浩淼太湖四万顷，文化盛事三千年。无锡，北依长江，南濒太湖，京杭大运河穿城而过，历史悠久，人文荟萃，物产丰饶，经济繁荣，素有“太湖明珠”之誉。无锡是中国吴文化、近代民族工商文化和现代乡镇企业文化的发祥地。凭着“尚德、务实、和谐、奋进”的城市精神，无锡先后获得国家历史文化名城、中国优秀旅游城市、全国科技进步先进市、中国十大最具经济活力城市等荣誉，成为现代化建设伟大征程上的一颗耀眼明珠。
无锡有声有色。其色称书画，自东晋顾恺之始，千余年来书画大家辈出，倪云林、吴观岱、徐悲鸿、吴冠中、程及等各领风骚，形成了特色鲜明、成就卓著的无锡画派。其声属二胡，周少梅、刘天华等改造传统形制、开启现代二胡的璀璨华章，华彦钧的《二泉映月》、刘天华的《光明行》、蒋风之的《汉宫秋月》等名曲倾倒了海内外的亿万民众，无锡二胡成为民族音乐的重要代表。
灿然夺目的无锡文化，植根于其深厚的历史人文底蕴。商朝末年，周太王长子泰伯三让天下，携其弟仲雍奔走江南、定居梅里，断发文身教化荆蛮，将先进的中原文化引入江南，成为江南始祖。此后，以“崇德、重文、务实、创新”为核心的吴文化逐渐形成，滋养了一代一代的无锡人，孕育了有声有色的无锡文化。
书画少放言，胡琴多显声。就感染力与大众性而言，无锡二胡更具代表性。刘天华、华彦钧、杨荫浏等音乐家，《二泉映月》、《光明行》、《空山鸟语》等二胡曲目，每一个都是现代无锡乃至中国一张响当当的名片，成为无锡文化乃至民族音乐的鲜明符号。
2011年，无锡被中国音乐家协会冠以“中国二胡之乡”的美誉。
现代二胡发源。纵观二胡历史，千百年来主要作为伴奏乐器存在，只有近80年来才作为独奏乐器为大众所喜爱。这一伟大变革即始于无锡顾山人周少梅，成于无锡澄江人刘天华。尤其是刘天华，在其师友周少梅改制的基础上，借鉴西洋音乐，进一步改革二胡结构，固音高，增宽音域，丰富弓法指法并把二胡艺术引入正规音乐院校，开启了现代二胡的新时代，在二胡发展史上具有划时代的意义。
名家名曲辈出。二胡成为独奏乐器不满百年，但名家名曲却不断涌现，其中无锡更是主角。现代二胡演奏技艺奠基人周少梅、中国“二胡三杰”中的华彦均和刘天华、“蒋派”二胡创始人蒋风之等都是无锡人，二胡的传世之作《二泉映月》、《光明行》、《空山鸟语》、《姑苏春晓》等都出自无锡人之手。新中国成立后，中国民乐界著名二胡演奏、作曲家闵慧芬、王建民、蒋巽风、蒋青，以及被誉为“二泉使者”的邓建栋等，也都是无锡人。名家名曲使无锡二胡艺术独领风骚，声名远播。
制作技艺高超。无锡梅村，古称梅里，史誉“至德名邦”、“句吴古都”，享有“江南第一古镇”的美称。半个多世纪以来，梅村以传承与发展二胡艺术、尤其是二胡制作技艺为己任，拥有万其兴、陆林生等多位声名远扬的二胡制作大师，梅村二胡销往全国乃至海外，在全国二胡制作行业有着举足轻重的地位。2010年，梅村被江苏省民间文艺家协会授予“江苏省二胡工艺之乡”。目前，梅村共聚集了10多家二胡制作工坊，年产各类二胡近4万把，占全国二胡市场份额的20-25%左右，年产值近3000万元，产业密集度居全国首位。
Wuxi:
Pearl of Lake Tai,Hometown for Erhu
Wuxi,embraced by the vast Lake Tai, and fostered by a Wu cultural tradition of over three thousand years,has developed distinctive natural and cultural features of its own.Lying south of the Yangtze River and north of Lake Tai,and with the Grant Canal running through it,Wuxi is a fertile land of abundance with rich rice and fishery produce,and has long enjoyed the reputation of "Pearl of Lake Tai".With its agricultural and fishery prosperity Wuxi emerged as one of the birthplaces of Chinese commerce and business in early 20th century, and developed a township enterprise culture of its own style.Advocating and practicing its city virtues of "Integrity,Diligence,Harmony,Endeavour",Wuxi has gained many national honors, such as “City of Splendid Culture and Historic Interest","China'sBest Tourist City”，“China's Leading Hi-tech Developing City","10 Top Cities with Fastest Economic Growth". Doubtlessly Wuxi is well on its way towards becoming a more charming modernized city, with its cultural and historical heritage as its most important development booster.
