Impacts of Pipa on Ecological Sustainability - Assign 4(Yating)
Impacts of Pipa on Ecological Sustainability
Although I know how to play pipa, I have never delved into its production and composition before. Fewer people are familiar with and can play pipa now, and the number of this instrument is relatively small. In 2020, the production of pipa was about 150,000, significantly less than other instruments such as guzheng (about 590,000) and erhu (about 500,000) (CMIA 2021). However, regardless of its quantity, the materials used to make pipa come from the natural environment. Therefore, it is undeniable that the production of pipa has some impact on ecological sustainability. I present several environmental impacts of pipa here.
Pipa and an endangered plant - red sandalwood
One of the most consumed materials in pipa making is red sandalwood, a wood used to make the backboard (Wen-Tzu 1999). It is an ideal material because it is hard in texture and easy to vibrate at the same time, which allows for maximum sound transmission and could dampen certain high-frequency noise (Gao and Lin 1982).
Red sandalwood’s natural range is very limited because of its complex growing conditions and the high demand for light levels (Jaime, Kher, Soner and Nataraj 2019). It could only be found in Andhra Pradesh in Southern India and Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan provinces of China.
Pipa making is one of the reasons for zitan’s increasing scarcity. It is known as ‘zitan’ in China and has been highly valued for thousands of years (Jaime, Kher, Soner and Nataraj 2019). It could be a manifestation of power and status. To this day, a chair made from it still can be seen in the Forbidden City in Beijing, which was used by the emperors of the Qing Dynasty. Also, it is loved by people for its high medicinal value such as antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects (Arunakumara, Subasinghe and Yoon 2011). In ancient times, the Chinese were fond of using rare materials to make musical instruments, such as using jade to make flutes, and pipa makers are no exception. In short, the characteristics, scarcity and high social recognition of zitan have led pipa makers to use it extensively.
Red sandalwood was listed as endangered species by the IUCN in 2020 due to its long growth cycle (up to 10 years) and overexploitation (Ahmedullah 2020). CITES also included it in appendix II on June 22 2020 and imposed severe restrictions on the relevant export trade (CITES 2022). In line with ecological conservation policies, pipa is now less and less often made of zitan.
Pipa and elephants
Most of the shang and headnut were made of ivory. This material is more resistant to friction than wood. The player needs to press strings against shang to produce different pitches and rub the strings against shang to create different sounds. Ivory does not dent as quickly as wood. Also, the creamy ivory color makes pipa look more beautiful. Moreover, people in many parts of the world regard ivory as a precious work of art and a practical object (Levy 2018). The cult of ivory led makers to use it extensively in the making of pipa.
In 1975, the African elephant was listed as an endangered species. In 1989, the international trade in African ivory was completely banned. To better relieve the harm caused by poaching, in 2018, China began a total ban on trade in ivory and ivory products (BBC News 2018). Although pipa is not the only item made with ivory, its production indisputably affects the sustainable survival of elephants. Nowadays, shang and headnut are mostly made of common wood like rosewood. This is also a way to protect biodiversity.
Pipa and environmental pollution
I never thought that practicing playing pipa would cause pollution before.
Pipa performers need to put fake nails on their right hand with adhesive tape. The tape should have a certain degree of stickiness and also be easy to tear down without leaving colloid. Basically, it is made with rubber, woven fabric and artificial products. The amount of tape used is very high. If a person practices pipa every day, he or she will need to change the tape about once every 3 days, which means one person will use about 50cm of tape every 3 days. The used tapes are generally incinerated, which pollutes the environment. A famous pipa player Liu Dehai has pointed out the need to create a false nail that can be worn directly without using adhesive tape (Feng 2020).
Overall, because of the relatively small production, pipa has not been identified as a major cause of some environmental damage. But the use of production materials can have a continuous impact on the environment. Producers should carefully select materials to make pipa to avoid disrupting ecological sustainability.
References:
Ahmedullah, M. ‘IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Pterocarpus Santalinus’. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 20 October 2020. https://www.iucnredlist.org/en.
BBC News. 2018. ‘China’s Ban on Ivory Trade Comes into Force’, 1 January 2018, sec. China. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-42532017.
CITES. 2022. ‘Appendices I, II & III (22/06/2022) | CITES’. CITES Appendices, 1 November 2022. https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php.
CMIA. 2021. ‘2020 Musical Instrument Industry Annual Report (4) Ethnic Musical Instruments’. China Musical Instrument Association. 14 July 2021. http://www.cmia.com.cn/fenxibaoga_2.html.
Kodithuwakku K I Ui Arunakumara, Siripala Subasinghe, and Min-Ho Yoon. ‘Pterocarpus Santalinus Linn. f. (Rath Handun): A Review of Its Botany, Uses, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology’. Applied Biological Chemistry 54, no. 4 (2011): 495–500.
Levy, Martin P. ‘Works of Art and Ivory: What Are the Issues?’ Curator (New York, N.Y.) 61, no. 1 (2018): 47–60.
Lo, Wen-Tzu. ‘A Comparative Study of the Guitar and the Chinese Lute-Pipa An Overview of Their Origins, Construction, and Techniques.’ Thesis D.A.--Ball State University., 1999.
Teixeira da Silva, Jaime A., Mafatlal M. Kher, Deepak Soner, and M. Nataraj. ‘Red Sandalwood (Pterocarpus Santalinus L. f.): Biology, Importance, Propagation and Micropropagation’. Journal of Forestry Research 30, no. 3 (2019): 745–54.
Yuankai Feng. ‘刘德海一生关心琵琶制作与改良(Liu Dehai devoted his life to making and improving pipa)’. 乐器(Instruments), no. 05 (2020): 26–29.
Zhanchun Gao, and Shicheng Lin. ‘琵琶制作(Pipa making)’. 乐器(Instruments), no. 03 (1982): 7–9.
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