The characteristics of Hehuanxiao and the origin of its name

140 views · Organized by 拙 on 2022-02-08

The Hehuanxiao is a peculiar musical instrument of the Zhuang people.

The characteristics of Hehuanxiao and the origin of its name

The name of Hehuanxiao comes from two meanings related to "Acacia". One is to break the two halves of a bamboo pipe and then close it together, and the other is to accompany the folk songs called "Huan" in Zhuang language. It is not only the body of the two halves, but also the "happy" for its companions, so it is called the Hehuanxiao. This is a musical instrument created by the Zhuang people based on local materials and combined with the tune of their own folk songs. Although there is no trace of it in the literature, it has a long history in terms of its circulation and application.

The Hehuanxiao is very unique. It relies on the player's vocal cord vibration as the sound source. Its pitch and range are the same as the human voice, and it is full of singing. Therefore, the Hehuanxiao has a strong national style and pastoral flavor. The structure of the acacia flute is extremely simple. The tube body is a bamboo tube with sections at both ends. It is made of a locally grown bamboo called "single bamboo". When making, generally choose a bamboo tube with a length of about 60 cm and an outer diameter of 1.5 cm to 2 cm, but both ends have bamboo joints. The tube body must be straight. In the center of the section of the two ends, a long through hole is opened in parallel, and along the two through holes, the bamboo tube is broken into two equally divided halves, and then the two ends are closed as they are. Fastened with a rubber band, an acacia flute was made. The tube body of this kind of flute is not divided into the beginning and the end, because the elongated through holes opened at both ends are the same, either end can be used as a blow hole, while the other end is a sound hole. Reed whistle, leaving only two broken traces. Even so, people still fixed one end as the head of the pipe, used as a blow hole, and tied the other end with floating ears as a decoration.

Reference materials and contributors
合欢箫(百度百科)

Involving musical instruments

Hehuanxiao (pinyin: Hé huān xiāo) is a kind of musical instrument of the Zhuang nationality, which is popular in the rural areas of southern Guangxi such as Yongning County, which is on the bank of the Yongjiang River in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

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Organized by 小小瞬 on 2022-02-08
The Hehuanxiao is a peculiar musical instrument of the Zhuang people, whose name comes from two meanings related to "Acacia", and is also a special "matchmaker" of the Zhuang people.
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