Provide rich Chinese "sound" to the world

　　The erhu song "Erquan Reflecting the Moon" played by the blind A Bing before his death, the full set of twelve muqam sung by the old Xinjiang artist Turdi Ahong before his death, more than 1,500 folk songs collected from the Loess Plateau, alive in 1956 More than 270 guqin pieces played by 86 guqin players across the country... This is a precious audio document with a duration of more than 7,000 hours, and it is also a "sound" that shines through the history of Chinese music - Chinese traditional music recording archives.

　　Recently, with the official launch of the digital platform "Memory of the World - Chinese Traditional Music Recording Archives" built by the China National Academy of Arts The Chinese traditional music recording archives built and protected by digital rescue for more than 20 years can open the door to the treasure house of music, open to the public at home and abroad in the form of digital audio, and share with the world.

　　The richest and most complete recording archive of traditional music

　　Music is the art of sound, and the musical heritage of most countries in the world, including China, is usually passed down by word of mouth, which brings great difficulties to the protection of musical heritage.

　　At the end of the 19th century, the development of sound recording and camera technology played an important role in the preservation and study of oral culture, including music.

Worldwide, the collection of audio recordings began around 1900 and flourished in the early 1950s with the advent of portable tape recorders.

　　In the middle of the 20th century, China just had the basic conditions for recording and storing music and audio documents by means of modern technology.

During this period, a series of folk music interviews by Yang Yinliu, the first director of the Music Research Institute of the China Academy of Arts, became the beginning of the field work of the institute and laid a solid foundation for the construction of the audio archives.

Also during this period, the Institute of Music began to collect clues about folk music from all over the country by means of questionnaires.

Since then, the data collection and collection work has been rolled out in an all-round way.

　　For decades, the staff of the Music Research Institute of the China Academy of Arts have used every opportunity to record and collect precious first-hand audio materials.

Except for being forced to terminate during special periods, their recording work has never stopped, or they go to all parts of the country to collect and inspect, or collect various performances and performances in Beijing, or invite folk artists from all over the world to come to Beijing to record. In addition, they also receive relevant Donations from institutions or individuals, transcription of important music material for radio stations, etc.

After decades of long and patient accumulation, a heavy archive of traditional Chinese music recordings has gradually formed.

　　"Compared horizontally during the same period, some countries in the world also collect and organize a lot of music and audio data, but it is basically an individual behavior, and the coverage is not very large. Like China, it is almost a country that collects and organizes traditional music and audio data on a large scale. No." Zhang Zhentao, a musicologist and former director of the Music Research Institute of the China Academy of Arts, told reporters.

　　Undoubtedly, the Chinese traditional music recording archive is currently the most abundant and complete recording archive of Chinese traditional music, including not only the music of the Han nationality from all over China, but also the music of more than 50 ethnic minorities.

Not only that, these recordings have successively used recording equipment such as wire tape recorders, open tape recorders, cassette tape recorders and digital tape recorders, involving wire audio tapes, open tape tapes, cassette tapes, digital audio tapes and other audio media. A true portrayal of the history of sound recording.

　　of irreplaceable artistic and academic value

　　Due to the collection of a large number of precious materials of endangered traditional music, in 1997, the Chinese traditional music recording archives were selected into the UNESCO "Memory of the World" project and included in the first batch of "Memory of the World".

It is not only the first precious file in China to be included in the directory, but also the first audio file in the world to be included in the directory.

　　In 1992, UNESCO launched "Memory of the World" in order to ensure better protection of the world's documentary memory, and in 1997 announced the first batch of archival projects selected for the "Memory of the World Register".

"Memory of the world" refers to the documentary heritage that records the collective memory of the people of the world. They account for a large proportion of the world's cultural heritage. They record the evolution of human thought and the progress of society, and are the historical heritage of the world community today and in the future.

　　For the selection of the Chinese traditional music recording archives, the reason given by the international advisory committee of the "Memory of the World" project is: "The Chinese traditional music recording archives are the result of systematic field recordings in almost all provinces in China for several years, covering more than 50 The traditional music of an ethnic group or cultural group. The musical heritage of ancient China is usually passed down orally, and these recordings have allowed ancient Chinese music to be passed down through generations.”

　　As mentioned above, Chinese traditional music recording archives have irreplaceable artistic and academic value.