Wuxi is a place of “sound and color".“Color” is represented by its distinctive Wuxi style of artisticpainting and calligraphy,developed over a long history of more than one thousand years by famous Wuxi painters like Gu Kaizhi(345-406),Ni Yunlin(1301-1374),Wu Guandai(1862-1929),XuBeihong(1895-1953),Wu Guangzhong(1919-2010),Cheng Ji(1912-2005),etc."Sound” refers to its unique erhu music and musical instrument. Famous erhu musicians like Zhou Shaomei and Liu Tianhua greatly improved the construction of the traditional erhu instrument,paving the way for erhu becoming a modern musical art form. Among the best-known erhu pieces are Moon Reflected on the Second Spring composed by Hua Yanjun(1893-1950) the Blind Abing,Towards Brightness by Liu Tianhua (1895-1932), and Autumn Moon over the Imperial Palace of the Han Dynasty by Jiang Fengzhi(1908-1986).These erhu pieces have touched millions of people across China and all over the world.Wuxi erhu music and its composers and players,representative of Chinese folk music,have become an essential part of Chinese national music.
The glorious Wuxi culture was deeply rooted in its historical heritage.At the end of the Shang Dynasty(1600 BC-1046 BC),in order to give his royal throne to his youngest brother Jili,Taibo,the eldest son of King Zhoutai,along with another brother,Zhongyong,left Qishan,his hometown (in today's Shaanxi Province)in the west and headed for Jiangnan(South of Yangtze River)in the east and settled down in Meili (currently known as Meicun in Wuxi). They contributed their knowledge and wisdom to their new home Meili,and they founded a state named“Gouwu",from which Wu culture originated. Wu culture,characteristic of values like morality,love for arts,hard work and innovation,has influenced generations of Wuxi people,and cultivated a unique Wuxi culture of “sound and color".
Paintings remain silent while music talks. In terms of influence and popularity,erhu is a more epresentative art form for most Wuxi people.Famous Wuxi erhu musicians like Liu Tianhua,Blind Abing, and Yang Yinliu and their compositions Moon Reflected on the Second Spring, Towards Brightmness,and Birnd Singing in a Tranquil Valley have become gems of Wuxi culture and landmarks of modern Wuxi.
In 2011,Meicun,Wuxi was honorably dubbed "Home for Erhu".Prior to the 20th century,most huqin instruments including the erhu were used primarily to accompany various forms of local operas. It
was only about 80 years ago when it started to gain its place as a popular solo instrument due to the innovations about its construction and improvement on its playing techniques made by erhu pioneer musicians Zhou Shaomei from Gushan,Wuxi and his student Liu Tianhua from Chengjiang,Wuxi. Based on his teacher's efforts, Liu Tianhua did further innovative work over the instrument and immensely improved the sound quality of erhu. Along with his reformation of the structure of erhu, he fixed the tunes of erhu, broadened its range, and borrowed fingering techniques and bowing skills from the Western violin and applied them to erhu playing, making the erhu one of the most important national musical instruments, and erhu music the most essential national art form taught and learnt in state-run conservatories in China.Liu Tianhua's contribution to modern erhu and erhu music has been an epoch-making one and a whole new age of erhu started ever since.
Famous Erhu Musicians. The past 100 years have seen the rise of erhu musicians of high fame and reputation since the erhu got its place as a solo instrument, most of them were/are from Wuxi.The pioneer of modern erhu education Zhou Shaomei,two of the“Three Erhu Talents"Liu Tianhua and Hua Yanjun,the founding master of Jiang-style erhu music Jiang Fengzhi,were all from Wuxi.And best-known erhu pieces like Moon Reflected on the Second Spring,Towards Brightness,and Birds Singing in a Tranquil Valley, Spring Morning in Gusu were adapted or composed by Wuxi erhu composers.Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949,a whole generation of talented erhu players,Min Huifen,Wang Jianmin,Jiang Xunfeng,Jiang Qing,and Deng Jiandong the“Best Interpreter of Moon Reflected on the Second Spring"have been among the most renowned contemporary Wuxi musicians. Famous erhu musicians and music attached to Wuxi have made erhu a profoundly loved and widely practiced art form in Wuxi,in China,and across the world.
Superb Erhu Making Techniques.Meicun,Wuxi,with an ancient name Meili,was the place where Taibo first settled down and founded the State “Gouwu” or “Wu”。 Taibo and his state were judged by Confucius to be “a Man with Supreme Morality and a State with Highest Fame".And Meili (today's Meicun)has long been claimed as"the Number One Town of Historical Charm in South China".For the past 50 years,Meicun has gained its central place in the erhu making industry and well-known erhu making craftsmen such as Wan Qixing and Lu Linsheng have set up their own manufacturing workshops here;their erhu instruments are selling well within China and beyond.Meicun's erhu making industry accounts for a substantial part of the whole erhu making industry in China. In the year of 2011,Meicun was given the honor and title of "Home for Erhu Making in Jiangsu" by Jiangsu Association of Folk Artists.Now more than 10 erhu making factories in Meicun are annually turning out about 40,000 erhu instruments,accounting for a market share of 20%-25% of the whole industry in China,with an annual output value of 30,000,000RMB Yuan.No place in China has such a density of erhu manufacturers except Meicun.