Mongolian Sihu Music
01 · Historical Records
The Mongol four-string fiddle of Tongliao is called “houle”, “huwuer” and “huer” in Mongol, and was called the “tiqin” in the Lü Lü Zheng Yi Hou Bian compiled in the Kangxi reign. After the Yuan dynasty four-string fiddle art circulated widely and was once all the rage in Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and the Han areas of settlement of north China, exercising a far-reaching influence on Han folk narrative-singing.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Tongliao Mongol four-string fiddle is one of the instruments most marked with Mongol character and is divided into three kinds, the treble, the alto and the bass. The treble fiddle has a bright, crisp tone and is mostly used for solo, duet and ensemble; the alto and bass fiddles have rich, round tones, are good at lyrical pieces and are mainly used to accompany the Horqin narrative-singing arts of uliger and holboo. They play a very important part in the cultural life of the Mongol people. Representative pieces of the Mongol four-string fiddle include Hurrying on the Road, Eight Tones and Asir (the above for the large fiddle) and Modeleima, The Winding Grape Vine and He Ying Hua (the above for the small fiddle).
Hurrying on the Road
Representative pieces of the Mongol four-string fiddle include Hurrying on the Road, Eight Tones and Asir for the large fiddle and Modeleima, The Winding Grape Vine and He Ying Hua for the small fiddle.
Eight Tones
A representative piece for the large four-string fiddle, also among the traditional Mongol court music.
Asir
A representative piece for the large four-string fiddle, formerly indispensable in the performance of large court music.
Modeleima
A representative piece for the small four-string fiddle of the Horqin area.
The Winding Grape Vine
A representative piece for the small four-string fiddle in the repertory of Tongliao.
He Ying Hua
A representative piece for the small four-string fiddle of the Horqin grasslands.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Mongol four-string fiddle circulates mainly in the Mongol areas of settlement of Tongliao city and the Horqin grasslands of Inner Mongolia, and is also current in the Mongol villages of the three eastern leagues and of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang; Tongliao is the area where the art of the Mongol four-string fiddle is most flourishing.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Mongolian Sihu Music · Mongolian Sihu Music · Mongolian Sihu Music.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Mongol four-string fiddle culture has a rich accumulation, abundant expressive power, a technique that is a thing apart and a melody drawn out and ancient; it is the outstanding musical creation of the Mongol people engaged in a half-farming, half-herding mode of production and has very high academic research value in Mongol history, cultural studies, folklore and cultural exchange between China and other countries. Tongliao city, lying in the heartland of the Horqin grasslands, is at present the area where four-string fiddle art is most flourishing. (Associated bearer recorded in the official archive:) Wu Yunlong, male, Mongol, born 1935, a native of Tongliao, Inner Mongolia. In childhood he successively took Lianshende, Chereinqin, Axing'a and Zhana as masters, combining their performing styles and techniques, widely absorbing the flavour of the folk four-string fiddle and devising twelve bowing methods of the Mongol four-string fiddle, including the reversed bow, the linked reversed bow and the divided reversed bow. He began writing in the 1960s and has published such works as Wu Yunlong's Course for the Four-String Fiddle. His representative solo pieces include The Young Herdsman and Cavalry of the Grassland. He is a representative bearer of the second batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage items, the Mongol four-string fiddle music, and a second-class player. He has been awarded the title of “lifelong honorary award of the four-string fiddle”. Tegexiduleng, male, Mongol, born 1935, a native of Horqin Left Rear Banner, Inner Mongolia, who lives by farming. Born into a family of folk artists, he went blind from illness in childhood, began learning to play the four-string fiddle at seven and has always been active on the folk performing stage. While steadily raising his own musical accomplishments he has persisted in taking apprentices and transmitting his art. The pieces he plays include Mongol traditional court music, such as the ancient pieces Eight Tones and The Victory Command, and various uliger and holboo tunes and numerous Mongol folk-song melodies. His playing is accurate and fine in emotional expression, and his bowing and fingering combine the traditional techniques of the folk with a learned command of the various modern ways of expressing the four-string fiddle. He is a representative bearer of the second batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage items, the Mongol four-string fiddle music.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wuyunlong 02-0274
- Tegexidouleng 02-0275
- Bayanbaolige 04-1518
- Mengyidama 04-1519
- Taotege 05-2060
- Baojie 05-2061
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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