Not Crafts But Lives

The author Zhao Qin visited craftsmen from different places， and she happened to find the stories behind them more impressive. This book records the individual living conditions of traditional craftsmen in the current society and expresses the confusion and reflection about how craftsmen will choose between tradition and modernity.

“The King of Musical Instruments”

---Aiyiti Yiming

Zhao Qin

Zhao Qin used to be an editor and journalist， and now works as a freelance writer. Her works are scattered in various publications， and she has published a collection of essays named Return to Awat.

Not Crafts But Lives

Zhao Qin

Guangxi Normal University Press

June 2022

66.00 （CNY）

We had not yet arrived at Jiayi Village when we breathed in the unique dust smell in the spring of south Xinjiang. The sunlight in early spring was not strong but warm.

There were many trees in the village. It was not the season for putting forth buds， but the bud eyes seemed to turn green a little， if you looked closely. All the yards were covered by trees. There was only one road in the village. On both sides were residents’ houses. The whole village ended when we walked to the end of the short road.

Along the path， two geese wriggled， leaving two lines of crooked footprints in the loose dirt.

By the roadside， a forge stood in front of a yard. A middle-aged Uyghur man was waving a hammer and banging it. He didn’t speak Putonghua， and I didn’t speak Uyghur. We communicated with gestures and facial expressions. However， neither understood the other. His smile was bright and impressive. I could not tell the outline of the iron he was hammering. I didn’t know whether it was a sickle or a kitchen knife. A few steps away， two kids with snot on their faces were playing with dirt. The elder boy piled up the dirt in front of them， and the younger boy pushed it down. The elder one was not annoyed， but piled it up again. Time seemed to slow down here. People lived their lives hitting iron or farming in accordance with solar terms.

This is Jiayi Village， a small village near the west bank of the Weigan River in south Xinjiang. Most men in the village can make musical instruments， and most women can dance and sing. The musical instruments here are sold to other places in Xinjiang， Henan， Beijing， and even exported to Germany， France， South Korea， Japan， etc.

Aiyiti Yiming was born and grew up here， and he will also grow old here.

Aiyiti Yiming， in his fifties， has spent most of his life dealing with musical instruments. In his childhood， he listened to others playing music and singing， and watched his grandfather make musical instruments. In his teens， he learned to make musical instruments from his grandfather. In his youth， he made musical instruments by himself， took his products everywhere and sold them. Now he has apprentices. He teaches others how to make musical instruments.

It has been more than four decades since he began to learn to make musical instruments at the age of fifteen. Aiyiti Yiming cannot remember how many musical instruments he has made. He can make and play them as long as they are Uyghur musical instruments.

Aiyiti Yiming cannot read music or words. He makes musical instruments by feeling. From a piece of mulberry wood， every process， chiseling， carving and engraving， seems to control his strength and measure with a mysterious power， so that he won’t overdo or underdo it. The power leads him until he finishes a musical instrument， making perfect pitches and tones.

Aiyiti Yiming has been recognized as the “king of musical instruments.” However， it is uncertain how to make the best use of mulberry wood to make musical instruments， how thick the resonator should be to make beautiful sounds， and how long a perfect string should be.

There are so many differences between pieces of mulberry wood. After a musical instrument is made， the dryness， compactness， and even the growing environment and the sunlight of the mulberry wood determine the subtle differences in the tone. Aiyiti Yiming can feel these secrets， but he cannot explain them clearly. He is like a wise man who masters the oracle but is not allowed to reveal its secrets. All the secrets can only be understood but not explained.

It is said that more than 300 years ago， someone in Jiayi Village began to make musical instruments. From the tools used by Aiyiti Yiming to make musical instruments， the technique from more than 300 years ago has probably been retained intact up to now.

The key to making musical instruments is tuning the strings， making the thickness of the resonator perfect， and making the tone good enough. Aiyiti Yiming can judge whether a musical instrument is well made and how to improve it just by playing it for a while because Aiyiti Yiming learned to play musical instruments before making them.

Today， whenever buyers of musical instruments come to his home， Aiyiti Yiming doesn’t push his products， but takes out his Satar or Dutar and plays music. Sometimes he plays brisk music， and sometimes a sad song. What he plays depends on his mood at that moment. In most cases， when he finishes the music， the listeners are still wandering in the music until they wake up after a while. Then， they will buy without a doubt.

Aiyiti Yiming makes musical instruments with his three apprentices. Besides， his wife makes ornaments， especially for them. Thus， they can only make four musical instruments at most in a month. Nowadays， a hand-made musical instrument can sell for up to 3，500 yuan. In a month， Aiyiti Yiming can make three or four thousand yuan， after paying the salaries of his apprentices and taking into account the cost to buy raw materials. This income is not high in cities but is enviable in Jiayi Village.

Those boys with some knowledge who like musical instruments in the village will learn from Aiyiti Yiming， and he accepts all of them. When he teaches them， he says little but shows them how to do it. Then they will think about every step by themselves. Aiyiti Yiming learned from his grandfather just like this. The method has not changed， but not every learner has mastered the technique to make musical instruments. Many people watched and did it， but they couldn’t make perfect tones. Then they gave up and no longer came. Aiyiti Yiming didn’t force such people.

In total， more than forty villagers have learned from Aiyiti Yiming， and more than twenty have succeeded. Six of them went out of the village， and the others started their business in the village. In fact， they have become Aiyiti Yiming’s rivals. But some buyers still recognize Aiyiti Yiming and buy musical instruments from him. They believe that Aiyiti Yiming makes artwork rather than goods. So， they are willing to pay more， waiting for Aiyiti Yiming to make fine work through slow work. It has been many years since Aiyiti Yiming last wandered and sold musical instruments as he did when he was young. Now， anyone who wants to buy his musical instruments should order in advance.

Aiyiti Yiming has never been far away. The farthest places he has reached are Korla， Hotan， Ili and Urumchi. His musical instruments helped him arrive where he hadn’t been and enjoy the scenes he hasn’t seen. Long ago， his products were sold to Urumchi， Guangzhou， Beijing and Shanghai， and some traveled across the ocean to other countries.

Aiyiti Yiming feels very happy living in Jiayi Village with his wife and children making musical instruments. His wish is real： making better musical instruments， selling them at a good price， teaching more apprentices， and spreading his craft to more people.