two-stringed stringed instrument with a trapezoidal body and a handle decorated with a horse's head. It is a favorite instrument of the Mongolian people. A folk bowed stringed instrument of the Mongolian people in China. It is called "Choer" in Mongolian. The body of the instrument is made of wood, about one meter long, and has two strings. The resonance box is trapezoidal and covered with horse skin. The sound is mellow, low and lingering, and the volume is relatively weak. According to legend, a shepherd missed his dead pony, so he took its leg bones as pillars, skulls as tubes, and tail hair as bowstrings to make a two-stringed instrument, and carved a horse's head in the shape of a pony and installed it on the top of the handle, hence the name. Matouqin mtuqn [abowed stringed instrument with a crooked carved like a horse's head] A two-stringed stringed instrument with a trapezoidal body and a handle decorated with a horse's head. It is a favorite instrument of the Mongolian people. Matouqin Matouqin A folk bowed stringed instrument of the Mongolian people in China. It is called "Choer" in Mongolian. The body of the instrument is made of wood, about one meter long, and has two strings. The resonance box is trapezoidal and covered with horse skin. The sound is mellow, low and melodious, and the volume is relatively weak. According to legend, a shepherd missed his dead pony, so he took its leg bones as pillars, skull as tubes, and tail hair as bowstrings to make a two-stringed harp. He also carved a horse head in the shape of the pony and installed it on the top of the handle, hence the name. Guo Xiaochuan's poem "The King of Pinglu Steelmaking" says: "People in the pastoral area heard that steel flowers were spraying, and they played the horse-head fiddle in the yurt." The horse-head fiddle is a stringed instrument of the Mongolian ethnic minority in China. It is named after the horse head carved on the top of the fiddle pole. The horse-head fiddle has a long history and evolved from the stringed instrument Xiqin in the Tang and Song dynasties. It was already popular among the people during the time of Genghis Khan (1155-1227). According to "The Travels of Marco Polo", a two-stringed harp was popular among the Tatars (the predecessor of the Mongolians) in the 12th century, which may be its predecessor. It was used in the court orchestra during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Due to the different regions of circulation, its name, shape, timbre and playing method are also different. In the western part of Inner Mongolia, it is called "Molin Huwuer", while in Hulunbuir League, Jirim League and Zhaowuda League in the eastern part of Inner Mongolia, it is called "Chaoer". There are also "Huwuer", "Huqin", "Mawei Huqin", "Bowstring Huqin" and other names. In addition to Inner Mongolia, it is also popular among the Mongolians in Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Gansu, Xinjiang and other places. The horse-head fiddle is a representative instrument of the Mongolian nation. It not only occupies a place in the family of Chinese and world musical instruments, but also is a favorite instrument of folk artists and herdsmen. The music played by the horse-head fiddle has the characteristics of deep, rough and passionate, reflecting the production, life and grassland style of the Mongolian nation. Historically, from the period of mountain hunting culture to the early stage of grassland nomadic culture, the instruments used by the Mongolians were not horse-head fiddles, but plucked instruments such as Huobisi and Tubsuoer, and they were mostly used for entertaining songs and dances and dance accompaniment. According to the records in the Secret History of Mongolia and the History of Yuan Dynasty, from Genghis Khan to Kublai Khan, Mongolian folk instruments were mainly plucked instruments. Mongolian soldiers and herdsmen in the Yuan Dynasty were good at playing the huobisi and liked to dance collectively. When grassland nomadic music developed rapidly, the horse-head fiddle, a bowed instrument, emerged and became widely popular, and eventually replaced the status of plucked instruments, becoming the most grassland-featured folk instrument of the Mongolian people. Obviously, bowed instruments replaced plucked instruments, and the huobisi gradually declined, so the horse-head fiddle naturally became the protagonist of Mongolian musical instruments. The horse-head fiddle is named after the horse head carved on the head of the instrument. The Draft History of Qing Dynasty states: "Huqin is made of hollowed-out tung wood, with two strings, a dragon head, and a square handle. The groove is oval and sharp at the bottom, covered with leather, and a wood like a hairpin head is set outside the groove to buckle the string. Under the dragon head is a mountain mouth, hollowed out to hold the string, and tied with two shafts, one on each side, tied with 81 horsetails." It can be seen that the horse-head fiddle originally had a dragon head. As early as in Volume 71 of the History of Yuan Dynasty, "Ritual Music Records", it was recorded that "Huqin is made like a fire-burning instrument, with a rolled neck, two strings with a dragon head, and twisted with a bow, the strings of which are horsetails." According to rock paintings and some historical materials, the ancient Mongolians began to process yogurt spoons, cover them with cowhide, and pull two horsetail strings on them to play as musical instruments, which was called "spoon-shaped Huqin". At present, many experts believe that this is the predecessor of the horse-head fiddle. The longest spoon-shaped Huqin at that time was about two feet long, and the resonance box was relatively small, so the sound was much smaller. To this day, some people in the western part of Mongolia still call the horse-head fiddle "spoon-shaped Huqin". At that