Its sweet, eiree voice was all it took for him to stop.
Even though his headphones covered his ears, the music's volume wasn't too high as to shut out something as nostalgic to his heart as an erhu's sacred melody.
Hong Kong took of his headphones just to be sure that it was indeed an erhu, and it was.
Definitely.
An erhu sounds like no other instrument on earth. The violin probably comes close, but not close enough to match its ladylike voice.
Decades had passed since he had last heard one. It was as if it was calling to him, like a dear friend from a childhood who still recognised you despite all the years of separation.
He turned around to see if it was actually the erhu calling him. And it was indeed the erhu, played by a Chinese busker on the busy sidewalk.
It was a bit strange to see a Chinese man play an erhu by the busy London sidewalk. A bit out of place, with all the people rushing by the man, ignoring him. While London was indeed a cultural melting pot, it wasn't every day that you see someone play an erhu on the sidewalk. Still, it felt familiar to see one play an erhu. Sort of like seeing a splash of red paint on a grey canvas.
But along with that, the sight of the erhu struck something inside of Hong Kong. Its elegant swan like neck, the python skin sound box, the two delicate strings that balanced upon the tiny bridge…
It was almost as if something had awoken inside of him. But it wasn't exactly the sight of the instrument which did it. Rather, it was the erhu's song which captured his attention. Its ladylike voice which seemed to weep, refreshingly different but eerily familiar.
Decades had passed since he had last heard one. Before he became part of England's household, he had heard the erhu sing almost every day- China's erhu. China could play all sorts of music on the erhu, from the fast, exciting ones that made you want to jump up and dance, to the long, weeping strokes that made you want to cry with it. His skill in the erhu's music was beautiful, no, not just beautiful, exquisite; something rare from the centuries of perfecting the music, but also something beautiful because of the dedication.
It was another day at the courtyard. As always, China played the erhu.
Hong Kong sat beside him in silence, as to not disturb the erhu's song. He listened to the erhu's melody before he remembered something. His fingers moved around as he debated whether or not to ask, but after a while, he decided to ask anyway.
"China, how do you play the erhu so well?" The erhu's music did not stop, but China raised an eyebrow at Hong Kong's question. Lazily his eyelid opened halfway through as he gazed down at the young child.
"Practise," was his brief justification before he continued to play the erhu.
"No, I mean… how did you make it sound so beautiful?" A couple of nights ago he had attempted to play the erhu himself. But of course, it failed, as when he first stroked the bow onto the strings, what came out was not its voice like sound, but rather, what came out was this sound that sounded like phlegm stuck in a cat's throat.
"As I said before, practise."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Xiang Long stayed quiet again while the erhu continued to sing.
"… Yao?"
"Yes?"
"Can you… teach me?" The music stopped at the request.
"To play the erhu? Yes! Here," he said before he patted a spot on his lap, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"O-okay," he replied. When he did sit on China's lap, China guided his small hands towards the bow and the neck.
The first lesson was somewhat hard. The erhu was a bit too big for him, and the bow kept on falling out of his grip. Despite this, he managed to play his first song, and it felt good to have known that he had managed to be able to create such melody. It wasn't much nor did it sound great, but it felt great to know that he could play it! Imagine of what could be possible with the same dedication of China! That day, he made himself a promise.
"One day," he thought, "my erhu playing skills will be just as good as China's." Maybe even better!
That was the last time that he had held an erhu.
Shortly afterwards, he became part of the British Empire and left China.
He remembered that shortly afterwards, he requested an erhu from England. England, however, was confused by his request, so he had motioned what it was like to play the erhu towards England.
"A cello?"
"No no, an erhu!" He held up two fingers. "It has two strings!" England's eyebrows scrunched up when he heard the request. Were there many two stringed instruments in Europe?
"What… does it sound like then?"
"A song. It sounds like a weeping lady humming a song." At least, that was what he could describe at his best. The eyebrows scrunched up more. England seemed to be even more confused. At this rate, his eyebrows would turn into a monobrow.
Hong Kong looked down. England didn't like to waste time, so he needed to say something. There was another name for the erhu used in the West. What was it called again? The Chinese…
"Chinese violin!"
