The Chinese Zheng Zither

Contemporary Transformations

Sun Zhuo

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781472416674
• eBook ISBN: 9781351892964
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Classical Music

The zheng zither is one of the most popular instruments in contemporary China. It is commonly regarded as a solo instrument with a continuous tradition dating back to ancient times. But in fact, much of its contemporary solo repertory is derived from several different regional folk ensemble repertories of the mid-twentieth century. Since the setting up of China's modern conservatories, the zheng has been transformed within these new contexts of professional music-making. Over the course of the twentieth century, these regional folk repertories were brought into the performance traditions of modern regional zheng schools. From this basis, a large new zheng repertory was created by conservatory musicians, combining aspects of Western classical music with folk music materials. With the 'opening up' of China's economy since the 1980s, the zheng has been brought into the wider stage of international music-making which includes contemporary art music compositions by overseas based Chinese composers and commercial world music works by Western composers. Through a series of case studies, this book explores how the transformation of the Chinese zheng has constantly responded to its changing social context, critiquing the long-standing arguments concerning 'authenticity' in the development of tradition. This work arises out of, and reflects on, the research methodologies known as performance as research. As an insider to the tradition, brought up within China's zheng society, a trained and practising zheng performer, this study is largely drawn from the author's own experiences of practising and performing the music in question; her study also draws on fieldwork, as well as primary and secondary written sources in Chinese and English. This book is accompanied by downloadable resources which contain audio visual materials relating to the author's fieldwork and zheng performances by different zheng musicians.

Chapter 1

An Overview of the Zheng

Construction and Historical Evolution

The zheng is a half-tube-shaped plucked zither with moveable bridges. In most sources, the introduction to the zheng begins with the well-quoted earliest historical record from Sima Qian’s Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian), in which the zheng is introduced as an indigenous folk instrument of the Qin¹ area in the Warring States period (475-221 BCE) (Cao 1981: 2). Many Chinese scholars have seen this as evidence that the zheng originated from the Qin (Jiao 2002: 9; Zhongguoyinyue cidian 1985: 501). However, archaeological finds in some tombs in the southern provinces have dated the zheng back to the earlier time of the Spring and Autumn Period, 800-700 BCE (Xiang 1999: 14). The problem of the origin of the zheng remains open to further research and discoveries.

The evolution of the instrument through history has been reviewed by several scholars (Cao 1981: 3-11; Rault-Leyrat 1987: 161-84; Chen Yanzhi 1991: 45-100; Cheng 1991: 1-15; Kao 2003: 34-9). According to these studies, the early form of the zheng in the Warring States period had only five strings, and the body of the instrument was made of bamboo. During the third century CE, the instrument took the form of a square wooden soundbox with a convex upper-board and a flat baseboard. This zheng had 12 strings, each supported by a moveable bridge. It was a popular instrument used in folk ensemble music. By the time of the Sui (581-618 CE) and Tang (618-907 CE) periods, one more string was added to the zheng to make 13 and the zheng was used in both court music and popular music in various performance forms, including as a solo instrument, to accompany singing, as well as in the court orchestral music yanyue (banquet music). At this time, the soundbox was made of paulownia wood; the head and the tail of the zheng were decorated with brocades, silver and ivory. More strings were added to the zheng during the following dynasties: 14 during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), 15 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and by the time of late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) the 16-stringed zheng came into being. It is notable, however, that the 13-string zheng continued to be used in some parts of China well into the twentieth century. Until the 1940s various forms of the zheng existed in different regions. The 15- and 16-stringed zhengs were more popular in southern and eastern regions such as Zhejiang, Fujian and Chaozhou, whereas in northern Henan and Shandong the 13-stringed zheng was commonly used. At the time, the construction of the instrument also differed locally; the size of the zheng ranged from 110 cm to 160 cm in different regions (Van Gulik 1951: 10; Cheng 1991: 245; Tan 2008: 20-23).

However the basic form of the zheng was consistent across these different regions. The soundbox is rectangular, made of paulownia wood. Its upper soundboard is slightly curved, and the baseboard is flat. Strings are tied onto little staves of bamboo or bone underneath the string holes on the head, crossing the soundbox, and are wound around the tuning pegs stand at the tail of the zheng.² There are two unmovable straight yueshan (ridges) standing at the head and the tail of zheng; together with the movable bridges they function to support the strings. Both yueshan and movable bridges are normally made of hardwood with bone inlayed on top. The pitch can be adjusted both by moving the bridges to the left or the right and by turning the pegs. There is a rectangular soundhole at the baseboard in the middle. Figures 1.1 and 1.2 show the overall structure of the 16-stringed zheng.

Figure 1.1 16-stringed zheng, front view

Source: Van Gulik (1951), annotated by the author.

Figure 1.2 16-stringed zheng, side view

Source: Van Gulik (1951), annotated by the author.

In ancient times strings were mainly made of silk. Copper strings appeared in the Qing period (1644). By the early twentieth century, both types of strings were used by various forms of zheng (Van Gulik 1951: 11; Cheng 1991: 261-2; Tan 2008: 23). Traditionally, the zheng was played on a little table, or on the lap, but by the 1940s a pair of light wooden stands was also used (Van Gulik 1951: 11; Tan 2008: 24).

