Ancient Vocal Master: Xu Yongxin
 
Were there any vocal masters in ancient China? Many people may doubt it. In the mind of modern people, the Bel Canto singing method came from the west and emphasizes scientific articulation and vibration effects. In ancient China there wasn't any vocal theory, so people might think that there were vocal masters only in the west. In reality, this is not the case. There were quite a few outstanding vocal masters in ancient China.
 
The Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD) was the zenith of traditional Chinese culture. There were many well-known singers in Chang’an, the Tang capital. Xu Yongxin was one of the most famous. According to the book Miscellaneous Records of Music written by Duan Anjie in the Tang Dynasty, Xu Yongxin was adept at singing, had a lot of creativity and was able to vocalize new voices. She was named Xu Hezi at birth and was from Yongxin County in Yizhou City (today’s Yongxin County in Jiangxi Province). She had been good at singing and dancing since childhood. Once in the Chong Yang Festival (Double Ninth Festival), she went hiking with a group of friends. She sang at the top of the mountain, and people dozens of miles away could hear her. She became famous thereafter. Xu was chosen to become a singer in the Royal Court and was renamed to her birthplace. Even today in her hometown, there are folk stories about her. The mountaintop she sang from is known as "Beauty Peak."
 
One year, Emperor Tang Xuanzong (ruling from 712 – 756 AD) held a celebration in the Qinzheng Mansion for the common folks. Over ten thousand people attended. It was so noisy that the music from the performances on stage couldn't be heard. This noise angered Emperor Tang. He was about to return to his palace when eunuch Gao Lishi came up with a good idea: invite Xu Yongxin to sing a song, so everyone would be quiet. Sure enough, when Xu sang, the noisy people immediately quieted down. Xu's voice shot up high into the sky. "The whole crowd was as quiet as if there was nobody there." Her singing touched everybody. "Happy people became more courageous, and sad people became less worried."
 
We all know that ordinary people sing with their original voices, including popular singing styles today. Compared with the Bel Canto singing method, original voices are weak and of lower quality; they need to be amplified electronically to be heard in a crowd and thus more difficult to touch people’s hearts.
 
The methods that professional singers adopt allow those seated even at the far end of the theater to hear the singer's unamplified voice. This requires the voice to be of high volume and to have high propagation quality. When Xu Yongxin sang at the top of the mountain, people could hear her many miles away. When she sang in Qinzheng Mansion, over ten thousand people could hear her. She must have mastered superb singing techniques.
 
The range of Xu's voice was very broad, even broader than musical instruments. One time Emperor Tang Xuanzong had Li Mo and Xu Yongxin compete. Li Mo was a flute virtuoso and could play dozens of different tones. When the flute tones reached their highest, singers normally couldn't follow. But when Li accompanied Xu, Xu sang at successively higher tones. She sang dozens of songs, and Li Mo's flute could not rise higher in tone than Xu's voice. At last Li Mo's flute shattered. It was recorded in The Anecdotes of the Tianbao and Kaiyuan Periods, that "no musical instruments sounded better than Xu's singing." Even Emperor Tang Xuanzong, who was a connoisseur, highly praised Xu's singing: "This lady's singing is worth thousands of gold pieces."
 
From these records, Xu Yongxin was indeed a vocal master. There were other vocal masters in the Tang Dynasty as well. They included Li Guinian, who was a well-known singer in the Royal Court, and Nian Nu, who was a famous singer in the Tianbao Period (742 – 756 AD). The famous poet Du Fu, once wrote a poem called Meeting Li Guinian Again in Jiangnan. There was a famous tune named after Nian Nu. In The Anecdotes of the Tianbao Period, it was recorded that she was “a beauty, able to sing, and number one in the Royal Court.” One day a banquet was held in the palace for esteemed guests. There was also uncontrollable noise from the crowd, causing the musicians to stop performing. Emperor Xuanzong ordered Nian Nu to sing a song accompanied by a 25-member pipe ensemble. The intertwining vocal and instrumental tones was wonderful. Nian Nu’s voice was loud and clear, plus her tone color was abnormally rich. If Nian Nu didn’t have superb technique she couldn’t have been able to match or even overwhelm 25 pipes.  
 
Other outstanding vocalists in the Tang Dynasty included Zhang Honghong, He Man, Kang Kunlun, Duan Shanben, He Huaizhi, Li Guaner, Cao Gang, Wei Chiqing, and Wang Manu. Of course, other dynasties had excellent vocalists too. Because the Tang Dynasty was the summit of Chinese civilization, it had many outstanding vocalists.
 
