Ensembles
Fujian nanyin
Fujian nanyin is a representative southern ensemble genre. Popular mainly in a few cities in Fujian province and in Taiwan, it has a rich, influential, and long tradition. Historically, migrants from the central China brought their culture and music to the port city of Quanzhou and the surrounding region, where it mixed with local music, gradually resulting in Fujian nanyin. Some instruments in the ensemble still keep the shapes used in previous dynasties. However, the shape of the pipa used in Fujian nanyin differs from the one used nowadays in other parts of China. The players hold pipa horizontally rather than vertically, a posture seen in pictures and cave paintings from ancient times. Other instruments like dongxiao (vertically played flute), paiban (clapper), and erxian (two-stringed fiddle) also suggest similar historical traces. Nevertheless, tracing back the music itself beyond a few centuries is challenging because the oldest sources only contain the song lyrics-some pieces are actually songs for a singer plus the instrumental ensemble-and, sometimes only the titles of tunes, but not the notation itself has survived.
Jiangnan sizhu
Jiangnan sizhu refers to the string and wind ensemble music popularized in East central China, including some parts of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, as well as Shanghai (Witzleben 1995). As a regional music genre, Jiangnan sizhu is nowadays mainly a favorite genre for local amateur musicians who perform in public venues like teahouses and parks. The ensembles are also invited to perform at wedding ceremonies-mainly in rural areas-and other similar occasions. Some of these musicians have been invited to perform and teach in conservatories and universities so they can bring their music to new audiences and give students the opportunity to develop professional careers. In Shanghai, the government has even sponsored several important international Jiangnan sizhu activates (Lau 2008: 36). One genre characteristic that makes it attractive to ensembles is the high demands it makes in terms of musical cooperation, with small places for personal decoration or improvisation. Ensemble members need to practice and perform together over many years to build mutual understanding and trust-a rule that also applies to many other regional instrumental ensembles across China.
Chinese historical sources treat music as just one component of a unified art of performance.
