Assignment 3 - Musical Instrument

Sustainability of Huqin – The use of natural resources  

Law Vanessa Lok Tung

 

Erhu is a common musical instrument in the Huqin family.  Its structure includes a wooden Qin tong (sound box), a membrane for vibration, usually made from python, the neck, Qin tou (a curved decoration located at the top of the neck), Qian jin (nut), two stings, a bow and a base. Huqin is mainly made from natural resources, and wood being the major component. The bow hair is made of horsetail, and bow stick is made from bamboo. The traditional membrane is made from python. the strings were originally made with silk, but were later changed into more durable steel string. In the essay, I will discuss the sustainability of Huqin, using the python and wood of Huqin as examples.  

 

Python skin is selected as vibrational membrane of Erhu because of its special structure of the epidermal while being elastic and tough enough (Fu & Li, 2018). Before fastening the skin into the sound box, the snakeskin needed to be soaked into water mixed with degreasing chemicals for several hours. The use of python skin has been criticized for its unsustainability for many years. It is estimated that 500 thousand of Huqins are made in China yearly. Given that a 4 - 5 meter python skin can be fabricated into 12 erhus, which means 60 thousand pythons are killed every year. The quantity will be greater when only a better part of a snakeskin is used to make huqin (Fu & Li, 2018).  

 

According to the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Wildlife (1988), python is listed on the National First-class Protected Animal. It is also regarded as the first-class protected animal of the “Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) (1983)” and near threated animal in Red List of Threatened Species of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (2022).  

 

In addition to overhunting wild python, the wood source of erhu making is also facing a similar situation. Pterocarpus santalinus, commonly known as red sandalwood is considered as the best wood to make huqin. It is mainly distributed in India and Yunnan in mainland China (Baidu, 2022). However, the timber is highly demanding globally, especially in Eastern Asia for carvings, furniture, instruments and the extraction of santalin (Baidu, 2022). A red sandalwood requires hundreds of years of growth before it can be used. Since the recovery rate is less than the rate of consumption, the species will drop and thus listed as “endangered” in the IUCN Red List (IUCN, 2022).  

 

Overhunting of python and over-cutting of red sandalwood refer to the reduction rate is higher than the rate of reproduction, hence the species cannot be sustainable in the long run. The UN Sustainable Development Goal 15 states that “protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems” (United Nations, 2015). Wild species are limited natural resources in ecosystem. If we do not consider the carrying capacity of nature and continuously over-exploit the environment, the species will only become endangered, but also generate ripple effects. Trees provide food and habitat for wildlife, especially in the rainforest. When there is over-cutting of trees for timber in instrument production, the survival of the species that rely on it will be badly affected. As for overhunting, the reduction in wildlife population will alter the food chain and damage biodiversity.  

 

In the light of raising environmental concern of endangered python, synthetic skins were investigated for replacement. An example is recyclable PET latex membrane that proposed by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (Yuen, 2014). It is claimed that the membrane can produce a much more stable sound and give uniformity in tone and timbre, creating more harmonious sounds in orchestral and ensemble pieces.  

 

Over the past hundred years, specific types of wood and snakeskin have become symbolic features of huqin that signified it. It takes time for people to accept and adapt to change. Nonetheless, even if PET is recyclable, if we do not carry out afterlife treatment, the instrument has the same destiny as traditional instruments - to landfill. It can still cause pollution.  

 

Hence, the sustainability of huqin does not only stay at the production stage. It prolongs the life of the instrument. The key is whether musicians are environmentally conscious, by giving their instruments a second life through second-hand giving and recycling. Yet, instrument recycling is still a new industry, which needs to be further developed to become more mature. There is still a long way to go to achieve completely sustainable musical instruments.  

Reference

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and flora. CITES. (1983). Retrieved November 5, 2022, from https://cites.org/eng/disc/text.php

Fu, X. D., & Li, H. (2018). Erhu Rengong pimo yanjiu xianzhuang de diancha yu sikao. Chinese Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House. Retrieved November 5, 2022, from www.enki.net.

 IUCN. (2022).The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved November 5, 2022, from https://www.iucnredlist.org/en

Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Wildlife. China.org.cn. (1988). Retrieved November 5, 2022, from http://www.china.org.cn/english/environment/34349.htm

Red Sandalwood. Biadu. (2022). Retrieved November 5, 2022, from https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%B4%AB%E6%AA%80%E6%9C%A8/1684353

United Nations. (2015). Goal 15 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs. United Nations. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal15

Yuen, S. C. (2014). Instrument R&D. Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.hkco.org/en/Instrument-Rd/Eco-Huqins.html