The Chinese se?

[guzhenglover]

Hi all

There seems to have been very little discussion on the Chinese se. How much do we know about its performance, teaching and promotion in today's musical scene? I mean, do we know who plays it as a main instrument (are there any se masters out there)? Who's a "guru" of the se, and where are its specialists? Are there se enthusiasts who've formed a forum and/or a club somewhere?Since the se once played a prominent role in Chinese music (no less so than the guzheng, I understand), isn't it about time that we pay more due discussion to this instrument?

[jetz320]

What's a se? There are many, hundreds of Chinese Instruments that aren't discussed about.

[davidmdahl]

My understanding is that the se is a museum-piece with no living tradition of performance, teaching or manufacture. There does not seem to be much written about the se that is accessible, at least in English. There is very little for most of us to talk about regarding the se. Following is the Wikipedia entry:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Se_%28instrument%29

Best wishes,

David

[Charlie Huang]

I wrote that entry. T'was mostly a translation off a site plus a bit of my own findings.

[guzhenglover]

I seem to remember that someone in another thread had once contributed a picture of a newly manufactured se for us all to see (was it you, Charlie?). So obviously someone somewhere (in China?) is still making the se and presumably that means that there's a market out there (even if it's not popular). And I also recall some recent musical events in which the se and the guqin are played together as a duet. I have to find that weblink one of these days. It sounds like a bit of a shame that the se playing tradition seems to have been lost as it's given way to the guzheng (even though I do love the guzheng). I hear that the se is something in the midway between a guqin and a guzheng. It's like a guzheng in that it has many number of strings with bridges and the wood/timber is soft, whereas it's like a guqin in terms of its sonority (amongst other similarities and differences). To me the se sounds amazing and worth playing.

[Charlie Huang]

I was thinking of researching the se for my PhD, but discovered the se has already been 'revived', so I dropped it in the end.

The pic you want is in one of the links of the article.

[Si]

there is alot about it in the lore of the chinese lute book - the term seemed to have been used interchangably in the past.

did not that old man play a se in the Hero movie?

[guzhenglover]

Well thanks syburn, I've got that book - the lore of the chinese lute - so I'll have a look there to see what it covers/doesn't cover.

And I must be one of those rare beings who doesn't like the "Hero" movie one bit, so I must admit that I completely did not see a se in it. It must've escaped my attention.

Thanks Charlie. But it's precisely that "revival" that would interest me so much, and that's why I thought I'd begin this thread. Where/how is the se being revived, and by whom?

[Charlie Huang]

Hero: The guy is playing a qin rather than a se (no bridges, and sounds like a qin).

[Si]

well for me i prefere that people da pu all 650 odd extant guqin tunes first before messing about with the se!

Priorities!!!

[carol]

I think Se is always played in the Confusious festivals.

[Charlie Huang]

You mean the sacrifices to Confucius? The Koreans do it better than the Chinese in that aspect....

[guzhenglover]

Well obviously no-one could dispute the importance of the guqin in Chinese music, so I agree with you, syburn. Nevertheless, the se also used to be a prominent musical instrument and in fact enjoyed a popularity no less than the guzheng and the guqin. I think the reason why people don't play it as much/anymore is because the se was mainly played in imperial courts or in sacred rituals - like Confucian festivals - and so the common people didn't have as much access to the se playing tradition. This means that the se gradually lost touch with the people.