The Erhu Tradition

The erhu moved from opera accompaniment to solo recital, as Liu Tianhua and Abing turned street fiddling into modern classics.

Related

ErhuJinghuModernQiyun (Breath and Resonance)

Two strings are enough for the erhu to be called China's most voice-like instrument. It grew up in opera pits and village ensembles, and only in the twentieth century moved to the solo stage.

History

Its forebears reach back to the Tang and Song xiqin and jiqin. In the Ming and Qing it accompanied opera and folk bands, with the jinghu serving Peking opera and the banhu serving bangzi. After the May Fourth movement Liu Tianhua composed Sorrow in Sickness, A Happy Night, Birdsong in Empty Mountains and March of Light, bringing the erhu into higher education; Abing's Moon Reflected on the Second Spring was recorded by Yang Yinliu and colleagues in 1950. Later concertos and rhapsodies carried it into large halls.

The instrument and its playing

The erhu's two strings are tuned D4 and A4. It has no fingerboard, and the bow hair runs between the strings. The left hand governs inflection through shifts, vibrato, slides and trills; the right hand shapes speech through pressure, speed and articulation. Without frets, intonation depends on ear and hand shape, which is why slides and vibrato can imitate speech and weeping. The erhu fits Jiangnan sizhu, Cantonese music and the modern orchestra.

Repertoire

Core works include Moon Reflected on the Second Spring, A Happy Night, Sorrow in Sickness, Birdsong in Empty Mountains, Horse Racing, River of Sorrow, Capriccio on a Qin Opera Theme and the First Erhu Rhapsody. Abing's weathered force and Liu Tianhua's clarity are the two sounds most often compared.

What to listen for

Hear whether the long bow stays steady, then the depth of vibrato and the direction of slides. Abing's phrases are full of pauses; Liu's flow more evenly. The library's Wuxi Jing, Molihua and Blind Man's Fortune-Telling are folk songs, not erhu recordings.

Common misunderstandings

The erhu is often thought to be only for sad tunes, or a cut-price violin. Its repertory includes the cheerful Horse Racing and A Happy Night as well as large concertos; its fretless neck and interlocked bow produce slides a Western violin cannot copy. Abing was not merely gifted: his playing rested on clear lineage and years on the street.

Sources

• 《中国音乐词典》编辑部编，中国音乐词典（人民音乐出版社）— 条目与年代核对，未引用
• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., entry "China" — framework and dates checked, not quoted

Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.