Ningxia Hui folk musical instruments
In their long-term life practices and cultural activities, the Ningxia Hui people have inherited the ancient musical instruments of Ningxia and the musical instruments and music of the Northwest Frontier, and gradually developed them into the unique folk musical instruments of the Ningxia Hui people. In the last century, Chinese historians and writers have verified that the Ningxia wow, 0, and mouth string are the evolution and remains of the ancient musical instruments Xun, Qiang flute, reed pipe, and reed that have been circulated in Ningxia since the Han and Tang Dynasties. The verses "The dust of the barbarians clears the jade fortress, the Qiang flute rhymes with the golden gong" and "I don't know who blows the reed pipe, and all the soldiers miss their hometown all night" in the poem "Drinking Horses at the Great Wall Cave" by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, are all true accounts of the local popular instrumental music after visiting the ancient Ningxia Lingzhou. Due to historical changes, these instruments are very rare among the Han and other ethnic minorities in my country, but they were still popular among the Ningxia Hui people until the 20th century. Ningxia Hui folk musical instruments have formed unique performance skills, production techniques, and singing and playing art. The "Bashi" (expert) of Hui musical instruments can use cross-tremolo fingers to play high-pitched wah-woo to produce brilliance that is difficult to produce on other instruments. Hui musical instruments made by Hui artists look like cow heads and lambs, decorated with Hui artistic patterns and lines, and carved with Arabic calligraphy, etc., with distinct Hui cultural characteristics. Because of their beautiful timbre, easy to play and easy to carry, they have been passed down from generation to generation among the Hui people in Ningxia. In some Hui villages, whether young girls or white-haired old people, everyone has a small mouth string, and Hui girls and young people are good at playing 0 and wah-woo. The Hui proverb "Wah-woo singing, crops grow; 0 blowing, cattle and sheep grow strong" is a portrayal of Hui customs. At present, Hui women wearing veils and playing mouth strings have been recognized as the image ambassadors of the Hui people in Ningxia. In recent decades, due to the influence of factors such as changes in people's lifestyles, the social soil for the survival of Hui instrumental music in Ningxia is rapidly disappearing, and the inheritance of instrumental music has encountered a crisis. The older generation of artists have changed their careers, and many young people no longer know what mouth strings, 0 and wah-woo are. In order to effectively protect the folk instrumental music of the Hui nationality in Ningxia, a protection mechanism and corresponding system should be established as soon as possible, publicity should be strengthened, and wider attention should be paid to it from the whole society.