By staff reporter HUO JIANYING

A Tang Dynasty orchestra depicted in a Dunhuang mural.

INCREDIBLE as it may sound, the phenomenally successful 12-Girl Band tour has had an adverse affect on China's handicraft industry by generating more stringent customs regulations.

The 12-Girl Band repertoire encompasses classical Chinese music, pieces by Bach and other Western composers and vibrantly sensuous salsa, played on the erhu -- a two-stringed instrument played with a bow -- and 11 other traditional Chinese musical instruments. Their erhu performances so captivated Japanese audiences that sales of this classical instrument soared. Since the 12-Girl Band tour, more and more Japanese visitors to China have bought and taken erhu home with them, along with their other Chinese treasures. As the erhu's sound box is covered with either python or snakeskin, however, rocketing sales have alerted the State Endangered Species Import and Export Administration. In July 2004 the body ruled that the statutory number of erhu taken out of China per individual must be reduced from five to two.

Ancient Music Shop

The 12-Girl Band's Chinese name is yuefang, meaning music workshop, so its literal translation is actually 12-Girl Music Workshop. Their name is in tribute to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) court orchestra, also known as jiaofang (tutoring workshop). It was a special institution established in the Tang Dynasty to train singers and dancers for the imperial court.

According to historical documents, the Western capital (Chang'an) and Eastern capital (Luoyang) of the early Tang Dynasty each had two jiaofang, one for training dancers, and the other for singers. Both singing and dancing trainees studied musical instruments as a foundation course, learning mainly the pipa (a plucked string instrument with a fretted fingerboard), konghou (the Chinese harp, with five to 25 strings, depending on its size) and the sanxian (plucked three-stringed instrument).

The 12-Girl Band performs on four erhus in Hong Kong.

The young women trainees lived within their jiaofang. Contact with their families was restricted to the first and 15th day of each month and birthdays. The imperial court rewarded the ten most outstanding trainees with their own house. According to the Tang Dynasty Jiaofangji (Records of the Court Entertainment Office) the jiaofang repertoire list comprised more than 300 pieces, any of which the audience could request at any time.

Rigorous training and management produced versatile virtuosos. One was famous court singer Xu Hezi. Born into a musical family in Jiangxi Province' Yongxin County, her greatest pleasure was always singing. Upon entering the jiaofang she was given the stage name Yongxin, in tribute to her home. Ancient writings describe her voice as bewitchingly melodius, clear, and strong to the extent that it could be heard nine lanes away. She was also a talented composer whose works were a distinctive blend of lilting southern folk songs and refined court airs. She was, moreover, a woman of great beauty, wisdom and virtue.

On one occasion Emperor Xuanzong gave a banquet. He decided to entertain his guests with singing, dancing and theatrical performances. In addition to relatives of the imperial family and civilian and military officials, many commoners also came to watch the grand show. This created such a hubbub around the performance area that the emperor was on the point of despair and ready to cancel the whole program, till his attendant Gao Lishi suggested, "Yongxin can calm the crowd with her songs." When Xu Hezi started to sing, the refinement and beauty of her voice touched everyone present. Other than her voice, a pin drop could be heard in the entire venue until she finished, when it was filled with tumultuous cheers. In commemoration of this great singer, Xu Hezi's songs were later compiled into the state music collection under the name Lady Yongxin.

The Tang Dynasty was a golden age of Chinese music and dance, as it was of economic prosperity. Shortly after its establishment, certain officials suggested to the emperor that music celebrating the lavishly sensuous lifestyle of the previous Sui Dynasty (581-618) be shunned for being that "sound that led to national doom." Emperor Taizong disagreed, saying that understanding and interpretation of a piece of music reflected the innermost emotions of the listener rather than any overt intention of its composer.

Traditional Instruments and Music

Traditional music instruments clockwise: pipa, zheng, flute and erhu .

When asked on what they base their performances, the 12-Girl Band answers in unison: Chinese music. Their wide range strays far from the popular concept of Chinese music, its one point of constancy being that it is played on inherently Chinese instruments - the ancient zheng zither, pipa, erhu, xiao pipes and bamboo flute. Although the band uses electronic keyboards and Western wind and string instruments to create atmosphere on stage, traditional Chinese instruments create the soul of its music. Some, such as the zheng and xiao, are indigenous to China. Others -- the erhu and pipa -- were introduced centuries ago, and have since become an integral facet of traditional Chinese music. According to Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) records, the pipa was brought to the Central Plains area during the third century B.C from the Western Regions by the Hu (nomadic) people, and was originally played on horseback. The pipa reached its zenith in the Tang Dynasty, when it began to be played vertically rather than horizontally and its strings to be plucked with the fingers instead of a plectrum. There also occurred an increased range in its size and tone, appreciably extending the instrument's scope of expression.

Shimian Maifu (Ambush on All Sides) is an incredible pipa solo masterpiece that depicts the fierce and heroic Gaixia Battle, a decisive military showdown between two troops of rebel peasants in the late Qin Dynasty (2221-206 B.C.). The piece was a psychological tactic the victors used to demoralize and eventually disarm their enemy. It is composed of 13 sections, each telling a separate story, but which all relate. The pipa player employs different techniques to mimic battle drums, military horns and mournful xiao pipes. Its rapidly changing cadences emulate clashing cold metal and the hot breath of sweating steeds in mortal battle so effectively that the audience is thrilled and transfixed.

Many musicians are of the opinion that traditional Chinese musical instruments, being confined in diapason, volume and tone, are most suited for pieces celebrating the pastoral conceit of ancient poets and sages, the elegance and charm of flowers or tranquility of mountains, brooks and birdsong. As this could be said of most traditional musical scores, Ambush on All Sides is a rare exception. Its successful rendition is indicative of the actual expressive range of traditional Chinese musical instruments.

Another exception might be Guangling San, played on the guqin (plucked seven-string instrument). This piece is synonymous with Ji Kang (223-263), famous thinker and writer of the Three Kingdoms Period. He was a musical genius who excelled at the guqin. His upright, outspoken and unbending character, however, made him many enemies. They eventually conspired to frame him for a crime that carried the death sentence. His last request was to play his guqin, whereupon the execution ground resounded to his rendition of the soul-stirring ire of Guangling San. Upon finishing the piece, he is recorded as saying sorrowfully, " Guangling San will henceforth never be heard again."

Guangling San is famous for its association with Ji Kang, but whether or not the piece was lost on the death of its player remains a mystery. Today, it is one of the ten ancient musical masterpieces extant, frequently performed live, and also available on disc. Some dispute the contemporary version, saying it could not possibly be the original as played by Ji Kang. Others are convinced that this masterpiece was not lost but salvaged, passed down and eventually edited and printed in 1425 by Zhu Quan of the Ming Dynasty on his Shenqi Mipu, (Miraculous Secret Notation of Guqin). In any event, musicians through the ages venerate this piece for the fury and defiance it conveys in a manner that no other known ancient work has ever attempted.