For example, in 1950, Yang Yinliu, Cao Anhe, etc. recorded 6 pieces of A Bing's music, including the erhu songs "Erquan Reflecting the Moon", "Listening to the Pine", "Cold Spring Wind" and the pipa songs "Big Waves Washing the Sand" and "Dragon Boat" "Zhaojun Out of the Forbidden City", especially "Erquan Reflecting the Moon" has long been a business card of Chinese folk music.

In the early 1950s, Wan Tongshu, Liu Chi and others recorded a full set of Twelve Muqam audio materials for the old artist Turdi Ahong in Xinjiang, and left them for future generations to learn to sing, The only precious text of inheritance.

In 1953, more than 1,500 folk songs collected and recorded from Hequ by Hyosung, Jian Qihua, etc. made the "Hequ Folk Song" buried on the Loess Plateau at the border of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Mongolia known and paid attention to by the world. Important information on folk songs.

In 1956, Zha Fuxi, Xu Jian, Wang Di and others visited 86 guqin masters across the country and collected and recorded more than 270 guqin pieces, leaving behind a large number of extremely precious and unrecoverable qin pieces.

　　In the 1990s, musicologist Huang Xiangpeng, the former director of the Music Research Institute of the China Academy of Arts, called the recording archives of traditional Chinese music "the fire of Chinese music culture". These musical cultural forms and musical cultural matters are changing virtually, or gradually disappearing.

Fortunately, this archive is like "tinder", which preserves a large amount of traditional Chinese music, allowing us to glimpse its original appearance and pass it down from generation to generation.

　　An open data platform that can be collected and shared

　　"Without this recording file, without the pioneering work of a group of musicologists such as Yang Yinliu and Cao Anhe, and without the succession of researchers from generation to generation, I don't know how many people like A Bing and Turdi Ahong would be. How many wonderful pieces of music like "Erquan Reflecting the Moon" are produced in the folk, and then dissipate with the wind." said Tian Qing, honorary director of the Music Research Institute of the China Academy of Arts and an expert on intangible cultural heritage protection.

In his opinion, as the guardian of this precious musical heritage, only with awe, a rigorous and prudent attitude, and a scientific approach to protection can we live up to our predecessors and hold the "fire of Chinese music culture". Pass on the light of this traditional Chinese culture.

　　After the traditional Chinese music recording archives were selected into the "Memory of the World" project, the China National Academy of Arts organized a special team to use international standards to simulate different types of recordings (coarse and dense), steel wire tapes, open-reel tapes, cassette tapes, etc. The carrier carries out digital rescue and protection.

After more than 20 years of hard work, it has finally formed a professional database with the largest number of traditional music recordings, the longest history and the most precious in China.

After the digital platform "Memory of the World - Chinese Traditional Music Recording Archives" designed and constructed under the auspices of the Art and Documentation Museum of the China National Academy of Arts, after its trial operation, about 10,000 pieces of audio data will be released in advance, and these precious audios will be released one after another All tracks of the file.

　　The reporter entered the digital platform to browse and saw that the visual design of the platform is beautiful and generous. The welcome page of "Blossoming Flowers" is taken from the motto of the Chinese Academy of Arts "Let a hundred flowers bloom and bring forth the new", exuding a strong literary atmosphere.

Among the three major sections of "resources", "topics" and "columns", the core section "resources" has 12 categories, including ancient music, folk songs, folk music, opera music, singing and dancing music, and folk instrumental music, with clear entries.

Similar to the current general music digital platform, each piece of music can be "collected", "shared", and "created a new music list"; the difference is that it is more academic, for example, a variety of retrieval methods have been designed and multiple retrieval screenings are provided. Conditions, providing academic writings related to resources, etc., can meet the resource needs of different groups.

　　"The 'Memory of the World - Chinese Traditional Music Recording Archives' digital platform brings together traditional music resources from all ethnic groups and cultural groups in our country, and is the best embodiment of the diverse, integrated and long-standing Chinese music culture." China National Academy of Arts Dean Han Ziyong said.

He said that as China's first "Memory of the World" project protection unit, the China National Academy of Arts has pioneered the use of digital technology to release this cultural heritage to the society, which not only improves the visibility of the memory heritage, but also further promotes Chinese traditional The protection and utilization of cultural heritage demonstrates cultural self-confidence.

　　"Chinese traditional music recording archives are the common wealth of China and the world. We are committed to building this digital platform into an open data platform to provide the world with more abundant Chinese traditional music audio resources," said Han Ziyong.

　　Zheng Na