Since the 1950s, a series of reforms to the construction of the zheng have been introduced by instrument factories in consultation with master zheng players. For example, during the 1950s Cao Zheng³ and instrument engineers in the Lu Xun Art Academy increased the number of strings on the zheng to 18 and 19. They used steel strings, and replaced the wooden hand-tied tuning pegs with metal ones with a tuning lever. In 1957, together with Zhao Yuzhai,⁴ Shenyang Conservatory music factory first created a zheng with 21 strings (Cheng 1991: 245; Han 2000: 37).

The most commonly used form of the 21-stringed zheng today (see Figure 1.3) was designed by Xu Zhenggao of Shanghai minzu yueqichang (Shanghai National Musical Instruments Factory) in 1962 (Cheng 1991: 255; Han 2000: 37; Tan 2008: 27).

Figure 1.3 21-stringed modern zheng

Source: So (1985), annotated by the author.

The reformed modern zheng retains the basic form of a rectangular soundbox with a slightly curved upper board. It has 21 strings, with a range of four octaves, pentatonically tuned. The soundbox measures about 163 cm long by 6.5 cm high and 36.2 cm wide. The upper board is made of paulownia wood; the baseboard can be made of paulownia wood, elm, catalpa or boxwood; various types of hardwood, for example rosewood and sandalwood, are attached on the sides of the zheng. Three wooden frames are added inside the soundbox: at the head, in the middle and at the tail. They function both to strengthen the soundbox and to transfer the sound more efficiently between the upper board and the baseboard (Tan 2008: 28). Strings are made of steel wrapped with nylon. The diameter of the strings measures between 0.23 mm for the highest-pitched string to 1.62 mm for the lowest (Fan 1989: 8). In order to even up the tension on the strings, the left yueshan is S-shaped. Twenty-one steel tuning pegs are inserted horizontally inside the headbox. There are three soundholes on the baseboard.

There are also specially designed stands for the zheng to sit on. These are of two main types: banshi jia (board-style stands; Figure 1.4), which consist of three pieces of wooden board, and dengshi jia (stool-style stands; Figure 1.5), which comprise two separate stands.

Figure 1.4 Zheng stands - board-style stands (banshi jia)

Source: Author.

Apart from the reform of the 21-stringed pentatonic zheng, since the 1960s there have been constant attempts to produce a zheng which is capable of modulating freely. Over the years, many forms of the modulating zheng have been developed (see Cheng 1991: 246-55; Han 2000: 38-42; Tan: 37-43); however, due to shortcomings such as lack of pitch accuracy, contradictions with established zheng playing techniques and being overly heavy, the modulating zheng has not been generally used in zheng education and performance.

Figure 1.5 Zheng stands - stool-style stands (dengshi jia)

Source: Author.

Review of Western-language Studies of the Zheng

The zheng has been studied by scholars worldwide, and they have contributed valuable monograph studies in different languages. I will briefly review some of the English-language studies of the zheng (along with Lucie Rault-Leyrat’s study in French).

Van Gulik’s article ‘Brief Note on the Cheng, the Chinese Small Cither’ (1951) provides an early English-language study of the zheng. In it, Van Gulik introduces the construction and playing techniques of the zheng at that time. Drawing on historical literature and poetry, he also discusses the origin and historical development of the instrument. In the section ‘Present Condition of Cheng Music, and Future Possibilities’ (Van Gulik 1951: 23-5), based on his own observations in China, he discusses the situation of the zheng in the 1940s. Van Gulik divides zheng musicians of the time into two groups according to their different approaches to performance on the instrument. One is the ‘renaissance school’, which mainly played traditional tunes and tunes from the qin (seven-stringed zither) repertoires on the zheng. Musicians such as Shi Yinmei⁵ and Wei Ziyou⁶ are considered to belong to this school. The other is the ‘renovation school’, which not only played traditional tunes, but also composed new pieces for the zheng. Liang Zaiping⁷ is regarded as the leader of this school due to his contribution of new zheng compositions and innovative use of notation for the zheng. Van Gulik’s view of change was optimistic (1951: 23). He concluded the article by discussing the prospects for the zheng’s future development in comparison with the qin, claiming:

It may be stated that the revival of the cheng augurs well for the future. The ch’in [qin], the seven stringed lute, will always be the most perfect, and technically most developed, Chinese musical instrument. … Its character is such, however, that it must always remain limited to a comparatively small circle of connoisseurs, while the volume of sound produced is so small that it can never be enjoyed by a large audience. The cheng, on the other hand, may serve a double purpose. First, i...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Supplementary Resources Disclaimer
• List of Figures
• List of Music Examples
• DVD Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction: Points of Departure
• 1 An Overview of the Zheng
• 2 The Zheng within Folk Ensemble Contexts: A Case Study of Henan Dadiao Quzi
• 3 Transition: Forming the Solo Zheng Repertoire and Practice
• 4 Creating a Tradition: The Qinzheng School in Xi’an
• 5 Contemporary Zheng Music and Practice in an International Setting Background: New Music and the Zheng
• Conclusion: Regional–National–International: Twentieth-century Transformations of the Chinese Zheng
• Appendix A: Biographies
• Appendix B: Research-related Performances and Projects
• Bibliography
• Discography
• Glossary
• Index