Chinese Farmers Turn to Violin Making
- 14 years ago
Violins have become big business in Donggao, a farming village on the outskirts of Beijing.
Residents craft hundreds of thousands of stringed instruments every year.
More than 1,200 people are now employed in factories and workshops, many working for Huadong Musical Instruments Corporation Limited.
Unlike traditional lutherie, in which a master-craftsman builds a violin single-handedly, Huadong employs a factory-production-line approach in which the violin will pass through more than 10 different pairs of hands during its 50-day building process.
[Chen Xiaona, Worker]:
"I am doing the assembling and fitting. I fit together the pegs, strings, the bridge, the tailpiece, the saddle and the tail gut, as well as a soundpost on the inside. Once I have finished assembling it, you can play the violin and make beautiful music. The bridge and the soundpost are particularly important to the sound of the violin."
Su Jun, a violin teacher from China's central Hubei Province, is impressed by the quality.
[Su Jun, Violin Teacher]:
"Chinese violins, in terms of how they work and appearance, are not inferior to Western violins. In fact, they might even surpass them. But in terms of the quality of the sound, there is still room for improvement when it comes to the manufacturing."
More than half of the workforce consists of locals from the village, many of whom still work in the fields during sowing and harvesting season.
The workers picked up their craft gradually, as more and more professional violinmakers were brought to the village to teach them.
With the stringed instrument business booming, the village is now preparing to move into piano production. Village officials said that a new factory is currently being built to fulfill an order for 400,000 pianos.
Residents craft hundreds of thousands of stringed instruments every year.
More than 1,200 people are now employed in factories and workshops, many working for Huadong Musical Instruments Corporation Limited.
Unlike traditional lutherie, in which a master-craftsman builds a violin single-handedly, Huadong employs a factory-production-line approach in which the violin will pass through more than 10 different pairs of hands during its 50-day building process.
[Chen Xiaona, Worker]:
"I am doing the assembling and fitting. I fit together the pegs, strings, the bridge, the tailpiece, the saddle and the tail gut, as well as a soundpost on the inside. Once I have finished assembling it, you can play the violin and make beautiful music. The bridge and the soundpost are particularly important to the sound of the violin."
Su Jun, a violin teacher from China's central Hubei Province, is impressed by the quality.
[Su Jun, Violin Teacher]:
"Chinese violins, in terms of how they work and appearance, are not inferior to Western violins. In fact, they might even surpass them. But in terms of the quality of the sound, there is still room for improvement when it comes to the manufacturing."
More than half of the workforce consists of locals from the village, many of whom still work in the fields during sowing and harvesting season.
The workers picked up their craft gradually, as more and more professional violinmakers were brought to the village to teach them.
With the stringed instrument business booming, the village is now preparing to move into piano production. Village officials said that a new factory is currently being built to fulfill an order for 400,000 pianos.