11/28/2023 0 Comments Guzheng chinese stringed instrument![]() Indeed, a true guqin devotee does not have to play the instrument at all. A sincere follower of the way of the qin does not seek fame but, like Boya, prefers a select audience of fragrant pines, craggy peaks, swirling mists and the occasional discerning human. So deeply embedded is the guqin in Chinese culture that to study it is to embrace an all-encompassing moral philosophy known as “the way of the qin,” essentially a lifestyle of moderation, self-cultivation and decorum. The paulownia tree, from whose wood the instrument is crafted, was believed to be special, thriving in remote areas, standing still as a spirit, and absorbing the luminescence of sun and moon. If you think about Chinese culture, you have to consider the qin.” (“Gu” means ancient, and the instrument is sometimes simply called “qin.”) It was played by many emperors and ancient poets. “Many people are saying we should restore traditional Chinese culture,” said Zhao Jiazhen, a guqin master whose audience has included President Barack Obama. ![]() But, after decades in the shadows of China’s musical life, the guqin is making a comeback, riding a wave of renewed interest in the nation’s traditional culture and the government’s efforts to promote this. For much of the 20th century, the contemplative guqin - the favored instrument of Confucius - has lacked an understanding audience and been eclipsed by showier musical instruments, including Western imports like piano and violin. So he picked up his instrument and smashed it, never to play again.Īlthough Boya is long gone, his musical successors have had ample occasion to share his angst. ![]() After many years, when the woodcutter finally died, Boya knew that never again would someone so intuitively comprehend his music. Such was the sympathy between musician and audience that Ziqi could imagine whatever thought was in Boya’s heart from the sound of his guqin. As Boya strummed the sound of clouds, Ziqi saw them billowing when Boya conjured a waterfall, Ziqi saw it cascading. Back in China’s Spring and Autumn Period, between the eighth and the fifth centuries B.C., a musician named Boya was alone in a forest plucking on a guqin, a seven-stringed zither, when a passing woodcutter named Ziqi stopped to listen.
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