Liu Shaochun (1901-1971), named Shao, styled Shaochun, and numbered Deyi. my country's modern guqin master, the tenth generation successor of the Guangling qin school, and the master of the modern Guangling qin school. A native of Beilingbao, Fuping County, Shaanxi Province. In 1914, he went to Yangzhou with his father to study business. In 1928, he learned the qin from Sun Shaotao for about three years. The style of the piano is heavy and steady, with ups and downs and generosity. The lower finger of the right hand is strong, and the left hand is delicate and complete. It promotes the ups and downs, beauty and delicacy, hardness and softness, and rich rhythm. Because he is good at playing "Qiao Song", it is also known as "Liu Qiao Song". The audio materials such as "Qiao Song", "Pingsha Falling Geese", "Mountain Residence", "Three Lanes of Plum Blossoms", "Wuye Dance in Autumn", "Mozi's Sad Silk" and other audio materials have been collected by Longyin Production Co., Ltd. in 2001 "Liu Shaochun Guqin Art" published in 2008. He is the author of "The Origin of Guangling Qin Studies", which is an important material for the study of the Guangling Qin School. In addition to Guqin, he likes Kunqu Opera, calligraphy, painting, bamboo carving, martial arts, flute, Xiao, Taoist health preservation, etc.

life

Liu Shaochun was born in 1901 to a salt merchant family in Beilingbao, Fuping County, Shaanxi Province. When he was fifteen years old, he went with his father to Nanchang, Jiangxi to do salt business. At that time, he often traveled between Nanchang, Jiangxi and Yangzhou, Jiangsu. In 1915, the Liu family settled in Yangzhou and opened the "Yulong Spring Salt" to earn a living.

In 1928, Liu Shaochun began his guqin artistic career with Sun Shaotao, the ninth generation descendant of the Guangling Qin School, to learn Guqin as a teacher. Later, he invited Sun Shaotao to serve as a tutor at his home, tutoring his children in classical Chinese, while he continued to learn the piano from his teacher for about three years. In addition to studying the art of Guqin seriously, Liu Shaochun also loves Kunqu Opera, other such as calligraphy, painting, bamboo carving, martial arts, etc. Boxing friends Liu Xianggu, painting friends Wu Lixian, Jin Jianwu, Qu (Kunqu Opera) friends Pan Xiaoyan, Xu Zhongshan, Jiang Shixi, Wu Baitao, piano friends Zhang Ziqian, Gao Zhiping, Shi Yinmei, Zhai Xiaopo, Hu Doudong, etc. .

At the end of June 1936, Liu Shaochun, who had just learned the piano, went to Suzhou to participate in the fifth monthly collection of the Jinyu Qin Society and performed the song "The Song of the Woodcutter", which won the praise of his peers in the piano industry, and also made the Jinyu Qin Society's fifth monthly collection. One of the founders, Mr. Zha Fuxi, a guqin activist, will never forget it. Since then, the reputation of "Liu Qiao Song" has resounded across the country. Mr. Shaochun's friendship with Jinyu Qin Society has continued since then.

In 1937, he served as the librarian of the Primary School Attached to Zhenjiang Provincial Normal School to supplement the family.

After 1942, he served as a staff member of Nantong Yuhua Salt Industry Company, director of Nanjing Civil Aviation Administration of the Nationalist Government, and quartermaster of Jiangxi 26 Temporary Education Institute.

In May 1949, Liu Shaochun returned to Yangzhou.

In the mid-1950s, Liu Shaochun composed music such as "Drinking Crazy", "Xiaoxiang Shuiyun", and "Autumn Moon Shines at the Thatched Pavilion".

In June 1955, Liu Shaochun, at the invitation of his fellow student Zhang Ziqian, went to Shanghai from Yangzhou to participate in the activities of the Jinyu Qin Society and met with the friends of the Jinyu Qin Society in Nanjing. The interview team consisting of Cha Fuxi and other three collected and recorded the qin music played by Liu Shaochun in Nanjing, and Liu Shaochun also stayed in Nanjing.

In 1956, Liu Shaochun was gladly invited to Nanjing to interview and record the famous songs of the Guangling Qin School for the national Qin people organized by Mr. Cha Fuxi and others. Later planned by Mr. Zhang Zhengyin, he stayed in Nanjing, taught the guqin to young people in Nanjing Music Club, and paid a small monthly fee to subsidize their living.

In 1958, introduced by Mr. Gan Tao, a professor of folk music at Nanjing University of the Arts, he taught in the Music Department of Nanjing University of the Arts. At that time, there were Mei Yueqiang, Lin Youren, Zhang Zhengyin, Deng Wenquan, Gong Yi, Li Changbai, Shi Shizhen, Wang Gangqiang, Zhou Jingmei, and Liu Shaochun's favorite youngest daughter, Liu Wei, and others.

In 1963, Liu Shaochun returned to Yangzhou and was employed as a librarian of Jiangsu Literature and History Museum.

In October 1971, Liu Shaochun died in Yangzhou at the age of 70.

realm

Liu Shaochun is deeply rooted in the essence of the Guangling Qin School. He regards the guqin as a tool for self-cultivation, so he pays attention to the dual pursuit of moral cultivation and artistic realm, emphasizing the spiritual liberation and leisure realm beyond reality obtained by playing the qin . Lin Youren, a disciple of Liu Shaochun and a researcher at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, recalled that Liu Shaochun was attentive when he played the piano. If anyone came to visit at that time, he would not welcome him, nor would he leave. , In the midst of hardships and hardships, no matter whether he is hungry or full, cold or warm, he still plays the piano all day long, and is always "spiritual and leisurely, focusing on concentration and quietness".

During the war, Liu Shaochun once went to the countryside to take refuge with no other belongings, but he was ridiculed by his relatives and friends as a "qin idiot". Liu Shaochun's heart is not turbid and vulgar, referring to no arrogance, the sound is clear and round, the light is like a cloud of smoke, and the strong disease is like a waterfall. His style of playing the piano is deep, serene, delicate and subtle; his fingerings are based on the strengths of various schools in the north and south, and he also handles the difficult free ups and downs rhythm just right. What is especially commendable is that Liu Shaochun has not only been obsessed with the art of guqin all his life, but has also been pursuing and practicing the broad and profound philosophical concepts contained in Chinese qin studies.

Achievement

In 1956, Mr. Liu Shaochun interviewed and played "The Song of the Woodsman", "Falling Wild Geese on the Flat Sand", "Song of the Mountain", "Long Xiang Cao", "Three Lanes of Plum Blossoms", "Wuye Dance in the Autumn Wind" and "Mozi". In addition to the eight qin pieces such as Sad Silk and Good Night Quotes, there are also "Three Lanes of Plum Blossoms" recorded by Mr. Liu Shaochun for the Central People's Broadcasting Station in 1960 and "Drinking Crazy" written by him. The former was published by "Jiangsu Audiovisual Publishing House" and Hong Kong "Hugo Production Co., Ltd.", while the latter was the first to appear (on the market), and it is the recording that we have heard so far that better reflects his normal state of mind.

For various reasons, the quality of these recordings was not satisfactory. But apart from regrets, we are still happy. Fortunately, after all, it has historically preserved the representative qin music of the Guangling School, so that people can truly feel the artistic style of the Guangling School and Mr. Liu Shaochun playing the qin.