古典乐器-中英文对照-琵琶

A brief history of the pipa, a traditional Chinese music instrument
The pipa (pronounced "pee-paa") is a four-stringed lute, one of the oldest Chinese musical instruments with over 2000 years of history.
The term pipa () consists of two Chinese characters symbolizing two playing techniques (denoted as "Tan" and "Tiao" today) while their pronunciations p'i and p'a are imitations of the sounds produced accordingly. The latter fact is however not often
mentioned in the literatures about the pipa (see Note )
The historical development of the pipa has been a progressive process from its very beginning with few major fusions. The earliest Chinese written texts about the pipa dated back at least to the second century BC. For instance, Xi Liu of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD) described in his book, The Definition of Terms - On Musical Instruments, that the name of the instrument pipa originally referred to two finger techniques. The two Chinese characters p'i and p'a stood originally for the two movements, i.e. plucking the strings forwards and backwards, respectively. It is commonly known now that the term "pipa" used to be the generic name for all pluck-string instruments of the ancient times. For instance, in the Qin Dynasty (222-207 BC), there had been a kind of plucked-instrument, known as xiantao, with a straight neck and a round sound-body played horizontally, which is considered one of the predecessors of the pipa. In the preface to his verse Ode to Pipa, Xuan Fu of the Jin Dynasty (265-420 AD) wrote: "...the pipa appeared in the late Qin period. When the people suffered from being forced to build the Great Wall, they played the instrument to express their resentment". By the Han Dynasty (206 BC -- 220 AD), the instrument developed into its form of four strings and twelve frets,
plucked with fingernails and known as pipa or qin-pipa
(see Fig.1[1]. In the Western Jin Dynasty (256-316), the qin-pipa was named after the famous scholar, one of "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove", Ruan Xian, who was a great master on this instrument. (Note that Ji Kong, grand master of the seven stringed zither qin, was among the seven sages who often met for music and wine). The instrument has been to this day called the ruan()
whereas the name pipa specifically referred to a new version in the same family of instruments, which developed as follows:
Fig.1: Historical development of the pipa, a Chinese four stringed lute - an illustration of the time evolution from
"qin-pipa" to the modern pipa through the influence of
"hu-pipa" (See the Note on the right panel for detailed explanation of the major fusion).
During the Northern and Southern Dynasty (420-589 AD), a similar pluck string instrument, called oud or barbat with a crooked neck and four or five strings was introduced through the Silk Road from Central
Asia, known as the Hu Pipa (Hu stands for "foreign" in Chinese), which was played horizontally with a wooden plectrum (see the picture below for the Tang Dynasty pipa player). During the early Tang Dynasty, foreign music became very popular. A fusion of the original Chinese pipa and the "Hu pipa" took place such that the instrument gradually became what the present pipa looks like toward the middle of the Tang Dynasty (see the above Fig.1 [1]-[4] and the
Note on the right panel). Meanwhile the playing method has been developed and repertoire increased. One of the greatest developments was that the left hand became totally free by holding the instrument vertically, i.e. the pipa rests on the thigh of the instrumentalist in an upright position, and was played vertically with five fingers of the right hand instead of horizontally with a plectrum (see the photo at the top of this page).
During the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), the pipa was one of the most popular instruments, and it has maintained its appeal in solo as well as chamber genres ever since
Another big change (fusion) occurred to the pipa during the first half of the last century: the traditional pipa with silk strings and pentatonic tuning has developed into the modern pipa with steel strings and chromatic tuning (by increasing the number of frets). The modern instrument is half-pear-shaped, with a short, bent neck, and has 30 frets which extend down the neck and onto the soundboard, giving a wide range and a complete chromatic scale. The usual tuning is A - E - D - A (La - Mi - Re - La). Since early last century, steel strings began to be used by some musicians while most still kept using silk strings.
Since the 1950s, the making of the pipa has become standardized in measure and the strings are made of steel wrapped with nylon. Thus using the real nail becomes almost impossible. Instead, a little plectrum (or fake nail) is attached to each finger of the right hand. The plectrums are usually made of turtle shell or special plastics. Notation for the pipa combines symbols for pitch (Kung-ch'e system) with abbreviated characters for special finger techniques. Today, a simplified version of music scores are commonly used in which numbers representing pitches and symbols representing finger techniques are used. Meanwhile, the standard Western music score has been used increasingly because it has advantages in ensemble pieces and in particular for pipa concertos There was a huge repertoire of pipa music in Chinese history, particularly during the Tang dynasty. But most of the pieces were lost. Fortunately, there are precious pipa pieces handed down from one generation to another by individual artists and scholars. Some pieces have been preserved in Japan and other musical scores were discovered along the Silk Road in Gansu Province, China, around 1900. These musical notations, known as the Dunhuang scores from the Tang Dynasty (7-9th century) triggered great concern and interest within China as well as abroad. However, they remained a mystery until the early 1980s, when the scholar, Prof. Ye Dong from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, successfully "decoded" 25 of the pieces. The beauty and elegance of these pieces has thus first been revealed to the public after having slept for a thousand years. Pipa music has been loved by Chinese people through the centuries.
During the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1645-1911) dynasties, various pipa schools with different styles flourished in the South, centered in Wuxi, Suzhou and Shanghai, and the North, centered in Beijing. The development of finger techniques for both hands achieved a high standard by the masters from each school. The present day pipa techniques are mostly the fusion of those different schools. Now the pipa is one of most popular instruments in China. Many of the compositions that make up the traditional repertoire, which were handed down from generation to generation through individual artists and scholars, date back hundreds of years, while others are part of a body of compositions that are dynamic and
growing. In more recent times, composers have explored the possibilities for the pipa and other Chinese and Western instruments, even with orchestra. Nowadays, there are a number of celebrated
pipa concerti.
The playing technique consists of the right hand fingers plucking the strings and the left hand fingers touching the strings in a variety of ways to create melodies, ornaments and special effects. The fingers that pluck the strings move outwards, just the opposite to guitar techniques. The frets are pretty high, which allows the string to be pushed, twisted, and pressed. There are over 60 different techniques that have been developed through the centuries.
The pipa's technique is characterized by spectacular finger dexterity and virtuosic programmatic effects. Rolls, slaps, pizzicato, harmonics, and noises are often combined into extensive tone-poems vividly describing famous battles or other exciting scenes, such as the Ambush (see the demo video #2 below). This type is called "wu qu" (martial style). This example describes the decisive battle fought in the second century BC between Chu (Xiang Yu) and Han (Liu Bang). The instrument is also capable of more lyric effects, in the category of "wen qu" (civil styles) such as the famous tunes "Fei Hua Dian Cui" (Swirling snow decorates the evergreen, see the demo video #1 below) or Sai Shang qu (Songs from the other side of the border). The former uses a scene in nature as metophor to describe human feeling. The latter is said to represent the sorrowful song of a Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) noblewoman, who was compelled for political reasons to marry a barbarian prince. This story appears in several versions connected with the origin of the pipa. There are also a lot of written texts and famous poems about the pipa music played
by virtuoso performers in history. For instance, the following comments can be found in the texts from the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) describing the intensity of the Ambush played by artists of that time : "... as if thousands of warriors and horses are roaring on the battle field, as if the earth is torn and the sky is falling". In his poem, the Pipa Song, Bai Juyi, one of the leading poets in the Tang Dynasty, described vividly the pipa music performed by an artist: "... The thicker strings rattled like splatters of sudden rain, the thinner ones hummed like a hushed whisper. Together they shaped strands of melody, like larger and smaller pearls falling on a jade plate."
中文对照-琵琶艺术的发展简史
“琵琶”之名是古人巧妙地结合音、形、意的造字手法产生出来的，为汉语中特有，并非外来词。

