Which erhu craftsman in Xi'an is included in the "intangible cultural heritage"?

In an alley east of the City God's Temple on West Street in Xi'an, there is an erhu craftsman "hidden". He is Liu Hongxiao, who is included in the "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Shaanxi Province".

Half a century with the erhu

Liu Hongxiao, 68, has been with the erhu for half a century. More than 50 years ago, 17-year-old Liu Hongxiao studied with a teacher in Leiya Township, Baishui County, his hometown, to learn how to make folk musical instruments. Liu Hongxiao recalled that after studying acrobatics for several years, when it came time to choose a career, he chose to make erhu without hesitation.

In the 1970s, Liu Hongxiao’s reputation as an erhu player gradually spread from Leiya Township to other places. In 2000, Liu Hongxiao's hometown encountered changes, and he took his wife and young grandson to Xi'an to make a living. In the first few years, he worked in a musical instrument store. After a few years, the musical instrument store closed, and Liu Hongxiao simply started his own business. After many twists and turns, we finally settled next to the Capital City God Temple. Now the living expenses of the family of three are supported by the business of the musical instrument workshop. When the business is not good, they can earn a few hundred yuan a month, but when the business is booming, they can make thousands of yuan.

Liu Hongxiao said that although a well-made erhu sells for about 10,000 yuan, the cost of the wood alone has reached more than 7,000 yuan. From picking and throwing materials to measuring and drawing, pushing The tedious production process of planing takes about ten days. "The machine-painted piano makes it look bright and beautiful, but in the summer when my hands get sweaty and I hold it on the paint, it feels bad, so I always hold the piano rods by hand. The piano tube is polished and polished."

It is difficult to accept an apprentice in a "small room"

When you walk into Liu Hongxiao's home, the first thing you notice is that it is "small", with a room of less than 30 square meters. Mi's house is not only a bedroom, but also a kitchen and a musical instrument making room. On the wall hangs a gold plaque of "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Shaanxi Province" obtained in June 2011. However, this dazzling plaque did not improve Liu Hongxiao's life. Instead, it made the old man feel that there was a heavy burden on his shoulders. Sense of mission: We cannot let this technology end with our generation.

Speaking of the inheritance of this craft, Liu Hongxiao sighed, "No young people today learn this. It is a slow and meticulous job, and you can't make much money." According to Liu Hongxiao, Xi'an still has It is estimated that there are at most five or six craftsmen who insist on making erhu by hand. Liu Hongxiao is the only craftsman whose craftsmanship is listed as an intangible cultural heritage in Shaanxi Province.

Because of the long production cycle, high cost and low profit of Erhu, although there have been some Erhu enthusiasts who have been willing to become Liu Hongxiao's teacher for more than ten years, they are unable to teach due to the small space at home. I can only refuse them one by one. Over the past ten years, Liu Hongxiao has handmade more than 1,000 erhus, and restored thousands of erhus, big violins, sanxian, daruan, zhongruan, dulcimer, trumpets, horns and other instruments that had lost their sound to their original tunes. Many of the musical instruments of Xi'an's major theater troupes, Qinqiang opera teahouses, and self-music groups were rejuvenated by his skillful hands. Liu Hongxiao said that in order to ensure that this craft is not lost, he wholeheartedly wants to pass it on to his grandson, and now it is gradually spreading.

It is understood that making an erhu or banhu requires more than ten processes such as material selection, cutting, processing, carving, skinning, bow making, and debugging; the materials used are hard wood. Particularly, small-leaf sandalwood, rosewood, nanmu, and mahogany ebony are the best. Its production combines various craft techniques such as modeling, painting, inlaying, and carving; the production tools include saws, chisels, hammers, sandpaper, polishers, epitheliums, planes, Hand drills, wood carving knives, etc., totaling more than 100 pieces in nine categories. For hundreds of years, traditional musical instrument craftsmanship has supported the performances of numerous rural self-music groups and professional opera groups, and has important cultural value.

The difficulty in recruiting apprentices is that there is no place, and the other is that today's young people are afraid of trouble and are unwilling to learn handicrafts. Many good things in the country have been lost.