馬苙鈞寄情葫蘆絲

2007年4月15日上午，一個名字奇特的8個平方米的葫蘆絲小店——三友樂坊開張。浙江省葫蘆絲巴烏學會會長、著名音樂家杜竹松為小店開張剪彩，此時，眾多朋友們穿著鮮艷的民族服裝、吹著葫蘆絲列隊在杭州河坊街巡游，優(yōu)美婉轉(zhuǎn)的樂聲，吸引無數(shù)游客。此刻，33歲的年輕老板馬苙鈞站在店門口，望著這一切，胸中升騰起無限感慨！這位1997年來到杭州的工科大學畢業(yè)生，怎么也不會想到自己竟然“棄武從文”結(jié)緣葫蘆絲，被人稱為“葫蘆癡”，把葫蘆絲作為自己的畢生事業(yè)。

情動天籟之音

馬苙鈞在大學時學的是兵器制造專業(yè)。1997年剛被分配在浙江杭州某大型企業(yè)工作時，渾身是勁，一心想在自己的專業(yè)領域干出一番成績。但生活并不如他想象，企業(yè)復雜的人事糾葛、低效的工作作風，讓他覺得現(xiàn)實和理想落差很大，作為一個男人因為機制的原因甚至無法為自己的家庭提供一個小巢。如此種種，他感到日益苦悶。1999年，工作之余他一個人去了云南旅行，偶然聽到云南地區(qū)那種特有的葫蘆絲音樂，葫蘆絲那柔情、飄逸的樂聲，如同天籟，一下子便鉆到他的心靈深處，他被深深地吸引住了！他生性埋藏著的自由、浪漫、熱情和返歸質(zhì)樸的渴望，這一刻都被葫蘆絲激發(fā)騰飛起來了，于是他買下了平生第一只葫蘆絲，并打聽到葫蘆絲大師哏德全的地址，專程趕去拜師。

葫蘆絲從此成了釋放他心底熱情和痛苦的最好伴侶。2001年他告別原單位，做電腦營銷、工業(yè)項目、廣告策劃等，但都未成功，幸好身邊還有把葫蘆絲伴他走天涯，每天業(yè)余時間他都堅持學吹葫蘆絲。葫蘆絲是他當時唯一的精神寄托，他為撫慰自己的心靈而吹奏。

情系葫蘆絲音樂

2004年10月，他聽說葫蘆絲大師李春華來到上海，于是他又立即趕去拜師。見面后李春華驚訝于這位自學者的悟性和靈氣，除了切磋葫蘆絲技藝外，他還鼓勵馬苙鈞把葫蘆絲作為自己的事業(yè)！

一語驚醒夢中人，馬苙鈞于是開始搜集資料，了解研究葫蘆絲在全國發(fā)展的情況，他真的要把葫蘆絲藝術(shù)當作畢生事業(yè)來追求。此后，當馬苙鈞在西湖邊吹著他搜集來的一支半人多高的葫蘆絲時，那優(yōu)美動聽的樂聲吸引了許多過往行人，媒體也做了報道。接著許多葫蘆絲愛好者聞訊聚集到西湖邊，馬苙鈞就免費教他們學習葫蘆絲，很快形成了一支六七十人的隊伍，學員中有許多是老人和下崗工人，特別是有位民工小伙，老是躲在遠處靜靜地聽他演奏，于是馬苙鈞關切地問他，這位河南來的小伙子說，自己只是個油漆工，因為囊中羞澀買不起樂器，所以只有在遠處聽。馬苙鈞深深知道人在艱難時的心境，頓時就送他一把葫蘆絲。看到大家對葫蘆絲的熱愛，馬苙鈞萌發(fā)了創(chuàng)辦杭州葫蘆絲俱樂部、建立葫蘆絲樂隊、開展葫蘆絲教學和演出的設想，以便讓更多的人受到熏陶，獲得歡樂。

2005年3月16日，杭州三友樂坊#8226;葫蘆絲俱樂部正式成立，馬苙鈞擔任俱樂部主任。俱樂部工作條例明確規(guī)定“以‘團結(jié)民樂愛好者、傳播葫蘆絲和民樂文化、構(gòu)筑美妙的音樂世界’為宗旨，致力于葫蘆絲等民樂文化的推廣、交流與傳播”“以推廣民樂，提高社會大眾的藝術(shù)修養(yǎng)、創(chuàng)造和諧社會氛圍作為重要的工作目標”。

馬苙鈞在大學時就是校學生會主席。對于葫蘆絲事業(yè)一開始就顯示了很好的組織才能，先后成立了葫蘆絲俱樂部、民樂制作推廣中心、葫蘆絲教學班、金葫蘆樂隊、中國葫蘆絲網(wǎng)站等等，接著，他于2005年6月31日徹底告別原有工作，走上了從事葫蘆絲事業(yè)的專職道路。

