ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the importance of Beijing in relation to the emergence of the modern pipa (four-string plucked lute) solo tradition by focusing on four key figures: Liu Tianhua, Lin Shicheng, Liu Dehai, and Zhang Qiang. It examines their roles in changing the construction of the instrument, transforming its playing techniques and methods of transmission, and developing the canonic solo pipa repertoire, and showing links to the recent centralization of creativity in Beijing. Bergeron’s idea of canon as a form of ‘discipline’ – playing in tune, practising scales, maintaining a uniform tradition – has parallels with late 1950s pipa teaching methods. Although Beijing, along with the rest of the country, was in a state of development and disarray, the capital became the site for the development of the conservatory system and, consequently, the pipa and its repertoire. Lin Shicheng’s major contribution to the pipa was the creation of a systematic teaching method for use in conservatories.
