Zhongyuan, as the province of Henan was known in the old days, has been a place where ritual music prevailed. This rich land boasts time-honored history and civilizations, sparkling cultural relics, as well as rich and colourful music culture. And Zhengzhou's music culture can be hailed as a splendid jewel, playing an important role throughout the music history of Zhongyuan and even China at large.

中原自古为礼乐之邦，这片丰厚的土地上有着源远流长的历史文明、灿若星辰的文物遗存和丰富多彩的音乐文化。而郑州的音乐文化则可以称为一颗璀璨的明珠，在中原乃至中国音乐的历史上有着重要地位。

From daxia, the music dance performed to extol "Great Yu Controls the Waters", to the historical records that said "rapturous singing and dancing" scenes seen in the Shang dynasty; from shijing, or the Classic of Poetry, the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, dating to 2500 years ago, which can be sung, danced and performed with musical instruments, to the music of the states of Zheng and Wei, a representative of folk music prevailing in the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period; from the Jiahu gudi (the oldest known musical instrument from China, gudi literally means bone flute) excavated from the ruins of Jiahu dating back to eight or nine thousand years ago, to all sorts of musical instruments produced in the Zhou dynasty, such as drums, bells (zhong and qing), pipe instruments (guan and sheng), wind instruments (xiao) and zither-like instruments (qin and se). The songs from ancient times still resonate today on the great land of Zhongyuan.

从歌颂大禹治水的《大夏》之乐，到有关商朝“恒舞于宫，酣歌于室”的记载；从2500年前“可歌、可弦、可舞”的《诗经》，到春秋战国时期兴起的民间音乐代表“郑卫之音”；从贾湖遗址出土的距今约八九千年的贾湖骨笛，到周朝各类钟磬鼓瑟和管箫琴笙等……在中原大地上，悠悠史歌、绵延亘古。

Zhengzhou, a well-known historical and cultural city, has witnessed the old music culture passed on from generations to generations for the past several thousand years. Its old music culture has been further developed and revealed in the Yu opera and modern local popular music. It's a city of culture, a city of poetry, and a city with a soul.

郑州，作为历史文化名城，数千年来古代音乐文化薪火相传。其悠远的音乐文化风尚更是在豫剧和现代本土流行音乐中得到进一步发展和体现。一座有文化的城市，是有诗意和灵魂的。而一座有韵味的城市，是值得被聆听的。

Shijing, China's first collection of poetry, recorded in it ballads in fifteen states of the Western Zhou dynasty, which were popular among the people and were sung and spread by the people. Of all the ballads, Zhengfeng, the ballad in the state of Zheng, has the most characters. These popular ballads of natural simplicity are regarded as the oldest popular music in China.

中国第一部诗歌总集《诗经》，记录着当时流传于民间、为广大百姓传唱的歌谣——十五国风，其中尤以《郑风》篇数最多。那些自然率真、脍炙人口的歌唱，被誉为中国最早的流行音乐。

photo：Ding Youming

In many prehistoric and pre-Qin dynasty cultural sites excavated in Zhengzhou, the heartland of Zhongyuan, a lot of cultural relics of musical instruments were unearthed, such as taoxun (ceramic wind instrument), taoling (ceramic bell), taogu (ceramic drum), shiqing (stone bell) as well as qingtongnao (a kind of bronze-forged percussion instrument) and bianzhong (chime bells), which were developed and played earlier than other musical instruments of the same kind. These cultural relics are a witness to the rich “spiritual and cultural life”enjoyed by ancient people in Zhengzhou.

位于中原腹地的郑州，在众多史前与先秦文化遗址中，发掘出土了大量声乐文物，比如陶埙、陶铃、陶鼓、石磬，以及青铜铙、编钟等，是同类乐器中发展较早且较成熟的代表。透过这些文物，不难看出郑州先民“精神文化生活”之丰富。

Henan’s Jiahu gudi is the oldest musical instrument ever found in China’s archaeological history, dating back to eight or nine thousand years ago when China’s “voice from the remote past” was first heard. It was created in the period of Peiligang Culture in the Neolithic era. And because Zhengzhou was then sitting at the heart of the Peiligang Culture, music was probably played in people’s life in Zhengzhou during the same period. It’s said in the Book of Rites that pottery-clay drum......was the musical instrument of Yiqishi (or Shennong, a deity in Chinese religion, and a mythical sage ruler of prehistoric China). The red-pottery urn coffin was excavated in the old ruins of Xishan, Zhengzhou, which has a slightly converged door, a deep interior and a pointed bottom. Investigation found it that such urn coffin was probably used as some kind of ceramic drum to beat for wizard dance performance as wizardry was widely believed in before the Xia dynasty. The little hole at the bottom is like an opening of musical instruments, which can be taken as one of the remaining prehistoric musical instruments. As early as the period of the Longshan culture dating back to 4000 years ago, city ruins already existed in Zhengzhou. In the Xinzhai site in Xinmi, Zhenghzou, ceramic bells were excavated, which were used as ceremonial instruments in primitive religious rites. With dark gray all over the surface, they look like bay leaves if one looks down on them. 