古代的声乐大师: 许永新
 
中国古代有没有声乐大师？对这个问题可能很多人会犹疑。在很多现代人的印象中，讲究科学发声，利用共鸣效果的美声唱法来源于西方，中国古代中似乎没有甚么声乐理论，因而人们的一般印象中，只有西方才有声乐大师。其实不然，中国古代有不少杰出的声乐大师。
 
唐代是中国文化达到顶峰时期，当时有许多蜚声长安舞台的歌唱家，许永新便是其中的佼佼者。据唐代段安节《乐府杂录》记载，许永新本名和子，吉州永新县（今江西永新）人，善于歌唱，而且有独创性，“能变新声”。据说她从小善歌能唱，有一次在重阳佳节，和女伴们登高踏青，在山上高歌一曲，声闻数十里外，由此而知名，被刺史选召进宫，按其籍贯改名永新，成为宫廷名歌手。至今，在她的家乡还有关于她的传说，当年她唱歌的那座山头被人称为“玉女峰”。
 
有一年唐玄宗在勤政楼举行“大酉甫”，即一次与民同乐的庆祝宴会，观众上万人，以至于喧哗嘈杂的声音，使得现场演出的鱼龙百戏的音乐都听不见了。这使唐玄宗大怒，准备离席回宫。这时宦官高力士出了个好主意：只要让许永新出来高歌一曲，必然会使整个场面安静下来。果然，永新出场时态度从容，撩鬓举袖，直奏曼声，高唱一曲，其声好像直升云霄。喧闹的人群立即安静下来，“广场寂寂，若无一人。”而且她的歌感染力极强，使“喜者闻之气勇，愁者闻之肠绝”。
 
我们知道普通人用大白嗓子唱歌，包括现在的通俗唱法，与美声唱法相比，音量小，音质差，离不开电声设备的烘托、扩响，更不要说产生感动人心的效果。
 
专业歌唱家的歌唱方法和技术体系要求在不考虑电扩声条件的情况下，能让坐在最后一排的观众听到歌手的歌声，那就要求这种歌声具有宏大的音量和善于传播的音质。许永新在山头一曲高歌能声闻数十里外，在勤政楼唱歌能使上万观众都听到。可见其发声技巧是何等高超。
 
许永新演唱的音域非常广，甚至能超出乐器达到的高度。有一次，唐玄宗故意让李谟和永新比个高低。李谟是当时的笛子高手，能吹出高低数十种不同的曲调，歌调最高时，能使歌者唱不上去。但是他为永新伴奏时，逐一被她拉高调门，前后数十曲，终未能把永新比下去。最后唱到李谟的笛管都吹裂了。《开元天宝遗事》记载永新的歌声“丝竹之声莫能遏”，是说任何乐器也盖不过永新的歌声，连精通乐曲的唐玄宗都不得不称赞许永新：“此女歌值千金。”
 
从这些记载来看，称许永新为声乐大师是绝不为过的。唐代还有其他著名的声乐大师，如杜甫有一首诗《江南又逢李龟年》，李龟年就曾是名震天下的宫廷歌唱家。还有一位著名歌唱家是唐代天宝年间的念奴。我们熟知的词牌名《念奴娇》便来源她的名字。《天宝遗事》载她“有色，善歌，宫中第一”。有一天宫中设宴招待宾客，也是人声嘈杂，无法控制，众乐为之罢奏。唐玄宗就命念奴出场演唱，并由二十五人吹管乐队为其伴奏。歌声、管声两相追逐，美妙异常。唐元稹曾有《连昌宫词》描述道：“春娇满眼泪红绡，掠削云鬓旋装束。飞上九天歌一声，二十五郎吹管逐。”如果没有高明的演唱技术，显然是不可能压倒二十五人的吹管乐队的。念奴的声音动人嘹亮，音色优美异常，唐玄宗曾经赞不绝口：“念奴每执板当席，声出朝霞之上。”
 
唐代的歌唱家很多，还有如张红红、何满、康昆仑、段善本、贺怀智、李管儿、曹纲、尉迟青、王麻奴等都是史传优秀的歌唱家。古代歌唱家当然并不限于唐代，只不过唐代是中华文明顶峰时期，出现很多杰出的声乐艺术人才。