.jpg?w=1)
拍品专文
The Beautiful Lutanist
Rosemary Scott, International Academic Director, Asian Art
The decoration on this mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer box depicts a female pipa player seated resting her instrument on her knee and with one hand delicately raised to her face. The pipa with pear-shaped body and bent neck was a very popular instrument during the Tang dynasty. It was greatly admired for the delicacy and refinement of the music which could be played upon it and was particularly favoured at court. At that time it had either four or five strings, and either five or six frets. While the instrument was well established in China by that time, musicians and teachers from Persia and Kucha still frequented the Tang capital Chang'an. It is said that during the reign of the Tang Emperor Taizong (r. AD 627-649) a particularly arrogant western musician brought an unusually large pipa to Chang'an and challenged the local musicians to play it. None were able to do so. When the emperor heard of this he invited the foreign musician to a banquet and asked him to play. The latter played three well-known melodies beautifully, but the emperor indicated that he wished to hear something new. The foreigner then played one of his own recent compositions - a very complex piece. The emperor announced that one of his own attendants could play it, to which the proud foreigner scornfully replied that none of the Chinese musicians could even play his instrument, never mind the difficult piece of music. However, unknown to him the emperor had secreted a brilliant female pipa player, by the name of Luo Heihei, behind a screen so that she could listen to the music. The emperor bid Luo come forward and she played the piece of music even more brilliantly than the foreigner, since she was famed not only for her inspired playing but for her ability to reproduce any piece of music after hearing it only once.
It is possible that the figure on the box is supposed to represent Luo Heihei, as one of China's most celebrated female lutanists, however it seems more probable that she represents the female pipa player described by the Tang poet Bai Juyi (AD 772-846) in his famous epic poem Pipa Xing (The Song of the Lute). One autumn evening, after he had been demoted to a prefectural post in Jiujiang in AD 815, Bai Juyi was seeing off friends who were travelling from Penpu on the Yangtze river. Suddenly he heard beautiful music coming from a neighboring boat. He made enquiries and discovered that the musician was a lady who had been a famous pipa player in the capital. Bai Juyi invited the lady to play for himself and his guests, and on hearing her exquisite playing and learning the story of her life was moved to write Pipa Xing.
The lady had been a child prodigy, who at thirteen was the foremost pupil at the Imperial Conservatory. She was also beautiful , and so had endless suitors, received countless gifts and led a life of excitement and luxury. However, as her beauty faded and her fame diminished eventually she was reduced to marrying a tea merchant, who was frequently away from home - leaving her alone and longing for the past. When she played for Bai Juyi and his friends she demonstrated that she had retained her wonderful musical ability and her elegant manners, but her heart was full of sorrow - mirroring Bai Juyi's own sorrow at his demotion.
The poet described her playing:
'Delicately she fingered the strings, slowly she strummed and plucked them,
The song Gown of Shimmering Feathers, then The Six Minor Notes,
The thick strings thrummed loudly like the pattering rain;
The fine strings tinkled softly in murmuring whispers.
When mingling loud and soft notes were played together
It was like large and small pearls cascading into a jade dish.'
Several aspects of the depiction of the lady on the box suggest that she represents the pipa player of Bai Juyi's poem. She has a somewhat melancholy demeanor, and appears no longer young. Her robe is elegant but tightly fastened around her neck, whereas young fashionable ladies of the Tang dynasty are usually portrayed with at least a little v-shaped area of throat showing, and the robe also completely disguises her figure . The lady's hair is coiffured in the style of the Tang dynasty court, but less tightly than is usual for young women. Her facial features are beautiful, but do not necessarily have the look of youth, and there is a crease in her neck. She is graceful, but not young. An additional clue to her identity is the wine bottle standing to one side of her, which would accord with the wine provided at Bai Juyi's feast. The scene on the box is thus wonderfully evocative of one of the great literary works of the Tang dynasty.
Rosemary Scott, International Academic Director, Asian Art
The decoration on this mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer box depicts a female pipa player seated resting her instrument on her knee and with one hand delicately raised to her face. The pipa with pear-shaped body and bent neck was a very popular instrument during the Tang dynasty. It was greatly admired for the delicacy and refinement of the music which could be played upon it and was particularly favoured at court. At that time it had either four or five strings, and either five or six frets. While the instrument was well established in China by that time, musicians and teachers from Persia and Kucha still frequented the Tang capital Chang'an. It is said that during the reign of the Tang Emperor Taizong (r. AD 627-649) a particularly arrogant western musician brought an unusually large pipa to Chang'an and challenged the local musicians to play it. None were able to do so. When the emperor heard of this he invited the foreign musician to a banquet and asked him to play. The latter played three well-known melodies beautifully, but the emperor indicated that he wished to hear something new. The foreigner then played one of his own recent compositions - a very complex piece. The emperor announced that one of his own attendants could play it, to which the proud foreigner scornfully replied that none of the Chinese musicians could even play his instrument, never mind the difficult piece of music. However, unknown to him the emperor had secreted a brilliant female pipa player, by the name of Luo Heihei, behind a screen so that she could listen to the music. The emperor bid Luo come forward and she played the piece of music even more brilliantly than the foreigner, since she was famed not only for her inspired playing but for her ability to reproduce any piece of music after hearing it only once.
It is possible that the figure on the box is supposed to represent Luo Heihei, as one of China's most celebrated female lutanists, however it seems more probable that she represents the female pipa player described by the Tang poet Bai Juyi (AD 772-846) in his famous epic poem Pipa Xing (The Song of the Lute). One autumn evening, after he had been demoted to a prefectural post in Jiujiang in AD 815, Bai Juyi was seeing off friends who were travelling from Penpu on the Yangtze river. Suddenly he heard beautiful music coming from a neighboring boat. He made enquiries and discovered that the musician was a lady who had been a famous pipa player in the capital. Bai Juyi invited the lady to play for himself and his guests, and on hearing her exquisite playing and learning the story of her life was moved to write Pipa Xing.
The lady had been a child prodigy, who at thirteen was the foremost pupil at the Imperial Conservatory. She was also beautiful , and so had endless suitors, received countless gifts and led a life of excitement and luxury. However, as her beauty faded and her fame diminished eventually she was reduced to marrying a tea merchant, who was frequently away from home - leaving her alone and longing for the past. When she played for Bai Juyi and his friends she demonstrated that she had retained her wonderful musical ability and her elegant manners, but her heart was full of sorrow - mirroring Bai Juyi's own sorrow at his demotion.
The poet described her playing:
'Delicately she fingered the strings, slowly she strummed and plucked them,
The song Gown of Shimmering Feathers, then The Six Minor Notes,
The thick strings thrummed loudly like the pattering rain;
The fine strings tinkled softly in murmuring whispers.
When mingling loud and soft notes were played together
It was like large and small pearls cascading into a jade dish.'
Several aspects of the depiction of the lady on the box suggest that she represents the pipa player of Bai Juyi's poem. She has a somewhat melancholy demeanor, and appears no longer young. Her robe is elegant but tightly fastened around her neck, whereas young fashionable ladies of the Tang dynasty are usually portrayed with at least a little v-shaped area of throat showing, and the robe also completely disguises her figure . The lady's hair is coiffured in the style of the Tang dynasty court, but less tightly than is usual for young women. Her facial features are beautiful, but do not necessarily have the look of youth, and there is a crease in her neck. She is graceful, but not young. An additional clue to her identity is the wine bottle standing to one side of her, which would accord with the wine provided at Bai Juyi's feast. The scene on the box is thus wonderfully evocative of one of the great literary works of the Tang dynasty.