中国考古发现的最古老乐器是河南的贾湖骨笛，将中国的“远古声音”推到了八九千年前。这是新石器时代裴李岗文化时期的音乐文物，而郑州正是裴李岗文化的核心分布区。由此推测，同时期的郑州应该也有音乐生活。《礼记》中记载，“土鼓……伊耆氏之乐也”。郑州西山古城出土的红陶瓮棺，大口稍敛，深腹尖底。上古时期信奉巫术，据考证这种瓮棺可能是当时表演巫舞时敲击的陶鼓，下部的小孔，用途类似于乐器中的释放孔，算是“史前遗音”的一种。4000年前的龙山文化时期，郑州已经有城址遗存。在新密新砦遗址出土的陶铃，器表灰黑色，俯视呈桂叶形，是原始宗教仪式中使用的礼器。

Shemingtongnao (a bronze musical instrument with the character "she" inscribed on its surface), produced in the later years of the Shang dynasty dating back to 2000 years ago, is a handheld beating musical instrument which can produce two kinds of music, zhenggu music (the sound produced when the front part is beaten) and cegu music (the sound produced when the side part is beaten). Its music sounds are still clear and its trill still consistently harmonious when the excavated nao is beaten. Its old glamour still resonates today. If you look at the chime bells, the ancient musical instrument produced in the pre-Qin period, excavated from the sacrificial site of the state of Zheng, you would find traces of tuning at the little groove near the mouth of the bell, which means it became ever more demanding in this period to control musical scale.

距今两千多年前的商代晚期舌铭铜铙，属于手持敲击乐器，分正鼓音、侧鼓音。出土后叩之，依然乐声清亮，颤音悠扬，古风犹存。再看郑国祭祀遗址出土的先秦古乐器编钟，钟口处的小沟槽有了调音痕迹，说明发展到这一时期对音阶控制要求已经很高了。

In the Spring and Autumn period, folk music began to thrive in the states of Zheng and Wei. The state of Zheng was strong in the early years, but its geographical position where it’s sandwiched between the state of Jin and the state of Chu made it weak in its later years. So it sent to the two states bronze ritual musical instruments, singers, and musicians as gifts in return for defusing tensions and ensuring security. This demonstrates the reputation the music of Zheng long enjoyed among the states at that time. Yayue, the classical court music then, mainly played with bells and drums, were usually performed in places of sacrifice, where its slow rhythms fit in with the solemn atmosphere. But the music of the states of Zheng and Wei was different. It's a kind of new popular folk music at that time, as it was played not only with the traditional musical instruments, but with new ones, the so-called sizu musical instruments (traditional stringed and woodwind instruments), including sheng, yu, chi, and se, producing music that were more fluent and lively. It's written in the Book of Rites: Record of Music that in the early stages of the Warring States period, Marquess Wen of Wei (the first Marquess to rule the State of Wei during the Warring States period) once said to Confucius’ student Zixia that he could easily get to doze once he was listening to Yayue but it wouldn’t be the case if he resorted to the music of the states of Zheng and Wei. Legend also has it that in the Warring States period, Mencius (also known as Mengzi in Chinese, a philosopher who has often been described as the “second Sage”, after only Confucius himself) once said that the King Xuan of Qi, who was fond of the music of Zheng and Wei, would like to listen to music with the people, which is a pun as music is homophonic to happiness in Chinese that means the King implemented policies that were good for the people.

