"Jinse has fifty strings for no reason, and one string and one pillar contemplate the Chinese New Year". When it comes to Chinese classical musical instruments, stringed instruments are their representatives, and the ancients' long-lasting love and thoughts are all in this string. Since modern times, the rise of Western musical instruments has made Chinese classical instruments such as stringed instruments neglected. For a long time since then, Western musical instruments are still very popular among the Chinese people. However, now the country's comprehensive national strength has increased, which has brought about the enhancement of national self-esteem and self-confidence. With its long and rich history, Chinese classical musical instruments have ushered in A new round of inheritance. This interview is fortunate to invite young guzheng performer Yan Xiaoyi to share her time with guzheng and talk about the inheritance and inheritance of Chinese traditional music.

Reporter: Hello, Mr. Yan, it is a great honor to invite you to accept our interview.

Yan Xiaoyi: You are very kind.

Reporter: Mr. Yan is now a young guzheng player, so I would like to ask, why did Mr. Yan choose to learn the guzheng in the first place?

Yan Xiaoyi: At the beginning, it was because I liked it. My mother searched for a teacher for me in the 1990s for two years. Later, when I grew up, I gradually felt the thousand-year-old heritage contained in the guzheng in the process of practicing the zheng. The sense of beauty and the connotation that is unique to the ancients made me really fall in love with the guzheng and the traditional Chinese art. This love has lasted for more than 20 years.

Reporter: Indeed, as Mr. Yan said, both guzheng and zheng music are extremely beautiful. I also like guzheng very much, and I also know that learning guzheng is not a one-day effort, so can you briefly share your experience of learning zheng music?

Yan Xiaoyi: I learned zheng when I was nine years old. I was admitted to the Beijing Music and Dance School in 2002. I was only the second year of junior high school, but like many others, I started my study career in Beidrift, which lasted ten years. At that time, my peers were thinking about how to eat and drink, how to have fun, and what to buy when I went to Xidan Department Store, and I was already thinking about the college entrance examination. Like you said, zheng music is by no means a day's work. If I want to have a good grade, I can only practice the zheng unremittingly every day. Especially during the college entrance examination, I hardly ever leave the piano room. There are 12 days a day. I practiced the zheng in the piano room for an hour. Fortunately, my efforts were not wasted, and my grades were not bad.

In the days when I was immersed in practicing the zheng, I would like to thank my mentor, Zhang Xiaoqun, who graduated with a double master's degree at the China Conservatory of Music (currently the director of the Musical Theatre Department of the Beijing Dance Academy). From Teacher Zhang, I understand what a true teacher is, and a teacher means preaching, teaching, and solving doubts. It can be said that without Teacher Zhang, I would not have achieved my current achievements in the guzheng career. Teacher Zhang has taught me a lot in terms of art and life.

Reporter: After listening to your sharing, I couldn't help but feel awe of Teacher Zhang. Now that you are also the representative of the zheng music party, I would like to ask, what do you think of zheng music, or the inheritance of traditional Chinese music?

Yan Xiaoyi: Inheritance, as the name suggests, must be passed on and inherited. So, who passed it on? Who inherited it? It is a question that needs to be pondered. This has to say about the cultural self-confidence proposed by General Secretary Xi in recent years. What is cultural self-confidence, what I personally understand is: first of all, to inherit, the so-called inheritance should not be just a simple and simple understanding, but to pass on our traditional Chinese culture (traditional music is a part of traditional culture) from generation to generation, pursue space and The horizontal and vertical development and inheritance of history enable each generation to understand the most fundamental meaning and content of our traditional culture, just like in traditional music, it is necessary to master not only the most basic temperament, tune, score and instrument, but also to understand traditional art. Have correct aesthetic cognition, aesthetic concept, aesthetic feeling; secondly, to identify, which requires us to have a deep understanding of traditional culture, only in this way, we will have a sense of identity and mission from the bottom of our hearts ;Finally, it is self-confidence. The more you understand, the more shocking the charm of Chinese traditional culture that has been passed down for thousands of years. The sense of history and heritage beyond the superficial meaning will make people feel involuntarily from the bottom of their hearts. There is a sense of self-confidence that belongs to the Chinese nation alone.

Reflected in instrumental music, just like our traditional musical instruments Guqin, Guzheng, Sheng, Xiao, etc., what we appreciate is not only the beauty of instrumental music, but the beauty of history and heritage behind the instrumental music; What we have learned is not only simple techniques, whether it is the three-point profit and loss method, the twelve laws, or our new law of density (that is, the twelve laws of equalization), they are all infiltrated with the history and history of the era to which we belong. It is full of magical charm. The history of Chinese music can be traced back to 9,000 years ago, and the representative is the early Jiahu bone flute unearthed in Wuyang, Henan. Such a profound heritage of traditional music must be passed on responsibly. You can't just know one or two of them and say that you are inheriting; inheriting, you must also inherit responsibly. The earliest music inheritance relied on the oral and heart teachings of masters and apprentices. Now that it is more convenient to carry, and with more experience of predecessors, we have to take responsibility for the inheritance of traditional music.

Reporter: Mr. Yan's realm is beyond my comparison. However, after listening to Mr. Yan's words, I have a deeper belief in inheriting traditional Chinese culture. Now that I know the inheritance, I would like to talk to Mr. Yan about your recent activity experience. I heard that you recently participated in the Chinese Music Golden Bell Awards competition. What do you think about this?

Yan Xiaoyi: There are flaws, but I am not sorry. The flaw is that I feel that the psychological quality is still lacking, and I have not been able to present the most perfect stage and music to everyone, but I have come and experienced it, and I have no regrets in my heart.

Reporter: After this Golden Bell Award competition, I believe that Mr. Yan will reach a higher and far-reaching level in the field of zheng music in the future. I also learned that Mr. Yan, you have also served as a judge for many guzheng competitions. Do you have anything to say to the contestants?

Yan Xiaoyi: As long as you can stand on the stage of the competition, you are good! That courage, that persistence, that confidence is what others do not have, and what they cannot do, the future also belongs to them, I believe they will fly more and more High!

Reporter: Many parents like guzheng very much and let their children learn guzheng from an early age, but some children do not like guzheng. Do you have any good advice for the parents of these zither children on their way to learn zheng?

Yan Xiaoyi: Guzheng is an instrument of benevolence and wisdom in traditional Chinese musical instruments. The busiest part of Guzheng is the left hand. It is necessary to press, knead, sing and slide, and play. The right hand can play the technique, and the left hand must also know it. Therefore, simply starting from children is a very beneficial instrument for developing children's brains . I think that interest can be cultivated. Since you have chosen the guzheng, you must cultivate your interest and persevere. This is inseparable from the high cooperation and bonding between the school and the parents. Teaching is entertaining; as a parent, you must also have the correct attitude of support, and you must give priority to encouragement. After all, there are hundreds of people, and you should conduct guided piano practice according to your child's personality characteristics. Crying is also practice, and laughter is also practice. Why not How about letting the child practice with a smile? Children are happy when they practice, and they will become interested in practicing the piano in the long run. After they are interested, they will want to understand and work hard, and they will like and fall in love with them. Therefore, for children to learn zheng, to remove the children's own likes and dislikes, the guidance and habits of parents and schools are very important.

Reporter: Thank you Mr. Yan for sharing so many stories about zheng music and traditional culture with us during his busy schedule. We have all benefited a lot. So this interview will come to an end. Thank you again Mr. Yan for coming, for your hard work. 

Yan Xiaoyi: You have also worked hard.