Thunder in Drought

Introduction

Yan Laolie's yangqin reworking of Sanji Lang, the second tune of the old suite Sanbao Fo.

Thunder in Drought is an early yangqin classic of Cantonese music, arranged by Yan Laolie, also known as Yan Gongshang. Its source is Sanji Lang, the second tune of the traditional suite Sanbao Fo, which late Qing songbooks of Cantonese love songs used as a pipa prelude before the singing. Yan reworked the slow, level original with strong rhythms, leaps, syncopation and yangqin ornaments, turning it bright and fluent and giving it a new name. The yangqin scholar Xiang Zuhua called it the first piece Yan arranged with his yangqin embellishment technique. According to the Guangzhou Daily, it first appeared in print in Qiu Hechou's Xiange Bidu, dated 1916 or 1917.