In a small farmyard in Zhangjiatun Village, Shangkou Town, on a small workbench, various wood tools are placed. Pushing the board with a plane, and sometimes sanding the wood strips with sandpaper, is very busy. His name is Zhang Shoushan and he is a member of the Shouguang Quyi Artists Association. At the age of 77, he is making a guzheng.

Wide range of hobbies
handmade guzheng

Zhang Shoushan loved literature and art since childhood. He was a member of the Shouguang County Quyi Team. When he was young, he and his colleagues went to the countryside to perform. Today, although he has entered a rare age, his interest has not diminished, and he often communicates with literature and art lovers. In the spring of 2021, he got acquainted with a guzheng enthusiast. He was very interested in the production methods and playing skills of the guzheng, so he decided to use his professional expertise to make a guzheng.

"It looks easy but it's hard to do. Every component must be perfected, and if there is one mistake, it will affect the quality of the entire guzheng." Zhang Shoushan introduced that the guzheng is a plucked instrument with multiple strings and columns, and the sound quality is good or bad. Depending on the top and the strings, there are also strict requirements on the selection of materials. To this end, he consulted a lot of information and obtained materials on the spot, and chose the northern small-leaf sycamore wood grown in the sandy land near the Mi River as the front panel and bottom plate, because the wood of this sycamore is loose, which is conducive to the improvement of sound quality, while the side panels , The base is made of hardwood. After choosing the main body, he went to the store to purchase parts and production tools such as strings, string pins, zither codes, tuning handles, etc., and started to make them.

Zhang Shoushan said that making a guzheng requires more than ten processes such as material selection, surface grinding, polishing, beam installation, painting, carving, winding, etc. However, when making a guzheng for the first time, he is not familiar with the craftsmanship, and the progress is very slow, especially on the panel. When making, the radian on both sides needs to be the same, and the thickness should be uniform, because there is no professional tool, it is all determined by the feel. There are more than one similar difficulties. When encountering problems during the production process, Zhang Shoushan checked the materials, groped and tested over and over again, and finally, after half a year of hard work, the production of a guzheng was completed.

"Although it's not as refined as a professional guzheng, and the sound quality is not as pure as a professional guzheng, it's a great sense of achievement to see the guzheng being completed little by little with my own efforts." Zhang Shoushan said that because he didn't have professional production tools, he was getting older. , dazzling and slow, affecting the production progress, but he was tired and happy. With both hands stroking the brand-new guzheng, Zhang Shoushan showed a satisfied smile on his face.

Enjoy your old age
Inherit and carry forward traditional culture

Zhang Shoushan loves performing arts. After retirement, his interest has not diminished. From time to time, he will play, play and sing with his old friends. He lived a fulfilling and happy life in his later years.

A few years ago, he regained his youthful hobbies, made all kinds of puppets, stages, etc., and visited many famous artists in other places. On the basis of the original performance technology, he continued to process and improve, and gradually formed a A more complete set of performance art, coupled with appropriate lines, singing and music, the puppet show has achieved a more comprehensive and in-place viewing effect. He also further explored the cultural heritage and intrinsic quality of puppet show, successfully declared the intangible cultural heritage of Shouguang City, and let more people know and understand puppet show through exhibitions and performances.

"If you are mediocre, life will be very boring; if you maintain an optimistic and open-minded attitude towards life and a never-ending enterprising spirit, you can make the tree of life evergreen and make life full of splendor." This is Zhang Shoushan For his perception of life, he continued to work hard. From puppet show to guzheng production, from performance to inheritance, he showed his personal artistic expertise and devoted himself to the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage in a down-to-earth manner.

"A person can be old in age, but not in mentality. I want to live to old age and learn old age." Today, Zhang Shoushan, who has a wide range of hobbies and an easy-going personality, is busy every day and has a colorful life in his later years. He said that in the next step, he will give full play to his professional expertise, especially make good use of the guzheng he just made, to attract more literature and art lovers to join it, further enrich the cultural life of the neighbors, and to inherit and carry forward the tradition Culture does its part.