"Hm? Ah, that I can do."
He bought a normal violin.
The violin case's shape confused him when he first got it. Erhus were very long, so why was it wide? When he opened it, he realised that the shape was wrong. The large box, the four strings, the short neck…
It was not an erhu. Anything but an erhu.
He was frustrated. He wanted to confront England as to why he didn't get an erhu. And he did.
England explained to him that there would not be many 'Chinese violin' makers in Europe as they were Chinese instruments, and that even if he did manage to purchase one, there wouldn't be many teachers to teach him.
He still wanted to play the erhu. But it was not a choice; he would either learn the violin or learn nothing. Reluctantly, he agreed to learn how to play the violin.
England gave him violin lessons that afternoon, in which he needed to tune first. The position of playing the violin was strange and differed from the erhu. With the erhu, you balance it upon your lap. But with the European violin, you stick a shoulder rest at the bottom and wedge it between your chin and your shoulder. Now he could see why England confused it with a cello the first time round; there were more similarities.
Holding up the bow, Arthur stroked the strings with it as he adjusted the pegs and the fine tuners. And it was then when Hong Kong realised just why the erhu was called the Chinese violin.
The violin's note sounded so similar to the erhu's.
Though there were some differences between the two sounds (the violin sounded more crisp and clear), the two instruments still sounded really similar.
"England?"
"Yes?"
"Can you play something exciting?" England raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by something exciting?"
"Like, erhm, a music piece which makes you jump with joy."
"... Alright." He placed down Hong Kong's violin and grabbed a larger one from the shelf- his own, Hong Kong presumed.
When he positioned the violin, he paused for a bit as he placed the bow carefully upon the strings.
He took a deep breath in.
And then the violin sang.
A joyful melody followed soon after the first couple notes. It gave Hong Kong a feeling of being free! Out in the meadow, under the sun!
It was very peaceful, yet also energetic! It sounded so different from the music of the erhu, yet it can still create the same emotions as the erhu!
"England?"
"Yes?" He replied, though the music didn't stop.
"Can you play something sad?" The music stopped.
England looked down towards the child.
"First you wanted me to play a happy song, and now you want me to play a sad song?"
Nervousness built up inside of him. Nevertheless, he picked up the courage and said:
"Yeah."
"... Just this once then."
Hong Kong felt a little relieved at England's answer. But his feeling of relief was replaced with enchantment when the bow made contact with the violin ever so delicately…
A tranquil yet solemn sound rang as the bow stroked the violin ever so slowly and gently. What came afterwards was a calm, graceful tune.
It was a peaceful tune, so delicate that it was like a lullaby to sing to a sleeping baby. Yet, there was still something sad within the tune. Beautiful, yet sad.
And then it was finished, yet Hong Kong was still mesmerised by its beauty.
Yes, it was short, but still, something about it made the violin ever more mesmerising…
"Hong Kong?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you still want to learn how to play the violin or are you just going to hear me play it?"
"O-oh yeah, sorry. Let's start then."
He learnt to appreciate the violin, to love the violin's crisp songs over the decades. But still his heart remained with the erhu's enchanting voice. Though even that faded as he nurtured his love for the violin's song. So much so that the erhu's song was anything but remembered…
"Leon?"
England's voice snapped him out of his trance.
"O-oh. Coming." Leon scampered towards England as he placed his headphones back on. But as he did so the erhu's song dampened. He turned down the music of his Walkman just so that he can still hear that erhu sing.
Still, it faded into the busy sounds of London as they moved away from the erhu.
Fading…
Fading…
Gone.
Really gone.
In modern times, erhus can be more easily bought. Moreover, he knew the basics of playing the erhu. Even if he had forgotten how, there were still books and CDs about erhu playing out there.
He knew that even though he still had his violin, no matter how good the violin may sound, it can never replace the erhu's ethereal song…
"Arthur?"
"Yes?"
"May I have an erhu?"
The first piece that England plays is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Allegro, while the second one is the Swedish folk song who can sail. The reason why Hong Kong can't remember the pieces China plays on the erhu is because he was pretty young when he left China, and so he can't remember the tune well.