Luo Songsong

    songsongluo@126.com

    MORE than 2,000 years ago, the saw was invented by Chinese craftsman Lu Ban, as a violent tool for cutting wood. However, today people can enjoy soft and wonderful music made from the sounds of a saw’s edge.

    With the musical saw, Li Yuan-qing, a professional sawist, has successfully held his own solo concert in Shenzhen and wants to share this instrument’s music with the rest of the world.

    A voice from heaven

    Born in a family of musicians, he had already acquired the skills to play the erhu, a two-stringed bowed instrument, as well as the violin, piano and guitar before studied musical composition at Shanxi University in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi Province.

    It was in his senior year that he read an article about a veteran musician performing traditional Chinese classical music with the peculiar instrument, which he regarded as odd but interesting.

    Following his curiosity, he went to visit a professional sawist in Beijing and learned to play it in one day thanks to his accumulated knowledge of music.

    “At that moment, a voice from heaven seemed to be telling me that I was the right person to play, inherit and innovate the ancient instrument. I listened to that voice,” said Li.

    The saw is generally played seated, with the handle squeezed between the legs, and the far end held with one hand. The sound is created by drawing a bow across the back edge of the saw at the center of the S-curve.

    “In the beginning, the sound I made was very unpleasant to hear, so I had to practice playing it up to 10 hours a day by putting cotton in my ears to reduce the noise,” he said.

    After graduation he started to work in Luohu Cultural Center and in 1993 became the first sawist in the world to hold a solo concert at Shenzhen Grand Theater.

    Music as a global

    language

    In 2002, Li was selected as the representative from China to perform at a gala show to celebrate the closing of World Cup in South Korea. He was the only musician asked to play the same musical piece for a second time.

    When tens of thousands in the audience applauded his performance, Li felt as if they were one big family sharing a wonderful moment together, despite the cultural differences.

    At another performance in Britain, a couple of students standing in the back rows were dancing to the melody while he was performing a Western folk song using a musical saw.

    “Music is the universal language created by God to connect the world. It’s not about volume or skills, but about sharing, and about the story,” he said.

    In 2004, Li won the first prize at an international musical saw competition held in France by telling the sad story implied in the song “Two Springs Reflect the Moon” composed by a blind Chinese folk artist called Ah Bing.

    When the solo show finished, the audience kept silent for at least 10 seconds before breaking into loud applause. He said that he always enjoys the moment when souls from different cultures can meet each other.

    In other performances, he played the musical saw in cooperation with Chinese ethnic musical instruments, Western orchestras and even African drums.

    Inherit and innovate

    In China, about 300 people can play the musical instrument, which has been listed in China as an intangible cultural heritage. He said the skill requires some talent, but more importantly, patience and diligence.

    “In the past, I was dreaming of sharing my music on a small stage and recording it onto tapes and CDs. Now, I am working hard to revive it by trying every possibility.”

    For music downwards, he has been working on adoptions of traditional Chinese music and Western folk songs, and also working on editing textbooks for new learners.

    The proceeds from book sales will be donated to Songhe Foundation to help children from ethnic minorities to develop musical talent.

    Recently, Li has been busy taking his musical saw into communities and schools to promote the art, and always feels excited when others show an interest in playing the instrument.

    “There is a saying in China, to turn swords into plowshares for the sake of peace, but now I am turning saws into musical instruments for the sake of spiritual wealth,” he said.

    “Li Yuanqing is the first musician to make this folk art such an interesting subject for new learners, and has made great contributions by promoting it in Hong Kong, Macao and abroad,” said Li Luomin, president of the Shenzhen Intangible Cultural Heritage Investment.

    “His music is like a voice from heaven,” he added. “Soft and beautiful.”

    “I am turning saws into musical instruments for the sake of

    spiritual wealth.”

    — Li Yuanqing, a professional sawist