春秋时期，郑国、卫国一带民俗音乐兴起，早期的郑国国势较强，但后期孱弱时，夹在晋国、楚国之间，便用青铜礼乐器、歌伎、乐师作为礼物来化解干戈，以保国安，由此可见“郑声”在诸侯国之间早已闻名遐迩。当时的雅乐，是以钟鼓金石之器为演奏主体，适合于庙堂祭祀场合庄重、肃穆的氛围，节奏一般较慢。而“郑卫之音”属于一种新潮民间流行音乐，不拘泥于金石乐器，还采用了新型丝竹乐器，如笙、竽、篪、瑟等，旋律更为流畅欢快。《礼记•乐记》记载，战国初魏文侯曾对孔子的学生子夏说：“吾端冕而听古乐则唯恐卧，听郑卫之音则不知倦。”意思是，听雅乐老打瞌睡，但听“郑卫之音”则不知疲倦。到了战国时期，孟子曾言齐宣王喜好郑卫之声“与民同乐”。

The civilizations of the dynasties of Xia, Shang and Zhou can all trace their roots to Zhongyuan on the lower reaches of the Yellow River, where the ideal cultural and geographical environment gave birth to the kind of music that is unbridled, naturally graceful and delicately beautiful. It’s not only a witness to the prosperity of music in the past several thousand years on the land of Zhengzhou, but more of a demonstration of the personality traits that the people of Zhengzhou have borne from the past till today, that is sincere, easy-going, enthusiastic and romantic.

夏商周三代文明植根于黄河流域中原地区，正是良好的人文和地理环境，才孕育出自由率真、飘逸灵秀的民间音乐。这不仅见证着郑州这片土地数千年来的音乐繁荣，更照应了郑州人从古至今真诚、洒脱、热情、浪漫的性格特质。

Whether it’s the remaining prehistoric music before the Xia dynasty, the cultural Yayue in the Zhou dynasty, the court music in the Tang dynasty, the folk music in the dynasties of Song and Yuan, or the traditional opera in the Qing dynasty, etc. the art of music in Zhongyuan has always stood at the forefront of China’s music development and has always been the representative of the most unique and diverse music across the spectrum of Chinese music. Moreover, it’s also an important bond connecting with the outside world.

从远古的“史前遗音”到周代的“文化雅乐”、唐朝的宫廷音乐、宋元的世俗音乐，再到清代的戏曲艺术……中原地区的音乐艺术始终走在中国音乐发展的前沿，一直是中国音乐系统最具风格、最为多样的典型。同时，其也是对外交流的重要纽带。

photo：Ma Jian

The key to sound relations between states lies in the affinity between their people, which largely stems from mutual understanding. It’s also true with music. As is said in the Book of Rites: Record of Music, the source of music is in the affections of the mind as it is influenced by (external) things. So in that sense, music serves as the best bond that connects people. By the time the Silk Road opened for the first time in history, music began to be shared among countries along the Silk Road. In the Treatise on Sacrifices produced in the Han dynasty, there was the Poem of Tianma (a horse) made by Emperor Wu of Han that described the Silk Road; and in Shibuyue (literally means ten kinds of music), a kind of court music in the Tang dynasty, except Yan Music and Qingshang Music that belonged to Han Music, Xiliang Music, Indian Music, Korean Music, Kucha Music, An State Music, Sule Music, Kang State Music, and Gaochang Music were all derived from the states along the Silk Road, whose choreography, style and instruments all had strong Tartar flavours. What’s especially striking is the Song of Colourful Plumage, the best musical dance in the Tang dynasty, which combines the finest parts of the musical dances in Zhongyuan with those in states along the Silk Road. At the same time, China’s culture of music has also profoundly influenced the development of the Western arts and cultures via the Silk Road. For example, French artists took inspiration from sheng to invent the pipe organ, and it was China’s folk song Mo Li Hua, or the Jasmine Flower that inspired the renowned Italian opera composer Puccini to create the classic master piece Turandot.

“国之交在于民相亲，民相亲在于心相交”，而音乐“其本在人心之感于物也”，正是世界各国人民相亲相交的最佳媒介。历史上丝绸之路初开时，音乐就在丝路沿线各国间交流互融。汉代郊祀歌中已有描绘丝路风情的《天马歌》；唐代《十部乐》中，除燕乐和清商外，其余西凉、天竺、高丽、龟兹、安国、疏勒、康国和高昌这八部都源自丝路各国，其编制、乐风、乐器无不具有浓厚的“胡化”色彩；尤为瞩目的是，代表唐代乐舞最高成就的《霓裳羽衣曲》融中原乐舞与丝路乐舞之大成。中国音乐文化也经由丝路传播，深刻影响了西方艺术文化的发展，法国艺术家在笙的启发下发明了管风琴，著名意大利歌剧家普契尼以中国民歌《茉莉花》为鉴而创作了传世经典《图兰朵》。

The sound of Zhongyuan, with all its power to influence and educate people, can touch people’s body and soul. It has therefore played a leading role in bringing together people from all countries along the Silk Road throughout history.

