古乐新声 二胡流变
The History and Evolution of Erhu
二胡是中国民乐的代表性乐器之一，起源甚早，名噪当今。
As one of the earliest instruments in ancient China, today's popularly known erhu has undergone an evolution of more than one thousand years.
名称的由来：二胡古称胡琴，也出现过奚琴、嵇琴的称名，早在唐朝就已出现。岑参《白雪歌送武判官归京》诗云“中军置酒饮归客，胡琴琵琶与羌笛”。元朝，伴随着蒙古族入主中原，胡琴随之传播开来，到明清时期，胡琴已被广泛使用于戏曲伴奏和乐器合奏中。晚清、民国时期，开始出现“二胡”的名称，但很长时间里南胡、二胡、二嗡子、胡琴等多个名称共存。近现代以来，随着周少梅、刘天华等人改创二胡形制、开启现代二胡艺术的新时代，“二胡”逐步取代了其他名称，成为该乐器的专属称谓。
Erhu's Early Names：The earliest recorded name for erhu was huqin,which can be traced far back to the Tang Dynasty.Along with huqin,the names xiqin and jiqin were once used.The famous poet Cen Shen in the Tang Dynasty even mentioned the huqin in his frontier poem“In Memory of Wupanguan Leaving for the Capital on a Snowy Day".Two lines from this poem read:“For the leaving guest,a banquet was being arranged,the huqin,pipa and Qiang Flute were being played".In the Yuan Dynasty the Mongolians conquered Central China,to this place huqin was introduced from Central Asia. In the Ming and Qing dynasties,huqin was played widely and was made an accompaniment instrument in an orchestra. In Late Qing Dynasty and at Minguo(Republic of China)time,the name erhu started to be used and get popular.However,nanhu, erwengzi and huqin were used alternatively with erhu at that time. From early 20th century,with the innovative work done by great erhu musicians like Zhou Shaomei and Liu Tianhua about erhu's shape, structure and playing,the erhu began to embrace a new stage of modernity,and ever since then the name “erhu"started to get exclusively established for the instrument and music.
二胡的形制：宋代陈旸在其《乐书》中记载了早期的二胡形制：“奚琴，本胡乐也，出于弦鼓，而形亦类焉，奚部所好之乐也。盖其制，两弦间以竹片轧之。”从书中绘图来看，当时的琴弦位置与现在正好相反。明代《麟堂秋宴图》中胡琴的形制与现代二胡已非常接近。民国时期，周少梅与二胡制作师傅将二胡加长至90厘米，奠定了现代二胡的形制。
Erhu's Form and Structure：Chen Yang (1064-1128),a musician and scholar of the Song Dynasty,described xiqin,the early form of erhu,in his An Encyclopedic Treatise on Music: “Xiqin was originally a member of huqin musical instruments, made and loved by Xi people(a nomadic ethnic tribe from Central Asia).It was adapted from the stringed drum,which xiqin resembled in appearance. Its construction was characteristic of two strings tightened by a bamboo board.”From the picture of xiqin in the book,we may see that the strings were positioned differently from today's erhu.In A Banquet Held in Lin's Family on an Autumn Day,a famous painting by You Ziqiu in the Ming Dynasty,huqin looked very much like today's erhu.In Minguo,Zhou Shaomei worked with erhu makers and extended erhu to 90 centimeters in length,and thus got the modern erhu established in form and structure.
二胡的弓弦：北宋沈括《梦溪笔谈》记载“马尾胡琴随汉东，曲声犹自怨单于”，当时已用马尾张于琴弓。解放前，二胡用弦基本都是丝弦。1950年以后试用小提琴弦，逐步普及使用钢丝弦。1960年以后普遍使用二胡专用的钢丝弦。
Erhu's Bow and Strings：In The Dream Pool Essays, written by Shen Kuo(1031-1095),a polymath and scientist in the Northern Song Dynasty,the author once recorded the using of the horsehair for the bow of huqin:“A Handong(East of Hanjiang River) huqin with horsehair bow playing a song of grief and resentment over Chanyu". Before 1949, erhu strings were made from silk.After 1950,violin strings were chosen as the strings of erhu,and gradually steel strings were found to be the most suitable alternative to replace the fragile silk strings. After the 1960s,specifically developed steel strings for erhu were widely used.
二胡的地位：长期以来，二胡在音乐演奏中的地位并不突出，多用于伴奏。民国时期，刘天华在周少梅“三把头”改创的基础上，借鉴西方乐器的演奏手法和技巧，将二胡扩展到五个把位，使二胡从民间伴奏乐器成为独奏乐器。新中国成立以后，二胡音乐大放异彩，成为民族音乐的杰出代表。
Erhu's Status：For a long time,the erhu had not been given an important position in a concert, it had long been an accompaniment instrument in an orchestra.In Minguo time,Liu Tianhua, prompted by his teacher's reformative work of expanding the range of erhu to three positions, further broadened the registral range of the musical instrument to five hand positions; besides,Liu tried hard to improve erhu's playing techniques by applying what he had learnt from the playing of the Western violin, thus making it a solo instrument from a folk instrument which used to accompany singers or local operas before his time.After 1949,erhu music,becoming representative of modern Chinese national music,greeted its heyday.