其最初是对所有类似的弹拨乐器的指称。

有
关琵琶的记载最早出现在2000年前。

如东汉年(公元前25 --220年)学者刘熙在《释名》一书中写到: "枇杷, 推手前曰枇, 引手却曰杷, 像其鼓时, 因此为名"。

但当时的琵琶形状与现在的不同, 其形状为直颈，园形音箱，音位和弦数不固定。

弦数为四五六条不等. 这种琵琶当时被称作 "秦琵琶" 或 "秦汉子"。

实际上它就是今天我国民乐器中阮的前身。

其名字来源于晋代竹林七贤中的阮咸。

阮咸以善弹这种琵琶而著称。

后人就把这种乐器称作“阮咸”，简称为阮。

而琵琶之名让给了后来的曲项琵琶。

到了公元五、六世纪随着中国与西域民族商业和文化交流的加强, 从中亚地区传入一种曲项琵琶, 其形状为曲颈, 梨形音箱, 有四柱四弦，很像目前在阿拉伯国家常见的乌特琴(Oud 或 Ud)或古波斯的巴尔巴特琴（Barbat）。

横抱琵琶用拨子演奏。

这种琵琶当时人称“胡琵琶”，而且还出现过一批高超的演奏家，使得这种琵琶在当时很流行，连皇室都开始热衷于听“胡乐”。

后来人们结合胡琵琶，对原来的"秦琵琶"进行改造发展而形成今天还有保存的唐代琵琶。

此后又进一步改造，使其从音色到造型更适合中国人的口味。

现代琵琶就是由这种唐琵琶演变发展而来的（参见如上示意图[1]-[4]，不难看出，晋代阮咸弹的琵琶是“秦琵琶”，
音箱是圆形的，脖子是直的。

到了唐初，模仿胡琵琶，音箱变成梨形的，脖子还是直的，即直项唐琵琶。

后来连脖子也彻底变弯了，音箱的“肚子”也加大了，成了曲项唐琵琶，“西化”得更彻底，只是发出的声音可能不太适应大多数中国人的耳朵，后来就把曲项唐琵琶的音箱变薄了，把过分弯曲的脖子扶直了一些，形成了可竖抱着演奏的现代琵琶。