馬苙鈞將教學班分為初、中、高三級，自2005年到2007年的兩年時間里，依靠俱樂部培養(yǎng)出來的一批吹奏高手擔任老師，陸續(xù)在浙江省老年活動中心、杭州市老年大學、杭州市工人文化宮、杭州上城區(qū)老年大學、杭州下城區(qū)老年大學、天水街道延安新村社區(qū)少數(shù)民族館、浙江工業(yè)大學、青春坊益盛教育、明亮亮藝術(shù)培訓學校以及很多社區(qū)多處開設了教學點，并在楊公堤設會員學員切磋交流點，先后接受1000多名學員學吹葫蘆絲。2007年初春，馬苙鈞又組織俱樂部部分會員組成葫蘆絲采風團到云南采風，讓大家直接面聆哏德全和李春華兩位大師教導，體會民間原生態(tài)葫蘆絲樂精華。

從2005年5月到2007年春天，馬苙鈞和俱樂部骨干成功舉辦了十多場葫蘆絲公益演出，并積極參加杭城的各種公益活動，如“聆聽西湖”葫蘆絲廣場音樂會、“天堂之間，神秘之韻——情迷葫蘆絲系列活動”、休博會演出、慶七一《蘆笙歡歌》、慶國慶葫蘆絲吹奏方陣運河大型巡游演出、世界第19個艾滋病日下城區(qū)愛心志愿葫蘆絲表演、浙江工業(yè)大學“青春之歌”晚會葫蘆絲表演、省人民大會堂宴會廳新春晚會葫蘆絲節(jié)目表演等。每次表演，葫蘆絲演員上到六七十歲的老人，下到二三十歲的年輕人，乃至五六歲的小朋友，都穿上鮮艷的民族服裝，載歌載舞，縱情表演，給杭城的文化活動添上一道亮麗色彩。

情迷葫蘆絲收藏和制作

葫蘆絲既是樂器，也是一種精美工藝品，它的一個吹嘴可以有竹質(zhì)、木質(zhì)、牛角質(zhì)、塑料質(zhì)、金屬質(zhì)等等，而在葫蘆上又可以用筆畫、刀刻畫、烙畫、浮雕等技法制作出各種美麗的個性的圖案，一把音準、調(diào)準的葫蘆絲吹奏出來的音樂，有如天籟之聲。

馬苙鈞自從事葫蘆絲事業(yè)后，就開始注意葫蘆絲的收藏，他經(jīng)常去各地淘寶，凡是用各種材料、各種工藝和不同制作師做的葫蘆絲，只要是他沒有的，他總要買回收藏。在他從各地尋覓來的幾十把葫蘆絲珍品中，最奇特的是一把形似仙鶴的烏銅色葫蘆絲，那葫蘆像長刺的狼牙錘，天然的葫蘆柄吹嘴長達30多厘米，像是昂首的鶴嘴，而插上去的竹管正像是細長的鶴腿。據(jù)說這個葫蘆是有人從國外輾轉(zhuǎn)收尋來后做成葫蘆絲的，他那最大的一把葫蘆絲的葫蘆直徑有26厘米，再配上葫蘆底部的三支紫竹管，幾乎有半人多高，而最小的葫蘆絲上的葫蘆直徑只有6厘米，堪稱袖珍珍品。

馬苙鈞把曾經(jīng)設計制造兵器的巧手運用到了修理和制造葫蘆絲上。他喜歡把吹壞的葫蘆絲大卸八塊，然后又加以研究修復。隨著葫蘆絲學員不斷增加，2005年他開始制作“三友樂坊”品牌葫蘆絲：他從云南采購來各種形狀的葫蘆，又從福建、云南、江西、安徽等地采購名貴紫竹，為克服市場上大多數(shù)葫蘆絲的“4”音不夠準確，經(jīng)過多日冥思苦想，反復研究，他忽然開竅，找到了校準“4”音的方法。由此，馬苙鈞制作的葫蘆絲深受杭城廣大葫蘆絲愛好者的喜愛，許多外地葫蘆絲迷也前來購買他制作的葫蘆絲。

“三友樂坊”設在寸土寸金的河坊街上，經(jīng)營很不容易。但馬苙鈞覺得這是一個窗口，他決心要把葫蘆絲音樂藝術(shù)推向國內(nèi)外更多的愛好者。

目前馬苙鈞是中國葫蘆絲巴烏學會理事、杭州三友樂坊葫蘆絲俱樂部主任、杭州下城區(qū)少數(shù)民族藝術(shù)團團長，3月份他還剛從中國民族管弦樂“葫蘆絲演奏藝術(shù)班”培訓回來，取得了“考級高級指導教師資格證”。他的民樂制作推廣中心、葫蘆絲俱樂部、金葫蘆樂隊，中國葫蘆絲網(wǎng)站都已經(jīng)初具規(guī)模，并發(fā)展成杭州三友樂坊葫蘆絲藝術(shù)中心。

