Even though I have only this ‘shadow’ of the man, as it were, what’s plain to see and understand from reading through Shi’s notes is that whilst Old Chen was a very unusual character, he was still a man full of life. The puzzling thing is, the image painted by Shi contrasts greatly with the description given by Director An. Indeed, in Director An’s portrayal of Chen Erhu, Old Chen was an obscure and dark figure, someone who operated in the shadows, and was a shadow himself. Perhaps this was because Director An wanted to give all the credit to Huang Yiyi and so felt the need to dull Old Chen’s lustre; or perhaps there was another reason – I simply don’t know. But one thing is clear: once I had read through Shi Guoguang’s letters and diaries, my respect for Chen Erhu grew.

What follows are Shi Guoguang’s papers: enjoy …

Diary Excerpts: 25 March 1987

Dormitory. Night. Raining.

Today, the son of my former shifu telephoned. At first I thought it was a woman speaking because the voice was so faint and distant. I asked who it was and he told me he was Chen Sibing. I mulled it over for a bit but I couldn’t place the name. Finally he said that he was Chen Erhu’s son.

Chen Erhu was my shifu.