Zhou Hui

01 · Lineage & Regional School

He successively took part in the Shengyang National Music Society founded by his father (1935), the national music section of the Shanghai Yousheng Travel Group (1940), and the National Music Research Society founded by Sun Yude (1941). Within the regional tradition and school record of Jiangnan Sizhu (Silk and Bamboo Music) in Shanghai: Shanghai is one of the important centres for the circulation of Jiangnan sizhu; sizhu activity is based on societies such as the Guo Yue Yan Jiu Hui and the Shanghai Guo Yue Yan Jiu Hui, which also take in the tangming drum players of Kunqu and the noted masters of national music in Shanghai. Performance stresses “small, fine, light and elegant”, with the dizi as the lead and the erhu as the backbone; it makes free use of ornamental variation, interlocking so as to leave each other room and other devices for improvisation, the players seeking ensemble understanding by “you elaborate and I simplify, you go high and I go low”; after the traditional bands disbanded in the 1960s and 1970s, transmission largely moved to the conservatories of music and to mass arts troupes. During the Jialong reign period of the Ming dynasty, at the same time as the operatic musicians headed by Wei Liangfu created the shuimo style of Kunqu quju at Nanmatou in Taicang, a full-scale sizhu band was organized with Zhang Yetang as the central figure, played in gongche notation and doubled by Kunqu troupes and tangming drum players; it gradually developed into a specialized band for sizhu performance. By the 1960s and 1970s, the traditional Jiangnan sizhu bands had all disbanded of their own accord.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The eldest son of the Jiangnan sizhu master Zhou Junqing, he specialised in the yangqin (dulcimer). He pursued deep research into yangqin performance and in practice applied techniques such as the single-plucked tremolo (dan tanlun), octave doubling notes (badu chenyin) and the long tremolo (chang lunyin) to the repertoire, bringing out the distinctive character of the yangqin's part in Jiangnan sizhu ensemble playing. He performed in long-term collaboration with Zhou Hao, Lu Chunling and the pipa player Ma Shenglong; the four were the celebrated elders of Shanghai Jiangnan sizhu, and later generations honoured him as one of the 'Four Heavenly Kings' of the genre. Within the documented technical tradition of Jiangnan Sizhu (Silk and Bamboo Music) in Shanghai: Jiangnan sizhu is the general name for sizhu music popular in southern Jiangsu, western Zhejiang and the Shanghai area. It is so named because the band consists mainly of sizhu instruments such as the erhu, yangqin, pipa, sanxian, qinqin, dizi and xiao. At the end of the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty a new musical genre, “xiansuo”, took shape in Wuzhong (the Suzhou area), and can be regarded as the predecessor of Jiangnan sizhu. It is closely bound to folk-custom activities, has a broad mass basis, and was later formally named Jiangnan sizhu. The traditional techniques of Jiangnan sizhu include “you elaborate and I simplify”, “you go high and I go low”, ornamental variation, interlocking so as to leave each other room, and improvisation, and they gradually formed the stylistic features of “small, fine, light and elegant”. These techniques and this style carry deep social and cultural meanings such as mutual deference between people and coordinated innovation. Jiangnan sizhu has a rich repertoire, and its traditional pieces include Zhong Hua Liu Ban, San Liu, Xing Jie, Si He and Yun Qing. Nie Er once adapted Dao Ba Ban into Jin She Kuang Wu, which soon became popular throughout the country; Liu Tianhua's adaptation and composition Bian Ti Xin Shui Ling has long been a famous work of the music world and has had a far-reaching influence nationwide. Jiangnan sizhu is one of the outstanding representatives of the culture of the Jiangnan water towns. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Zhong Hua Liu Ban": Jiangnan sizhu has a rich repertoire; its traditional pieces include Zhong Hua Liu Ban, San Liu, Xing Jie, Si He and Yun Qing. "San Liu": Jiangnan sizhu has a rich repertoire; its traditional pieces include Zhong Hua Liu Ban, San Liu, Xing Jie, Si He and Yun Qing. "Xing Jie": Jiangnan sizhu has a rich repertoire; its traditional pieces include Zhong Hua Liu Ban, San Liu, Xing Jie, Si He and Yun Qing. "Si He": Jiangnan sizhu has a rich repertoire; its traditional pieces include Zhong Hua Liu Ban, San Liu, Xing Jie, Si He and Yun Qing.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

Male, Han ethnicity, born in December 1922, died in December 2011, a native of Shanghai. A national representative bearer of Jiangnan Sizhu (Silk and Bamboo Music), a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. In the early 1960s he concurrently taught the yangqin at the training institute of the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, the Shanghai Opera School and the affiliated middle school of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, training a group of teachers and performers including Guo Minqing, Ding Yanyi and Pang Bo'er.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Zhou Hui · National Representative Bearer Archive