南音痴爷：耄耋老人玩转中国古代音乐的“活化石” | Nanyin Master

Ke Qingjiang is an 83-year-old man who has spent his entire life playing Nanyin music. He has sometimes forgotten to brush teeth, but never forgets to take part in Nanyin activities. He has mastered many Nanyin melodies, and is able to play all kinds of Nanyin instruments. Even at the age of 83, he never stops practicing Nanyin. 

Nanyin music is called the living fossil of Chinese ancient music. It can be tracked back to the Han and Tang Dynasties, was improved upon in the Five Dynasty, and was well developed during the  Song Dynasty. It is the oldest form of traditional Chinese music that still exists today. Its uniqueness lies in its slow and lingering melody. In 2009, Nanyin was listed to the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. 

柯清江，如今83岁，已痴迷于南音83年。他会忘记刷牙，但从来不会忘记每周五晚在厦门中山路老宅子里的南音聚会。全面掌握南音的指、谱、曲、演唱并精通各项乐器的他，虽年逾耄耋，却仍坚持每周都练习南音。

南音，有“中国古代音乐的活化石”之美誉。它起源于汉唐，提高于五代，在宋代得到了充分的发展，是中国现存历史最悠久的传统古乐。

它曲调缓慢，婉转悠长，风格独树一帜。2009年，福建南音正式被联合国教科文组织列入人类非物质文化遗产代表作名录。

Ke Qingjiang

Nanyin is mainly popular in the southern Fujian Province, in places such as Xiamen, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou, and is also popular in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and other Minnan-speaking areas of Southeast Asia. 

Different areas play different styles, each has its own merit. During the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty, Nanyin became popular in Xiamen. Ji antang, Jin huage, and some other Nanyin Associations were set up one after another. 

南音主要流行于福建南部的厦门、泉州、漳州，在台湾、香港、澳门以及东南亚各国闽南籍华侨旅居的地区也颇为盛行。但每个地方的南音略有不同，各有千秋。明末清初，南音盛行于厦门，“集安堂”、“金华阁”、“锦华阁”等南乐社纷纷成立。

Wooden fish, double bells, xiangzhan, woodblocks and so on are small Nanyin instruments.

Ke Qingjiang was born in Quanzhou, and came to Xiamen when he was a child.  Because both his parents were Nanyin tutors, he began to learn Xiamen’s traditional Nanyin at a young age. He jokes that his prenatal education music is certainly Nanyin. At the age of six, he started singing Nanyin at weddings. At that time, Nanyin was played for essential activities like weddings, funerals, and idolatrous processions. “It is also played in many tea houses, as they used Nanyin to attract customers,” said Ke. 

Ke started seriously learning Nanyin in his teens. He used to walk around Xiamen looking for Nanyin tutors. When he started studying in school, he would continue his Nanyin study after classes were over. When he started working, he used his free time to learn. The ins and outs, he learned from dozens of Nanyin tutors. This effort helped him finally learn to play all the Nanyin instruments. Not only that, he also analyzed Nanyin melodies and compositions.  

柯清江出生于福建晋江，少年时期来到厦门。父母都是南音老师，从小便接受厦门传统南音教育。他开玩笑说：“我连胎教音乐都是南音。”六岁的他，开始在新娘子的轿前演唱南音。在那个年代，南音时常用于婚丧喜庆、迎神赛会等仪式。柯老回忆：“那时候的厦门，街头大大小小的茶馆都有唱南音的，它们以此来吸引顾客。”

那个时候，也是柯老学习南音最用功的时候。十多岁的他，游走于厦门的大街小巷，四处拜师。上学的时候，一放学便开始学习南音。后来先后到厦门罐头厂、灯泡厂工作，也是一下班，便投身于南音。前后求学于几十位南音老师，日积月累，终于学会并精通了南音的所有乐器。除了乐器的练习，柯老对曲谱也颇有研究。

Mr. Ke and his students are performing Nanyin music. 

Not long ago, a song called"Song of Tomorrow" became popular after Chinese young singer Karry Wang's rendition. But few people know that the Nanyin version of "Song of Tomorrow" was also popular in Xiamen’s Nanyin circle 40 years ago, and has won five to six awards at Nanyin competitions. In 1978, Mr. Ke recomposed the poem "Song of Tomorrow" into a Nanyin version. 

“But now, few people less than 40 years old know about it. And people up to 40 who know about it will soon pass away,” said Ke. His daughter, 45-year-old Ke Weiwei, might be the only middle-aged person who could remember it. 

前不久，人气歌手王俊凯唱的《明日歌》火遍大江南北。无独有偶，早在1978年，由柯老改编过的南音版《明日歌》也是唱响了当年厦门的南音界，并获得了五、六个奖项。那时恰逢厦门举行南音大会唱，柯老觉得钱福的这首《明日歌》特别励志，于是在原有的曲调上稍加修改，便成了今天我们听到的《明日歌》。

“但是如今，四十岁以下的几乎没有人知道这首南音版的《明日歌》了。而四十岁以上的知道的人，很多也已经过世了，”柯老感叹道。

他的小女儿，柯薇薇，今年45岁，也许就是全厦门市唯一会唱《明日歌》的中年人。

Mr. Ke is playing his instrument.

There are thousands of Nanyin songs, "Song of Tomorrow" is not the only one on the edge of extinction. “Today, Xiamen’s Nanyin has faded out,” said Ke. There are fewer platforms for Nanyin now. Ke explained that Nanyin is mainly for entertainment nowadays, as amateur players don’t make any income from it. 

Even so, Ke's passion for the ancient music has never stopped.  He has a dozen students and teaches them twice each week. Teaching and all kinds of Nanyin activities make up his daily routine.

从古至今，南音的曲谱有好几千首，而濒临失传的，不仅仅是这一首《明日歌》。“如今厦门的南音，已经不及当年了，”柯老说。如今的厦门街头，已然没有当年的南音盛况。各南音社的学员日渐减少，南音的演出也没有以前那么多了。柯老解释：“南音的发展确实有它的艰难之处，现在的南音更多是一种娱乐，业余的南音演奏是没有收入的。”

但即便如此，柯老操习南音的热情从未削减。收了十几个年轻徒弟，每周两次的专业指导课程，厦门一有南音活动就参加，这就是柯老的日常。

Nanyin melodies written by Mr. Ke.

“They are all highly educated. I am pleased that they come to me to learn Nanyin. Once they finish their apprenticeship, they could also be Nanyin tutors and teach more people.” He pins his hopes on these youth.

“In the past, I could play the Chinese bamboo flute continuously two and a half hours, but now, it’s less than three minutes. My power is less than one-tenth compared with the past. But as long as I am alive, I will never stop practicing Nanyin.” Ke is not only delivering skills, but also the music's spirit.

If this is what Ke does at the age of 83, how can the youth slack off?

柯老非常看好他的这些年轻徒弟们：“他们都是高学历的年轻人，他们能来学习厦门的传统南音，我很欣慰。以后他们学成了，可以每个人再带两三个徒弟，那么厦门南音的队伍会愈加壮大。”

柯老传承的，不仅是技艺，更是一种精神：“以前我吹洞箫可以一场演出两个半小时全程不间断，但现在只能吹个三两句了，现在的功力已经不及以前的十分之一了。但我只要活一天，就一天不间断南音的练习。”

南音之路，年长者尚如此，年轻人又如何？

Director: Lin Yingying

Story written by: Lin Yingying

English editor: Xuyen Nguyen

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