曲项唐琵琶只能横抱着演奏，因为曲项唐琵琶的肚子太大。

综上所说，琵琶的发展受到过外来乐器（胡琵琶）影响，但要说琵琶是一种外来乐器，那是不准确的。

首先“胡琵琶”是公元五世纪以后传入的，而有关琵琶的文献早在公元前俩世纪就出现了。

其次，敦煌壁画上的“胡琵琶”从形状到弹法与现代琵琶相去甚远。

“胡琵琶”即目前在阿拉伯国家流行的乌
特琴，历史久远，其制型十分美观，从远古流传下来做法几乎一直没变。

其音色与琵琶相去甚远。

）
唐代（公元7-9世纪）是琵琶的发展历史上的一个高峰。

当时上至宫廷乐队, 下至民间演唱都少不了琵琶, 随成为当时非常盛行的乐器, 而且在乐队处于领奏地位。

这种盛况在我国古代诗词中有大量的记载。

例如唐代诗人白居易在他的著名诗篇《琵琶行》中非常形象地对琵琶演奏及其音响效果这样的描述:“大弦嘈嘈如急雨，小弦切切如私语。

嘈嘈切切错杂弹，大珠小珠落玉盘"。

到了唐代后期琵琶从演奏技法到制作构造上都得到了很大的发展。

在演奏技法上最突出的改革是由横抱演奏变为竖抱演奏，由手指直接演奏取代了用拨子演奏。

琵琶构造方面最明显的改变是由四个音位增至十六个（即四相十二品）。

同时它的颈部加宽，下部共鸣箱由宽变窄，便于左手按下部音位。

由于以上这俩项改革，琵琶演奏技法得到了空前的发展。

据统计琵琶的指法共有五六十种。

归纳起来，右手指法分俩个系统：一、轮指系统，二、弹挑系统。

左手指法也分俩个系统：一、按指系统，二、推拉系统。

到了公元十五世纪左右，琵琶已拥有一批以《十面埋伏》和《霸王卸甲》为代表的武曲以及以《月儿高》《思春》和《昭君怨》为代表的文曲。

所谓武曲，其特点是以写实和运用右手技法为主；所谓文曲，其特点是以抒情和运用左手技法为主。

这些乐曲已经成为中华民族音乐的瑰宝、琵琶艺术的珍品
琵琶传统上是五声音阶。

到了民国时期，已开始按照十二平均律增加琴码，目前标准的琵琶已有八相三十品，琵琶表现力和适应力大大加强，不仅可以演奏传统乐曲，而且可以演奏西洋和现代作品，并且有利于与交响乐队合作。

为后来的进一步发展创造了条件。

到了公元二十世纪中后期，琵琶艺术又有了新的发展，在琵琶制作方面，原来用的丝质弦改成了尼龙钢丝弦，有的甚至采用银弦，加大了琵琶音量和共鸣。

在技法上左手大拇指以及和弦的运用使琵琶的表现力再次大大提高。

由此涌现出一大批融传统音乐和现代作曲理论为一体的优秀的独奏作品，而且还出现了与各种乐器的重奏以及与小乐队和交响乐队的琵琶协奏曲。

到了二十一世纪琵琶不仅在中国呈现出回复盛唐时期的景象，而且越来越受到世界各国音乐爱好者的关注。

不少传统乐曲和当代作品受到中外听众喜爱。

可以说，琵琶已开始走向国际乐坛
敦煌曲谱的简要介绍
敦煌曲谱是1900年一位姓王的道士在中国甘肃省敦煌莫高窟藏经洞发现的，后被法国的汉学家伯西买下带往法国，现珍藏在巴黎法国国家图书馆。

敦煌曲谱记谱所用的是现代人无法看懂的符
号（共有二十三个）。

敦煌曲谱总共分成二十五段，每段前面都有标题，例如《品弄》，《倾杯乐》,《又慢曲子》等。

二十世纪三十年代，中国、日本及英国的学者对此谱进行了大量的研究，一致认为是琵琶谱。

但是他们所译的谱总体上还不够完善。

八十年代初上海音乐学院教授叶栋先生在他们研究的基础上译出了该谱的详细节奏。

从此之后把敦煌曲谱推向了新的高潮，应该说敦煌曲谱的研究还在继续，然而敦煌曲谱是琵琶谱，是公元933年之前所记录已经得到公认。