"Hello everyone, I am Zhou Ningbin."
As Zhou Ningbin walked onto the stage, he couldn't suppress a smile.
Why the smile?
Of course, it was because he was thinking of happy things.
Upon receiving Ting Yu's composition, he was instantly struck by its divine artistry.
Although "Shui Long Yin" began with the guqin, his erhu played the most crucial part.
That melody was simply too beautiful!
So beautiful that he was still mentally replaying the erhu melody now.
Tonight, all the performers were protagonists, but Zhou Ningbin was the protagonist among protagonists.
Having lived for nearly seventy years, he had played many erhu pieces, but the erhu melody in this piece ranked in his top three.
When a person obsessed with the erhu his entire life receives such a piece, his excitement is akin to an ancient swordsman obtaining a peerless sword manual; the smile is impossible to hide.
"First, I would like to introduce the guqin, a national instrument!"
As Zhou Ningbin finished speaking, a spotlight shone upon the stage.
Under the spotlight sat Liu Qingxue, clad in a snow-white palace dress. In front of her was a guqin, her hands resting on its strings, and she gently plucked them.
"Dong..."
The zither sound emerged.
It possessed an indescribable charm, a sound seemingly etched into the very bones of Chinese people.
The sound was clear, with a lingering resonance.
"The guqin is one of the world's intangible cultural heritages. In ancient times, it was an indispensable accompanying instrument for scholars composing poetry and couplets. Among Qin, Go, Calligraphy, and Painting, Qin held the foremost position, demonstrating its status among literati..."
Although Zhou Ningbin was an erhu master, he also had knowledge of other national instruments, and he introduced them with great ease.
As he spoke, Liu Qingxue began to play a classic guqin piece, gradually building the atmosphere.
When it came to guqin culture, one could talk for ten days and ten nights without end.
There were too many anecdotes to share.
However, on stage, Zhou Ningbin chose only two representative anecdotes to describe the characteristics of the guqin.
"Is that so? No wonder we often say Qin, Go, Calligraphy, and Painting; the status of Qin in ancient culture was so high."
"It turns out it's not that national instruments aren't elegant, but that we understand them too little."
"Rather than saying national instruments are simple, it's more accurate to say they are not popular. Unpopularity does not equate to lack of elegance."
"Miss Qingxue is simply my eternal white moonlight; her Hanfu combined with the melodious zither music makes her appear like a lady from a prestigious family."
"After reading the introduction, I suddenly feel that the reason the guqin is not as popular as Western instruments is that it's too difficult to learn, and it's not lacking in prestige, but rather has too much prestige!"
It seemed that every time there was a cultural program like this, people who came for Ting Yu were drawn to traditional culture.
The bullet comment atmosphere was excellent, with everyone discussing the instruments featured in the program.
"Next, I will tell you about the pipa!"
As he finished speaking, the spotlight on Liu Qingxue extinguished, and the next spotlight illuminated a beautiful woman in her thirties.
Li Fangyuan was China's youngest pipa master. She had been exposed to this instrument since childhood and received instruction from renowned masters, thus achieving fame in her twenties. Later, she dedicated herself to practicing and improving her skills, and by her thirties, she had earned the title of master.
"The status of the pipa in ancient culture is comparable to that of the guqin. Many literati wrote poems for the pipa..."
Ancient scholars created numerous poems, lyrics, and paintings praising the pipa.
Especially in some ancient paintings, women playing the pipa were frequently depicted.
The pipa's sound was crisper and more rapid than the guqin's.
Especially when played by a master with mature technique, it sounded as melodious as "great pearls and small pearls falling onto a jade plate."
"Next, I will introduce the dizi and xiao. As the saying goes, a heartbroken dizi and a fatal xiao. I believe that after hearing this, you will understand the characteristics of the dizi and xiao..."
Although Zhou Ningbin was an artist of the older generation, he had considerable teaching experience, and his language was concise and witty.
He could explain the characteristics of these instruments in a simple and understandable way.
The dizi is played horizontally and the xiao vertically. The melodies of both instruments tend to be melancholic.
The dizi has a lingering sound, while the xiao is relatively lower pitched.
As Zhou Ningbin performed.
Xiao Yifeng, in his forties, playing the dizi and xiao on stage, performed each instrument once.
This again drew cheers from the audience in the hall and in the livestream.
As the program continued, Zhou Ningbin also recounted cultural anecdotes.
Many were moved by a sense of pride in their national culture.
This was true traditional culture, instruments with profound heritage.
This culture was coveted by envious nations, but they could not steal it.
They might claim the instruments as theirs, but what about the culture?
This was the accumulation of thousands of years of Chinese civilization.
This was its depth.
Even if these instruments were rarely encountered in modern society, and everyone was playing popular instruments like the piano and guitar, the moment the sounds of the guqin and xiao arose, the national pride ingrained in their bones would instantly resonate with Chinese people.
Because these were cultures with the same roots, written into their genes, and integrated into their bloodline. Even those who didn't understand music theory could awaken that memory.
...
Many more national instruments were introduced.
The atmosphere in the livestream had transformed into an appreciation of instrumental culture.
"Elder Zhou's explanation has suddenly enlightened me."
"National instruments don't need to be popular because these sounds are already etched in our bones!"
"Exactly, these instruments of ours are not just elegant, but refined! When the sounds of national instruments play, I can feel the rich cultural flavor."
"This culture is the precipitation of China's thousands of years, the unique flavor of our nation!"
Finally,
When Zhou Ningbin reached his specialty, the erhu.
The spotlight on the stage extinguished, and the lights gradually brightened.
The entire stage scene was revealed to the audience at this moment.
Fog formed by dry ice created a dreamlike, ethereal atmosphere.
On a zither stand beneath a tree, lay a dark guqin carved with phoenix patterns. Liu Qingxue sat with her white robes spread on the ground.
Not far behind her, Li Fangyuan, playing the pipa, sat with her instrument on her lap, a serene smile on her face, exuding an ancient charm that instantly filled the air!
And the last person, Xiao Yifeng, playing the dizi and xiao, stood beside a rockery, clad in a grey robe, hands behind his back.
As Zhou Ningbin sat down and set up his erhu.
"Boom!"
After a sound effect, three powerful characters appeared on the large screen on stage.
Shui Long Yin
Performance: Zhou Ningbin/Liu Qingxue/Li Fangyuan/Xiao Yifeng
Composition: Ting Yu
Upon seeing this scene.
Everyone's breath hitched.
Shui Long Yin!
The dragon was the spiritual symbol of China, the totem of the nation. Chinese people had always been proud to be descendants of the dragon.
National instruments performing the nation's totem.
Just seeing the title, everyone felt a primal excitement.
"My lords, listen to the dragon's roar!"
...
ps: Shui Long Yin original author Guan Dazhou and production team.