The craftsmanship of the Lisu gourd sheng has a long history and has distinct local ethnic characteristics. Its specific [date of origin] cannot be verified at present. However, the time when the Lisu people lived in Dechang can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty. The gourd sheng is the favorite musical instrument of the Lisu people, so the history of its craftsmanship should not be later than the Yuan Dynasty. [Distribution area] The main location of the gourd sheng craftsmanship of the Lisu people in Dechang is Jinsha Township and Nanshan Township in Dechang County and their surrounding areas. Jinsha Township and Nanshan Township are about 30 kilometers away from Dechang County. The geographical coordinates are: 27 degrees 4 minutes and 27 degrees 34 minutes north latitude, 101 degrees 53 minutes and 102 degrees 28 minutes east longitude, and the south is connected to Huili and Miyi counties. [Basic content] The gourd sheng is indispensable in the daily life, production labor, festivals, weddings and funerals of the Lisu people. Lisu women in Dechang like to play mouth strings, while men like to play gourd shengs. Most gourd shengs are homemade five-tube gourd shengs. The main tools for making gourd shengs are several special knives, and the raw materials include yellow bamboo, bubble bamboo, hollow bamboo, gourd, yellow wax, etc. The main production process is: 1. Pick gourds. Pick small gourds of "lusheng gourd melon" specially planted to make the sheng bowl. 2. Cut bamboo. Yellow bamboo is commonly known as "dragon bamboo". It usually grows on the second and half mountains of Yinshan Mountain. It grows in patches and materials are collected regardless of the season. When cutting bamboo, it is best to cut it about 2 feet above the ground and more than 1 meter long. It is better to take the middle section when using it. The thickness depends on the size of the lusheng. The diameter of the bamboo tube used for the large size is about 1.5 cm, and the second and third sizes are slightly smaller. Tie the bamboo together and dry it in the sun to prevent the bamboo tube from deforming. 3. Cut the bamboo tube. First, according to the size of the sheng, select five yellow bamboos of uniform thickness and cut them into bamboo tubes of different lengths as required. The bamboo must be straight, and a bamboo node must be left at one end of each bamboo section; secondly, use a special tool to drill a small hole at the bamboo node, the hole size varies, depending on the scale; then open a long strip hole 1 to 2 cm above the bamboo node, about 2 to 3 cm long, about half a centimeter wide, in the shape of a trumpet, large outside and small inside, for the installation of the tongue. 4. Make the tongue. The technical requirements for making the tongue are very high, and it is generally completed by people with high skills. Split the bamboo and cut it into thin bamboo pieces about 0.5 cm wide. The concave surface must be cut flat and the convex surface must be scraped. Then groove the two sides of the small bamboo piece, make a long triangle in the middle, cut one end and connect the other end together, then cut the long triangle into thin slices, keep a small amount of trapezoidal shape, and cut a very thin line on both sides with a sharp knife. In the sun, you can see two long strips of light with a deep concave shape. After the tongue piece is made, it should be slowly fried with sheep oil until it turns liver color or the oil does not bubble. This can avoid the sound being out of tune and changing due to saliva soaking when playing. 5. Processing the gourd sheng bucket. Take a gourd with a moderate shape and size. After selecting the position, make five holes in a certain proportion at the upper and lower equal places. The size depends on the diameter of the bamboo tube, then hollow out the inner soil, and use a pointed thin metal strip to burn the gourd claw stem red. The hole diameter depends on the number of reed pipes. The gourd sheng mouth processed in this way is durable and easy to play. 6. Stick the pipe. Fix the five bamboo tubes on the sheng bowl with yellow wax. This yellow wax is made by boiling the residue left after filtering honey at least twice, and then cooling the remaining wax juice after the water is dried to make a high-quality sealing wax. 7. Equip with a sound amplifier. Install a small gourd on the top of the long bamboo tube to increase the volume. It is generally difficult to tune the sound of the gourd sheng at one time. It must be done one tube at a time, and it must be debugged repeatedly to tune the sound. It is mainly to repeatedly process the thickness and thinness of the triangular trapezoidal strip in the middle of the tongue and the gap on both sides to achieve the effect of tuning the sound quality. The order of tuning is: tune one tube first, then tune five tubes, then tune two and four tubes, and finally tune three tubes. Among them, the sound quality of the fourth and fifth tubes is the best and easy to tune, while the debugging of the second and third tubes is the most difficult and the most difficult to tune, and it requires repeated debugging many times. After all the bamboo tubes are finished and tuned, use a knife to make three small square holes at the top of the second and third tubes, mainly to change the tone, because the tone of the gourd sheng is divided into old and new. The old tone is sealed with yellow wax, and the new tone is not sealed. [Basic characteristics] 1. The craftsmanship of the Lisu gourd sheng has a long history and has distinct local ethnic characteristics. 2. The main tool for making gourd sheng is a carving knife, and the raw materials include yellow bamboo, bubble bamboo, hollow bamboo, gourd, yellow wax, etc. The production process mainly includes picking gourds, cutting bamboo, cutting bamboo to make tubes, making tongue pieces, processing gourd sheng buckets, gluing tubes, matching with amplifiers, tuning, etc. 3. The production process of the gourd sheng requires high precision, but the materials are simple and no machine is needed for auxiliary processing. It is completely made by the producer. No ruler is needed to measure each link. Large, small, thick, thin, drilling, and tuning can all be done by one person independently. It is not limited by production time and can be made when visiting villages and households. The production tools are small and light. There is no need for a table when making it, and it can be made anywhere. The whole process depends entirely on the producer's skilled technology. It is a pure manual work project. [Basic Value] 1. Since the Dechang Lisu people had no written language before liberation, their historical culture has been passed down from generation to generation orally, and the gourd sheng has also become an important channel for communication and inheritance of national culture. The melody, timbre, and playing skills of the gourd sheng are unique, and it is a rare treasure in the treasure house of Chinese national musical instruments. 2. The Lisu people have rich and colorful culture, art and customs, which contain the unique spiritual values, thinking methods, imagination and cultural awareness of the Lisu people. While fully reflecting the aesthetic feelings of the Lisu people and increasing mutual exchanges, they have a positive impact on enhancing social cohesion, promoting national unity and cultural exchanges. Protecting and making good use of the rich and colorful culture of the Lisu people is of great and far-reaching significance for inheriting and carrying forward the excellent cultural traditions of the nation, enhancing national unity, strengthening national self-confidence and cohesion, and promoting the construction of socialist spiritual civilization.