Workshops Of Folk Music Instruments And The Traditional Skill Of Sheng Mouth Organ Making

In the vast plain of central Hebei Province numerous workshops of musicinstruments can be found. In these ateliers, family is the core unit of production and thetransmission of craftsmanship is centered on clanic relationships. They are profit-makingenterprises, producing mainly sheng mouth organs. Such workshops supply musicalinstruments to local and neighboring folk bands-including music associations(yinyuehui), guchui wind-and-percussion ensembles, and operatic troupes. Moreover,they provide regular maintenance and tuning of the instruments. Among the manyworkshops of folk music instruments, the one manufacturing sheng in Xiaohuang village(Jinghai County, Tianjin municipality) has a long history of production and is the mostrenowned, not only in that area, but also in the whole central Hebei. The presentdissertation has taken the workshop of Xiaohuang village as its object of research. Itsmain focus is on description and analysis of the operational system that runs folkworkshops' production of sheng, the transmission of the skill of sheng making, and theproblems related to the variety of pitch standards adopted by folk bands in the area.The entire dissertation is divided into three parts. The first analyses the mode ofsubsistence of such folk workshops through description of the historical development andthe production system of the sheng workshop in Xiaohuang Village. The second partillustrates in detail the craft of sheng making which is still preserved among the folks. Inthis part the author has attempted to interpret and record the original jargon of the trade,as well as the regional expressions employed by folk craftsmen. A complete descriptionand insight on their technical and cultural activities is thus achieved by using their ownlanguage. In the third part, starting from the concept of music temperament held by themasters of sheng making, the study on the tuning methods these masters employ and onthe tonal systems adopted by folk bands unveils the influences that different practices ofmusic temperament exert on folk music.The novelty of the approach adopted in this dissertation resides mainly in thefollowing elements: it shifts the research perspective from consideration of 'elite' cultureto consideration of folk culture; it changes the object of study from professional urbanartists to rural traditional sheng artisans; it focuses on a sheng workshop, recording thelife of its craftsmen and their skill, and thus documenting their tradition; by looking intothe life and skill of these craftsmen, it elucidates morphological aspects of local folkmusic and addresses some anthropological issues; finally, it is the first written historicalrecord about traditional folk workshops of music instruments.