time, the head of the instrument was not necessarily a horse head, but a human head, skull, crocodile head, turtle shell or dragon head, etc. In addition, some people said that the head of this instrument was in the shape of a monkey head or a Mater head. Mater looks like a dragon and has a monkey face, symbolizing a divine object that suppresses evil spirits. According to relevant scholars, the name of Matouqin was probably acquired in the late 19th century and early 20th century, when the head of the instrument was changed from a dragon head or a matel head to a horse head. In addition, there are many other types of instruments, such as Pihu, Qiaohu, Sihu, Xiqin, Jiqin, etc., which were popular instruments at that time. During the Yuan Dynasty, as the court life became more prosperous, there were special people in the court who played, sang and danced, and Matouqin gradually became one of the main contents of court music. Matouqin is the best instrument for playing ancient Mongolian long tunes. It can accurately express the life of Mongolians, such as: vast grasslands, whistling winds, sad moods, galloping horse hooves, happy pastoral songs, etc. In this regard, the overall status of Mongolian national musical instruments in the Yuan Dynasty has been significantly improved. They are not only used for dance and song accompaniment, but also have produced pure instrumental music, such as "Haiqing Na Swan" and "White Feather Bird", which have indeed made great progress. By the beginning of the 18th century, the appearance and structure of Matouqin had changed greatly. With the innovation of the horse-head fiddle body, the horse-head fiddle's playing skills have also been newly created and developed, and many folk storytelling performers have emerged. Current situation In the vast Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and provinces and regions where Mongolians live, people love the horse-head fiddle. In addition to being a solo instrument, it is often used for storytelling (Mongolian storytelling), folk songs and dance accompaniment or ensemble with instruments such as the four-stringed fiddle. The traditional horse-head fiddle has a small volume and is only suitable for playing in yurts and indoors; after the reform, the horse-head fiddle's artistic modeling has become more perfect, and its volume and range have been significantly expanded. It is completely suitable for playing on stage or outdoors. It can not only be played by stringing, but also by plucking, and has become an excellent solo instrument. It also often participates in folk band performances and has become the main instrument of the Inner Mongolia Ulanmuqi (literary propaganda team). It is best at playing soft and delicate lyrical tunes, and is particularly suitable for playing long and vast melodies and accompanying long folk songs. Bai Su Gulang was born in the beautiful and rich Hulunbuir grassland. In his deep memory, his father often played the homemade folk instruments, composed and sang his own songs. Under the influence of his father, he had a special liking for Mongolian music and art since he was a child. With this persistent pursuit, in the spring of 2001, at the age of 18, he resolutely bid farewell to his hometown and embarked on a journey of wandering alone to learn from a master. In order to study, Gulang worked in a horse-head fiddle factory in Hohhot. He was determined to study the horse-head fiddle production process. The road to study was very hard and tiring, but he endured it silently. In his words, he would never return to his hometown unless he made a name for himself! Hard work pays off. In the winter of 2005, he learned something and chose to come to Qian Gorlos, Jilin, the hometown of horse-head fiddle, to make horse-head fiddles. He was engaged in a career that he loved and made him proud of. He was fortunate to be able to use his hard-working hands to promote his national culture. People who know the industry know that to make a good quality horse-head fiddle, the production process is very complicated, and it has to go through dozens of processes. The craftsmanship requirements are also very fine, requiring full dedication and no negligence. All the processes are completed with a pair of hands. The traditional horse-head fiddle only has a horse head, without other carvings. The horse-head fiddle made by Gu Lang is different. After his continuous innovation, a dragon head is carved under the horse head of the horse-head fiddle. There is an old Chinese saying that the spirit of dragon and horse is reflected in Gu Lang's horse-head fiddle. The sound of the horse-head fiddle he made is pure and rich, which can give it the soul of the nation. It has been highly praised by singers such as Qi Feng, Rong Zhongerjia, and Sai Yinjia. It is sold all over the country and is often in short supply. Although he has achieved success in his career, he knows that this is just the beginning. There is still a long way to go in the future. His goal is to continuously enrich his cultural literacy and improve his skills, further improve the horse-head fiddle production process, establish his own brand, and continue to create a career on the road of exploring art and leave his own footprints of struggle. Gulang is kind and simple, with the tenacity, enthusiasm and generosity of the children of the grassland. He has made many friends. He also hopes to make more like-minded friends through publicity, learn from each other and carry forward the national art. The country attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. On May 20, 2006, Mongolian horse-head fiddle music was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. Information source: Jilin Province Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center Information source: Jilin Province Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center