“入人也深，化人也速”的中原之声，浸润人们的身心情感，成为各个时期丝路上各国人民“民心相通”的先行者。

Zhengzhou’s agelong music culture flourished in the Yu opera, the leading local opera genre in terms of the number of performers and troupes in China. The opera incorporated in it the talking, the singing as well as the performances of musical instruments. It is fluent in delivery, distinctive in rhythm, and extremely oral. The opera has a highly flexible structure called banshibianhua (a.k.a banqiang), which can be sentimental, narrative or depictive. So it's easy to hand down from generations to generations. As a spiritual and cultural legacy unique to the people of Henan, the Yu opera, with its distinctively local features, is the precious cultural essence of the Chinese nation. 

郑州悠远的音乐文化在中国第一大地方剧种——豫剧中得到发扬。豫剧揉和说唱曲艺、乐器演奏，唱腔流畅、节奏鲜明、极具口语化，唱腔为板式变化体。这种板腔体可塑性强，即能抒情、叙事又能状物，灵活自如，便于流传。作为河南人民特有的精神文化遗产，豫剧形成独具地方特色的声腔音乐，是中华民族宝贵的文化精华。

photo：Zhang Yanping

The music culture of Zhongyuan was not only given a boost in the Yu opera, but also reflected in Zhengzhou’s modern local singer-songwriters. For example, independent musician Liu Zifu sang in his ballad that Zhengzhou is a culturally rich city one can relate to; Limiband, a music band formed by a few young people, expressed its love for the city in its plainest rock music; and Wu Xing, a music composer, took into his songs those real stories that had occurred in the streets and alleys of Zhengzhou......It’s in the local original music which symbolizes freedom and dream that the persistent shouting and yelling to release pressure can be heard.

中原音乐文化风尚除了在豫剧中得以发展，在现代郑州的本土音乐唱作人身上也有所体现。比如，独立音乐人刘子芙，以民谣讲述郑州是一座有底蕴、有情感的城；比如，年轻力量雷米乐队，用最质朴的摇滚唱出对郑州的爱；比如，音乐创作人无醒，把郑州街头巷尾的真情故事写进歌里……在象征着自由与梦想的郑州本土原创音乐中，我们能听见人们释放压力和执着的呐喊声。

At the end of 2015 when the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Conference was held in Zhengzhou, an original music dubbed Welcome to Zhengzhou demonstrates the hospitality and self pride of the people there. Then in the second half of 2016, a song titled The City almost told what those young people who worked hard for their dreams in Zhengzhou really had deep in their hearts......Many Zhengpiao, or Zhengzhou drifters, (a term used to refer to those who have moved to Zhengzhou but are still struggling for a better life) would say in a sigh that we are deeply in love with this city just like we are deeply in love with music and the city where we are working hard is just like the dream we are fighting for.

2015年年底，上合组织会议在郑州召开之际，一首原创音乐《郑州欢迎你》展示了郑州人的好客和自豪感；2016年下半年，一首《这个城》几乎写出这座城市里所有为实现梦想而打拼的年轻人的心声……不少“郑漂”感慨道：“我们深爱着这个城，就像我们深爱着音乐；我们为之奋斗的这个城，就像我们为之奋斗的理想。”

As local music gains traction, people in Zhengzhou have become more and more passionate about music in recent years. And the city also began to get noticed by such dazzling music festivals as the U-Fun Music Festival, the Metoo Music Festival, and the Strawberry Music Festival, which all rushed to get a foothold there. At the same time, many world-class operas and concerts were performed one after the other at Henan Art Center near the Ruyi Lake.

随着本土音乐力量的崛起，近几年，郑州人对音乐的热情一浪高过一浪。而那些“高大上”的音乐节也开始把目光投向这里，优放、迷途、草莓等音乐节品牌纷至沓来。与此同时，一场场国际一流的歌剧和演奏会陆续登陆如意湖畔的河南艺术中心。

photo：Ma Jian

If Zhengzhou, a city aimed at becoming central to the nation with its excellent development, can be said as a rising “dragon's head”, then its music culture, with its traditions and innovations in equal development, is just like the glittering jewel on the dragon’s head.

如果说，以高质量创建国家中心城市为目标的郑州，是正在昂起的中原“龙头”，那么，传承与创新并进的郑州音乐文化，就像是镶嵌在“龙头”上的那颗璀璨的文艺明珠。

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Reporter： Wang Yipin

New Media Editor：Wang Zhiyu

聆听郑州好声音！