二胡的构造：二胡为弓弦乐器，由琴杆、琴轴、琴筒、琴弦、千斤、琴弓、琴托、琴码、音垫等部件构成。琴杆一根，为硬木支撑体。琴轴两个，用以定弦、调弦。琴筒有分圆形、扁圆形、八角形、六角形等多种样式，琴筒一侧蒙有蟒皮，另一侧嵌有镂空木板。琴弦两根，今多用钢丝弦。千斤又称千金，对二胡琴弦起固定和切弦作用。琴弓由竹制弓杆与马尾弓毛组成。琴码是琴弦与蟒皮之间振动的媒介。琴托是琴身底托，有两只螺丝用来固定琴弦。音垫位于琴码下面，主要解决二胡的“狼音”，消除二胡的空旷音，使之集中、丰满。演奏时，马尾弓毛置于二弦之间拉弦振动，左手定位取音，琴筒共鸣出声。
Erhu's Construction：Erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument. It mainly consists of a neck,two tuning pegs, a sound box (a resonator body), two strings, a nut, a bow,a base,a bridge and a pad. The neck is a supporting vertical post made of hard wood, at the top of which are two tuning pegs,by which erhu is tuned, and at the bottom is the sound box(a resonator body) which is covered with a piece of stretched python skin on the front (playing) end, and a piece of carved wooden board on the back end. The sound box can be of a cylindrical,or flat-round, or hexagonal,or octagonal shape.The two strings,preferably made of steel,are straightened from the pegs to the base. The nut (a small loop of string), also called qianjin, placed around the neck and the strings, guarantees the stability of the strings and ensures the rapidness of tuning and transposition.The bow is composed of a bow stick, made from bamboo and a bow hair made from the white horsehair. The wood bridge mediates the vibration between the strings and the python skin.The base,a piece of wood attached to the bottom of the sound box, functions to fix the strings with screws, and to provide a smooth surface on which to rest on the leg.The pad,a piece of sponge,felt or cloth placed between the strings and skin below the bridge is to improve its sound through eradicating the “wolf tone” and making the sound richer and more pleasant to the ear. The erhu is played by the right hand moving the bow horizontally over the two vertical strings while the left hand alters the pitch of the strings by pressing on them at the desired points, its characteristic sound is produced through the vibration of the python skin by bowing.
二胡的特色：二胡在所有民族乐器中具有最肖人声、极善表现的独到之处。小泽征尔曾感动地坚持跪着听完《二泉映月》，二胡独特的表现力与感染力可见一斑。
Erhu's Sound Features：Among all the traditional Chinese musical instruments,the erhu resembles a human voice most vividly and expressively.Seiji Ozawa,the famous Japanese conductor,once was deeply touched by the erhu piece Moon Reflected on the Second Spring and knelt down through his listening to it. This is a very revealing example of the unique expressiveness of erhu as a musical instrument.
★如丝如缕，绵延不绝。弓弦乐器拉弦取音，发音连续不断，若冰蚕抽丝，徐徐入耳。其内外变化、音高起伏、节奏转换尽在一缕音线之上，一气呵成，天衣无缝。就此特点而言，可与西乐小提琴媲美。其所奏之诸乐曲常能使人一听即迷、欲舍不能，萦萦绕绕，念兹在兹。若就缚人心神而言，其他民族乐器鲜有如斯者。
☆Fine and Haunting.Just like all the other bowed stringed musical instruments,the erhu produces sounds by bowing,making the tune linger and never fade,which is lasting and pleasant to the ear.The pitch vibrates up and down melodically and the tune line may get very thin but remain emotionally rich. And this effect could be hard to be achieved by violin.Erhu music can be so charming that once the audience is touched by it,it will never be lifted from their mind.Erhu is unique in the expression of people's affectionate feelings.
★善肖人声，能模物语。由于二胡是弦振蟒皮发声，音有肉味，且有走弦取音、绰注声调的特点，因此能模仿各种发声。据传，华彦钧即善于模仿各种鸡鸣鸟叫，男女欢笑甚至无锡土白话，常用二胡与其徒弟对话。《空山鸟语》、《赛马》等曲更是发挥这一特点，情趣盎然。当代二胡名家闵惠芬更是探索二胡器乐人声化，能用二胡模仿京剧唱腔，惟妙惟肖，颇得梨园好评。
☆Imitative of human and animal sounds. Erhu resembles animal sounds as well as human voices. The human voice-like sound is produced by the python skin covered resonator,the bowing and the fingering techniques.It is believed that Hua Yanjun was skillful at imitating cocks'crowing and birds' chirping, women and men's talking and laughing, even Wuxi vernacular,and always talked with his students with erhu. Birds singing in a Tranquil Valley and Horse Race are good examples of the imitative nature of the erhu instrument.The most notable erhu player Min Huifen creatively imitated Peking Opera's tune,which was remarkably true to life,and for this she was highly praised by masters of Peking Opera.
★触发心声，表现力强。基于前述特点，二胡最能描摹心境。因此，一听二胡之音，就会使人倍觉亲切，有对面晤言之感。常言“知音难得”，若用二胡表达则情感交流就没有多大障碍了。一曲《二泉映月》，即便没有音乐基础、情感准备，也能使人清晰地感受到丝丝叹息与顽强抗争的意味。而《病中吟》则能使人一听即有不忍又难却的复杂感受。
☆Affecting and expressive.Thanks to the above-mentioned traits,the erhu is capable of depicting man's emotional world. Once you listen to an erhu playing,you will feel like talking with a friend,and in this occasion erhu will be your soul mate when it is hard to get an understanding friend in the human world. You can intensely feel the sorrow and struggle in the touching piece Moon Reflected on the Second Spring even though you have no knowledge of musicology and not in a ready mood for it.And you may get struck by a complex feeling of unbearable suffering and sheer tenacity in the Sigh of Ailment.