【Explanation】Elegant and simple, with curly sound of the piano, in a musical instrument factory in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong, the reporter met Cai Changshou, the third generation inheritor of Hong Kong’s "Ping Qin" technique, who was over eighty years old.

  [Concurrent] Cai Changshou, the inheritor of "Puqin" technique

  Guqin is our oldest musical instrument in China.

I have made more than 200 guqins. A good guqin needs to be sound and complete.

  [Commentary] Cai Changshou was born in a family of musical instruments and has been dealing with musical instruments since he was a child.

A hundred years ago, his grandfather founded the "Cai Fu Ji" musical instrument store in Shantou, Guangdong, and moved to Hong Kong in the 1930s.

In middle school, Cai Changshou became a teacher of the famous Zhejiang school violinist Xu Wenjing, and since then he has forged an indissoluble bond with Guqin.

In 2014, the art of Guqin in Hong Kong was included in the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects.

In order to continue the ancient method of Qin Qin, Cai Changshou established the "Study Class of Qin Qin" to recruit apprentices.

As one of Cai Changshou's love disciples, Guan Jiahui has studied art for many years, and has long been familiar with the steps of making piano.

  [Concurrent] Cai Changshou's apprentice Guan Jiahui

  The first step is to find (suitable) wood, which we call "hunting".

The next step is called "chucking", which is to cut out its shape with an axe, make a preliminary shape, and then "dig" to dig out its inner cavity in the (wood).

After digging, "set" the strings and these accessories, and then "close" the bottom plate and the panel together.

After that, we will make a "gray", which is to add the antlers to the paint to make the juice of its own bottom layer.

Then it's time to "lacquer". Do this with a very thin layer of paint until it looks good.

After "lacquer" is "string".

We all have a tenth step called "dissection" which is called anonymous. If this piano has a slight flaw, we will break it off and try it again.

  [Explanation] As the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning. In Guan Jiahui's view, the key to making a good piano is to find a suitable piece of wood for making a piano. This requires not only luck and opportunity, but also patience and vision.

  [Concurrent] Cai Changshou's apprentice Guan Jiahui

  It is more difficult to find timber, especially in Hong Kong. There is no old timber in Hong Kong. The main source of our (looking for timber) is house demolition.

It's really just these T-shaped houses in southern China near Hong Kong, knowing that someone will demolish the house, they will rush over and prepare to pick it up.

After we demolished a bridge, we took (this piece of wood) back. You see that this piece of wood is a giant sequoia. You see that these patterns are very straight and transparent. In fact, these giant sequoias should have been planted (from) the Yuan Dynasty. Yes, it is very dry, and the sound transmission channel of the knocked out (sound) is very fast, and we hear it very well.

  [Explanation] Finding a suitable material is only the first step. Scrape the tire, apply a large paint, cover layer by layer, and polish and adjust after the paint dries. This process is meticulous and cumbersome. If you are careless, you will lose all your previous efforts. It is the effort and time of the producer.

  [Concurrent] Cai Changshou's apprentice Guan Jiahui

  For example, I want to make a (qin) surface. The paint itself has pits and pits. I made four or five layers and polished it once. This has been (it will take) two months. This time.

Once you wear out a little bit, you have to wear it all out and start over again.

Because you really want to be perfect, because your entire face is from the position where the strings are pressed. When your paint wants to show through, you see the luster inside, which must be done very carefully.

Sometimes we are usually anxious, and sometimes there are two or three more vigorous, we have to go back to two years ago.

  [Explanation] More than half a century ago, Cai Changshou and his master Xu Wenjing made a set of twelve guqin.

As the years passed, now Guan Jiahui and other apprentices, under the guidance of Cai Changshou, began to produce the second generation of "twelve pianos", determined to pass on this ancient technique that has lasted for thousands of years.

  [Concurrent] Cai Changshou's apprentice Guan Jiahui

  The piano itself is a very old culture. It is very important in Chinese aesthetics, because in addition to music, it is also a visual art.

Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism all use it as a way of practice. It is a unique aesthetic of Chinese people. Therefore, it is very important for us to preserve it. Not only do we play it by ourselves, but also pass it on to the next generation. Responsibility.

  Reporter Fan Siyi reports from Hong Kong

Editor in charge: [Tian Bochuan]