Event at Carnegie Museum of Art rings in Chinese New Year

Like Indiana Jones, you may not be especially fond of snakes.

But as Qihan Liu demonstrated, they can have a musical purpose.

He was among the musicians giving demonstrations of traditional Chinese instruments during Sunday’s 26th Greater Pittsburgh Lunar New Year Show and Fair at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland.

One of the instruments he played was the sanxian, which resembles a fretless guitar with snakeskin stretched across the soundboard, a technique that increases the relative loudness of the plucking of its three strings. As such, sanxians have been popular among traveling Chinese musicians for the past millennium or so.

In addition to his reptile-enhanced sanxian, Liu joined his child, Mo, in playing their pipas, four-string instruments that are similar to Western lutes. Others on display and available to try included the harplike zheng and the di, similar to a flute and made of bamboo.

Music, dance and other art forms combined with a variety of exhibits to help usher in the Year of the Rabbit, which officially starts Jan. 22. According to Chinese tradition, the rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace and prosperity, and people born in such years tend to display intelligence.

The celebration is presented annually by Chinese Association of Science and Technology — Pittsburgh, a nearly 30-year-old nonprofit, nonpolitical organization with the mission of encouraging technological development, scientific research, and investment in cultural diversity and educational outreach. Sunny Yang of Cranberry Township is serving as president for 2023.

As co-presenter, the museum of art offered a picturesque and historic venue for the festivities, with its origins dating back to the 1890s. The adjoining 128-year-old Carnegie Music Hall staged an afternoon full of vocal, instrumental and dance performances.

Highlights included Song Feihong, who sang opera while simultaneously exercising her skill in calligraphy that was put on display; pipa and seven-string qin soloist Zhou Yi, a graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music; and the Pittsburgh Xiaobo Waist Drum Dance Group, featuring red drums strapped to performers’ waists by colorful ribbons.

In recognition of CAST-P and the museum presenting the show and fair, Nancy Xiao of the Pennsylvania Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs read a proclamation from Gov. Tom Wolf, stating in part:

“It is my hope that this event heralds the arrival of luck, happiness and prosperity in the new year, and that these universal themes unite diverse people across cultures and distance.”