The coming May is the best season for piano making. In the past few days, Bu Guangjun has been busy preparing materials for production and communicating with the players who purchased the piano. As the head of the first erhu workshop in the south of the Yangtze River, Gu Yueqin Workshop, he is also one of the leading figures in the production of erhu in Mei Village. According to reports, different temperature and humidity in different seasons will affect the sound quality of erhu finished products. May and October are the two months most likely to produce high-quality erhu.

Every link is sloppy

Erhu began in the Tang Dynasty and has a history of more than a thousand years. The relationship between Wuxi and Erhu has a long history. Since the 20th century, China's most famous "Erhu Three Heroes", Hua Yanjun, Liu Tianhua, and Lv Wencheng occupy two seats in Wuxi. Famous tunes are naturally indispensable, and the erhu produced in Plum Village has always been one of the best.

Mei Village is known as the "Hometown of Chinese Erhu", and its erhu production history can be traced back to 1965. That year, the Mei Village National Musical Instrument Factory was founded. At that time, the first batch of erhu masters in Wuxi, Wan Qixing and Lu Linsheng, returned from their studies in Suzhou, and the concerted efforts of all parties officially opened the prelude to the production of erhu in Mei Village.

In 1997, Bu Guangjun officially followed his father-in-law Wan Qixing to learn how to make qin, and it has been more than 20 years. The structure of the erhu seems to be simple, consisting of a piano barrel, a piano rod, a piano skin, a peg, etc., but there are more than 200 production processes, and every link is not sloppy. The selection of materials is the first step in making a piano. We find old mahogany or red sandalwood from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and each piece must be knocked on the "board" to hear the sound. The moisture and oil of this wood will evaporate over many years, and the effect of resonance and sound will be better. it is good. The snake skin used for the skin is also the key raw material for erhu production. The pattern and thickness will affect the timbre of a piano. High-quality snake skins are "one in ten thousand miles", and one or two top-grade snake skins can be selected from five or six meters long. At the beginning of his studies, the most common thing Bu Guangjun did was shoveling snake skin. This was both technical and physical work. To completely separate the snake meat from the snake skin, the angle and strength of the file were very important. It is not uncommon to have to deal with thirty or forty sheets every day.

When you walk into Gu Yueqin Workshop, you can hear the sound of "squeaky yah" making the piano. There are 20 or 30 craftsmen in the workshop. They all know their own processes like the back of their hands. .

my country's erhu is mainly divided into three categories: Soviet-style, Shanghai-style and Beijing-style qin. Fine workmanship and slow workmanship are the characteristics of "handmade". Every year, Guyue Qinfang produces more than 5,000 pianos. In addition to satisfying the domestic market, these erhus will also be sent to Singapore, Japan and other places.

Every erhu is unique

In Bu Guangjun's view, each performer has his own characteristics and preferences. Traditional erhu performers like the traditional erhu tone, but with the emergence of more young performers, modern elements are added to the arrangement of erhu repertoire, and performance techniques are more diversified. , the production of erhu also changed naturally. Today, the erhu produced by Bu Guangjun has both the softness and charm of the Soviet style and the vigor and strength of the Beijing style. On the basis of interpreting the traditional content, it can also show the modern style well. This kind of innovation that sticks to the tradition is also sought after by the new generation of performers and music students.

Bu Guangjun only makes more than 100 qin a year. If he wants to make a shot, at least the music played by the performer can pass his test. Depending on the type and habit of the player's repertoire, he will adjust the material of the barrel, the thickness of the snakeskin and the tightness. The completion of the erhu production does not mean that the craftsman's mission is completed. Tuning is the final shaping of a piano. Sometimes, a piano needs to be tuned for several days to get a satisfactory tone, and it becomes a unique tool tailored for the player.

Unlike many intangible cultural heritage, the erhu art in Mei Village has been in a period of vigorous development, and the output of erhu has been steadily increasing every year. At present, the number of erhu workshops in Mei Village has reached 20, most of which are family workshops passed down from father to son and from son to grandson. When Gu Yueqinfang arrived at Bu Guangjun's place, he was the second generation, and he planned to train his son-in-law as the third generation heir. Under the success of the legend, Meicun has become an important center of the erhu industry, and has the first erhu themed cultural park in the country.