Ming-Jiang Zhu
Ming-Jiang Zhu | |
|---|---|
朱明江 | |
| Born | 1956 Guangzhou, China |
| Died | 1 December 2014 (aged 57–58) Guangzhou, China |
| Occupation | Luthier |
| Known for | Violin making; first Chinese gold medalist at the Violin Society of America international competition |
Ming-Jiang Zhu (Chinese: 朱明江; 1956 – 1 December 2014) was a Chinese luthier based in Guangzhou. He was the first violin maker from China to win a gold medal at the Violin Society of America (VSA) international making competition, and over his career received twenty-one awards at that competition, including two gold medals for violin.[1][2] In 2014 he was given the title "Master of Chinese Violin Making" by the China National Light Industry Council.[3]
Early life and training
Zhu was born in Guangzhou in 1956 to parents who worked as accountants, and grew up without exposure to the violin.[1] Between 1974 and 1976, during the Cultural Revolution, he was sent to do agricultural labour at Wanqingsha in Panyu, south of Guangzhou.[1] In 1976 he was admitted to the newly established Guangzhou violin-making school, where he studied under the makers Xu Fu and Liang Guohui.[4] After graduating he worked at the Guangzhou Musical Instrument Research Institute, continuing his studies under Liang.[4]
Career and workshop
In 1991 Zhu left his state employment and set up a small workshop in his home, which later expanded into a company in Guangzhou.[1] His instruments are made after the patterns of Stradivari and Guarneri, using seasoned European spruce and maple finished with a hand-applied oil varnish.[5]
International awards
Zhu first entered the VSA international violin-making competition in 1986, receiving a certificate of merit for workmanship.[4] By 2014 he had won twenty-one awards at the competition across the violin and viola categories, including two gold medals for violin (1994 and 2006) and two silver medals.[2][3] His work was the subject of a 1997 profile in Time titled "They're Made Where?"[1] His competition entries were also listed by the British magazine The Strad.[6]
Honours and positions
In 2008 Zhu was admitted as a member of the Entente Internationale des Maîtres-luthiers et Archetiers d'Art (EILA).[3] In 2010 he was named a National Model Worker by the State Council of China, and served as a judge at the first China International Violin Making Competition held in Beijing.[7][4] He held positions with the China Musical Instrument Association.[3] In 2014 the China National Light Industry Council awarded him the title "Master of Chinese Violin Making".[3]
Death
Zhu died in Guangzhou on 1 December 2014, aged 58.[3]
Legacy
Zhu is regarded, together with Haide Lin and Scott Cao, as a representative of the Guangzhou tradition of violin making, the three having trained in the lineage of Xu Fu and Liang Guohui.[4] Several of his students, including Qiao-Ming Tan, Shao Chen and Wei-Xian Zhu, have themselves won awards at international violin-making competitions.[6] The workshop he founded continued to operate after his death.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "They're Made Where?". Time. 21 April 1997.
- 1 2 "Past Competition Awards". Violin Society of America.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 China National Light Industry Council, decision document Zhong Qing Lian Ren Shi (2014) No. 318, 2 December 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "The State of Chinese Violin Making, From Past to Present". Strings.
- ↑ "Contemporary violin makers from China and Taiwan". Corilon Violins.
- 1 2 "Violin, viola, cello and bow makers honoured at 2014 VSA competition". The Strad. 20 September 2014.
- ↑ 国务院关于表彰全国劳动模范和先进工作者的决定 (in Chinese). State Council of the People's Republic of China. 27 April 2010.