Story of a horsehead fiddle artist

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 07, 2004

Story of a horsehead fiddle artist

He used to be a living Buddha. But now he is more famous as a horsehead fiddle artist both at home and abroad.

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He used to be a living Buddha. But now he is more famous as a horsehead fiddle artist both at home and abroad.

"I can't live without a horsehead fiddle for a single day, and so does the Mongol ethnic people," said Qi Bolag, 60, who has played the horsehead fiddle since he was eight.

The horsehead fiddle, a kind of bowed stringed instrument with a scroll carved like a horse's head, used by the Mongol nationality. The instrument was originally known as "Chao'er" in Mongolian language, meaning resonant and has been passed on for a thousand years.

Thanks to the efforts of Qi Bolag and other people who are devoted to the development of Mongolian culture, an international horsehead fiddle art school is expected to be established in Ulanqab city, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

"The school would be a platform, on which I can tell of the stories and fine culture of Mongol nationality that originated from and developed on the Inner Mongolia Prairie," Qi Bolag said.

Mongolians regard themselves as the descendants of Genghis Khan,the great Mongolian military strategist and statesman who united Mongolian tribes and established his Mongol empire in 1206.

Dubbed "people on horseback", Mongolians love horses and have aspecial love for the horsehead fiddle. The instrument produces a soft, deep and vigorous sound. Some people have said the rhythms of a horsehead fiddle can describe a picture of a prairie far morethan vivid than the colors used by a painter.

"The touching timbre of the instrument is an outcome of nature," said Qi Bolag.

Born in February of 1944, Qi Bolag is the second son of Qi Gendezhabu, a living Buddha in the Halahushao Village, Horqin LeftWing Middle Banner.

Qi Bolag was confirmed the fifth living Buddha of the Moli Lamasery when he was three years old.

Immersed in his love for and thirst for playing the horsehead fiddle, Qi Bolag gave up his throne at the age of five.

He said his abdication was supported by his parents who hoped he would do something for the promotion and development of the Mongolian culture.

Qi Bolag started his artistic career by playing "chao'er", an instrument generally regarded as the origin of horsehead fiddle, and four-stringed fiddle his father made for him. He first learnedthe playing skills by imitating transient folk artists of horsehead fiddles and three-stringed fiddles, who came to his village during new year festival each year.

By the age of eight, Qi Bolag could, together with folk artists,play several dozens of folk songs of Mongol nationality.

It was until 1958 that Qi Bolag began his career as a professional horsehead fiddle performer. He was enrolled into the Inner Mongolia Experiment Troupe (later changed into Inner Mongolia Opera Troupe) that year.

Skilled performance of the horsehead fiddle brought him a big fame and he himself made a special contribution to the developmentof horsehead fiddle art by publishing the first theoretical book on the instrument -- "Skills of Performing Horsehead Fiddle", in the 1970s.

Besides, many horsehead fiddle musical pieces, such as "Ten Thousand Horses Galloping" and "Prairie Linked with Beijing", composed by Qi Bolag, became pop music nationwide after being broadcast by the China Radio International and Central People's Broadcasting Station.

In early 1989, China Horsehead Fiddle Association was established in Hohhot, capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.Qi Bolag has been chairman of the association ever since then.

In the summer that year, he conducted intensified training on 27 horsehead fiddle performers, who came from various regions of China, in the skills of group performance of the instrument, and their performance proved to be a great success.

Qi Bolag is the first person who has turned horsehead fiddle from a solo instrument into an instrument used in group performance.

Moreover, he set a Guinness record in 2001 by leading 1,000 juvenile horsehead fiddle players to perform the piece of "Ten Thousand Horses Galloping" at an International Juvenile Horsehead Fiddle Art Festival, held in Hohhot.

Now, his efforts to promote the art of horsehead fiddle has extended to foreign countries and regions.

Leading his "Wild Horse" band, Qi Bolag has made performances in many countries since 1986. His students include Chinese youths of different ethnic groups, and young people from the United States, France, Japan and Mongolia. He has 350 Japanese students.

Foreigners call horsehead fiddle "Horsehead fiddle of Mongolians" and "Violoncello on the Prairie".

"With the instrument, I can communicate with people around the world," said Qi Bolag.

Source: Xinhua

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