Sound of Gourd Flute

Guo Chengbing

On the morning of April 15， 2007， 33-year-old Ma Lijun stood in front of his new store in Hefang Street in downtown Hangzhou， feeling proud of his gourd flutes shop just open to business. The president of Zhejiang Association for Gourd Flute and Bawu Players attended the opening ceremony and cut the ribbon for Ma’s new undertaking. Ma’s friends， dressed in bright ethnic costumes， played gourd flutes and paraded through the street， celebrating and introducing the outlandish and fascinating sound of the gourd flute to curious local residents and tourists.

Ma Lijun had a very good reason to be proud of the new direction his life was taking. Upon graduation in 1997 from an engineering major at a university in northern China， Ma arrived in Hangzhou to work for a state-owned enterprise， thinking ambitiously and contentedly that his new job was exactly what he wanted. Pretty soon， however， he found he was not at all cut out for the complicated office politics and the way work was done there. Gradually， he felt depressed. One day in 1999 when he was on a vacation in Yunnan， a border province in southwestern China， he heard the music of the gourd flute for the first time in his life. The sound rekindled his yearning for a life that should be free， romantic， passionate and simple.

He bought a gourd flute there and， after inquiring about the address of a master player named Gen Dequan in the province， visited the master， thus starting his learning of the ethnic instrument native to Yunnan province.

The gourd flute added a new dimension to his life. In 2001， he resigned from the enterprise and tried to start his own business. None of his projects flourished as expected. But fortunately the gourd flute gave him an escape he needed badly. In October， 2004， he learned that Li Chunhua， a leading master of gourd flute from Yunnan， was visiting in Shanghai. Ma rushed to Shanghai to see the master. Li was surprised to find that Ma， a self-made player， had an aptitude for the ethnic flute. The master encouraged Ma to dedicate more time and energy to the art.

Greatly excited and inspired， Ma realized that the gourd flute could give his life a new direction. While continuing to perfect his performance skills， Ma did a research about the national status quo of the gourd flute. He built up a large collection of gourd flutes of various sorts and made in various materials. He often played his half-meter-tall gourd flute by the West Lake， attracting a lot of attention.

The gourd flute is more than an ethnic musical instrument. The well made ones can be artworks， with designs carved， painted， or cauterized onto the body of the instrument. A gourd flute produces heavenly sounds. What is more， unlike other musical instruments， the gourd flute is not so difficulty to play.

Gradually， fans gathered and started to learn from Ma Lijun. Pretty soon， Ma had something like a cult following of about 70 people.He offered free teaching courses to these people. Many of them have become his friends.

As more and more people wanted to learn to play the flute， Ma began to make gourd flutes. Since he was totally ignorant of the working mechanisms of the gourd flute and no one was going to teach him how to make a gourd flute， he decided to learn by himself. He took apart the worn-and-torn gourd flutes and studied them and applied his engineering expertise to the making of the flute. With gourds bought from Yunnan and black bamboos from neighboring provinces， he soon put gourds and bamboo pipes together and produced his gourd flutes. More than an imitator， he has technically improved upon the prototypes. The Sanyou Brand gourd flutes are now popular among gourd professionals and amateurs. Even fans from places beyond Zhejiang come to buy his products.

The experience of working as president of the students union in his university years gave Ma Lijun an idea of organizing enthusiastic gourd players in Hangzhou into a club and a performance band to promote the gourd flute wave further. On March 16， 2005， his Sanyou Music Workshop and Club came into being. He set up a website for promotional activities. Three months later， he resigned from a job he had been holding down for some time and committed himself totally to his gourd flute undertaking.

Since then， Ma has successfully trained a group of good players as teachers who now teach the art of the gourd flute playing to fans at evening schools across the city. So far， over 1，000 fans in Hangzhou have taken gourd flute lessons at three different levels. In the spring of 2007， Ma organized some fans to visit Yunnan to learn directly from Gen Dequan and Li Chunhua.

The gourd flute players in Ma’s club have taken active part in cultural activities in Hangzhou. They have been seen performing in a series of high-profile celebrations on important occasions. Ma has been qualified by the China Folk Orchestral Music Association to help examinees pass music certificate tests.

With his store open in a tourist-favored street as a window to the world， Ma is proud of himself not just for a promising undertaking based upon his new-found fascination with the gourd flute. He is proud of the city. Hangzhou， with a history of culture dating back to thousands of years and with a lot of celebrated calligraphers， painters， poets， writers， singers， musicians， etc， now has a troop of amateur artists of the gourd flute. They have added a new cultural dimension to the city.

(Translated by David)