese music history.
"Abing went through all the hardships of life. But he was a strong person who never bowed to destiny. He loves music and his music gives great enjoyment to the people. His signature pieces have become classics of Chinese erhu and pipa music. "Two Springs Mirroring the Moon" is regarded as one of the top string instrumental pieces in the world."
After the Japanese takeover of Wuxi, Abing travelled to Shanghai playing music for a local opera company. In 1939, he returned to Wuxi and his old routine. However, his musical current affairs commentary also irked the authorities, and after 1945 he was prohibited from singing about news items at his usual place of performance. In 1947, Abing suffered from a severe bout of lung disease. He stopped performing, and earned a living repairing musical instruments.
In the summer of 1950, two professors from China's Central Conservatory of Music travelled to Wuxi from Beijing to record Abing. By this time, Abing had not performed for almost three years. After three days' practice, and in two sessions, three erhu pieces and three pipa pieces were recorded. However, Abing's favourite piece, Meihua Sannong, or Plum Blossom Melodies, was not recorded when the team ran out of blank records.
The recording brought Abing wider acclaim, and in September he was offered a teaching position with China Central Conservatory of Music based in Beijing. However, he was by this time too sick to accept it, and died on December 4, 1950. He was buried in the graveyard of the temple where he was born. His wife also died three months later.
Another performer at the concert is blind musician and educator Diao Jinfu from Wuxi. He says Abing has composed a total of more than 270 pieces in his lifetime, including some Taoism religious music.
"Abing has carried forward the traditions of Chinese religious music. His Taoism music is considered to be an important piece of cultural heritage of the country. To preserve Chinese traditional culture, the best way of inheriting tradition is to develop the new from the old. That is what we have learned from Abing."
Gan Bolin is honorary chairman of the China Association of the Blind, the sponsor of the concert.
"Wuxi is the hometown of Abing. We are proud of him for he is one of the greatest musicians of the country."
Now to end this story we invite you to listen to Abing's most popular erhu piece "Two Springs Mirroring the Moon". Since it requires a special set of strings that are tuned lower than normal erhu strings, a unique kind of erhu is made especially to play this piece of music. It's called "the two-spring erhu". This piece we are going to listen to is the soundtrack from a recent TV drama featuring the life of the late musician. In the music, the erhu is accompanied by the orchestra.
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