Kouxian Music
01 · Historical Records
The Butuo Yi mouth harp is called “leguo” locally, and its rudimentary form can be traced back to a primitive instrument of the Neolithic age; bamboo and bronze forms long coexisted and still keep their traditional shapes. In former times the mouth harp was usually carved by a man himself and given to the one he loved, and young men and women used it in place of speech to confide their innermost feelings, forming the custom that “the mouth harp can speak”.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Butuo Yi mouth harp is a traditional folk instrument current among the Yi people of Butuo County in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. It arose in the Neolithic age and is a survival of the instruments of primitive society. The Butuo Yi mouth harp has long kept its traditional form, is finely made, is widely distributed and has many players, so that Butuo County enjoys the reputation of “home of the Yi mouth harp”. The Butuo Yi mouth harp is called “leguo” locally and has two different forms, bamboo and bronze; in making it, two or more lamellas of the same material are combined into one instrument. A bamboo mouth harp is generally about fifteen centimetres long and a little over one centimetre wide, shaped like a short sword; a bronze mouth harp is generally about eight centimetres long and shaped like a leaf. A tongue is cut in the lamella, and the tip of the lamella is plucked with the fingers; the tongue vibrates, and each lamella can sound one fixed pitch. A mouth harp with two tongues can sound the two pitches gong and shang; with three tongues it can sound gong, shang and yu; with four, zhi, yu, gong and shang; with five, zhi, yu, gong, shang and jue. In playing, the left hand holds the tail of the mouth harp and places it between slightly parted lips, and the right hand plucks the lamellas arranged in a fan shape, using the resonance of the oral cavity and changes of the lips, the tongue and the shape of the mouth to make them sound. Besides the basic pitch of each lamella, a series of overtones can also be produced. The basic pitch and the overtones it generates together form the sound source of the music; interwoven with each other, they constitute the body of the mouth harp music. Mouth harp music is not loud, but its timbre is endlessly varied and pleasing to the ear. The Yi proverb says that “the mouth harp can speak”, because the mouth harp has the function of imitating speech and expressing language. At present the environment in which the mouth harp survives has changed enormously; the individual mouth harp workshops of Butuo County have almost all disappeared, and the bamboo mouth harps still to be found locally are extremely few and on the verge of extinction.
The Yi Mouth Harp
For a long time mouth harp music has been transmitted and developed among the Yi people of Butuo County and is widely popular; its representative pieces include the Yi Mouth Harp, Mouth Harp Sentiment and the Sound of Mouth Harps.
Mouth Harp Sentiment
For a long time mouth harp music has been transmitted and developed among the Yi people of Butuo County and is widely popular; its representative pieces include the Yi Mouth Harp, Mouth Harp Sentiment and the Sound of Mouth Harps.
The Sound of Mouth Harps
For a long time mouth harp music has been transmitted and developed among the Yi people of Butuo County and is widely popular; its representative pieces include the Yi Mouth Harp, Mouth Harp Sentiment and the Sound of Mouth Harps.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Butuo County is the main place of production and distribution of the Liangshan Yi mouth harp; it can be played at the guozhuang circle dance, by the hearth and while herding in the mountains, and the players are mostly young men and women, who often answer one another in antiphonal fashion. Local mouth harp making insists on lamellas of even thickness and an accurate basic pitch; combinations of two to five lamellas can each produce such different degrees as gong, shang, yu, zhi and jue, with a varied and pleasing timbre.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
For a long time mouth harp music has been transmitted and developed among the Yi people of Butuo County and is widely popular; its representative pieces include the Yi Mouth Harp, Mouth Harp Sentiment and the Sound of Mouth Harps. The Butuo Yi mouth harp is an indispensable companion in the daily life of the Butuo Yi people, and the mouth harp music formed by it is an important subject of study in ethnomusicology. If it is not rescued and protected in good time, this precious ethnic instrument and the music culture related to it are likely to perish.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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