Dragon Leaping, Phoenix Prancing; Dong Xiao of the North, Shakuhachi of the South

龙腾凤舞；北有洞箫，南有尺八


Took a break yesterday from practising the Shakuhachi 尺八 so my Xiao 箫 won’t go rusty (rather to prevent mould).
Putting the two side by side shows the contrast in appearance 小巫见大巫. Actually they each have their own “powers”; one can’t say the dragon is more superior to the phoenix.

The two instruments have a common history but naturally developed into a kind of Yin and Yang 太极生两仪 after the Tang dynasty. The Shakuhachi is like the majestic dragon that bursts into mighty leaps and wreaks stormy weather. It can be a tough ride on such a beast, needing stability and strength. When it’s rested there’s still tension, a dormant energy 藏龙.

The Xiao is refined and elegant like the phoenix gliding through the clouds. Soothing and flowing sounds are deceptively simple - execution requires tempering the power of the breath. Patience and virtue seems to be the foundation. A certain Romanticism surrounds this instrument with tales of love match made through music and ascensions into the heavens 吹箫引凤.

The Shakuhachi frees the spirit and the Xiao calms the senses, at least that’s my perception. Just like how Yin and Yang are interdependent, the dragon can have phoenix like qualities and vice versa.

Shakuhachi and Xiao duet:

On practical experience, the Shakuhachi having a wider bore does require a firm breath before a good tone is produced, whereas on the Xiao one may get away with it for a while before it becomes an obvious problem. Both instruments are driven by abdominal/diaphragmatic breathing coupled with lower dantian 下丹田 control. The lungs are secondary in support. Switching back to the Xiao was an unusual feeling (beyond adapting the embouchure) as I had to adopt a more restrained 内敛 approach so as not to overpower the instrument.

Technical notes: the Shakuhachi 尺八 referred to here is the traditional Japanese 5 holed bamboo instrument with a slanted cut at one end for blowing. There are actually variants of this in Chinese culture referring to the Southern Xiao 南箫 as 尺八 also. And to add confusion there are 6 and 8 holed Xiao using the same style of blowing edge as Shakuhachi. One way to look at an instrument is not to decouple it from its culture and history: the Shakuhachi includes the approach and nuances of playing, its notation system, it’s link to Zen practice, its relationships to other instruments such as koto, and the craftsmanship of making it.