Guqin and its associated Chinese Culture

In the 1970s, human beings explored the unknown civilization of the outer space, a spaceship was launched, inside which a recording of mankind’s most representative music was placed, so as to find an appreciated friend in a vast universe. This recording includes a representative Chinese music ---the Guqin composition –the flowing water. The reason to select a work played on this specific instrument if because the tonal structure of the instrument, its musical scale, is derived from fundamental physical laws related to vibration and overtones, representing the intellectual capacity of human beings on this subject.

Quqin is the modern name for a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since the ancient time, and has a history of over 5000 years. It has traditionally been favored by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted by the quote “a gentleman does not part with his qin or se without good reason”, as well as being associated with the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius. It is sometimes referred to by the Chinese as “the father of Chinese music” or “the instrument of the sages”. In Imperial China, a well-educated scholar was expected to be skilled in four arts: qin, qi, shu, and hua; in other words, the guqin, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Guqin has historically been viewed as the symbol of Chinese high culture.

These are countless beautiful stories regarding to Guqin. The most famous among them is the story between Boya and Ziqi (lofty mountain and flowing water). Over 2000 years ago, a Guqin master named Boya, faced lofty mountains and flowing river, and he was inspired by the scene, played an improvisational piece. Zhongziqi, a hermit in the high mountain, appreciated the characters behind the music, the high mountain and flowing water. Thereafter, the two became intimate friends. After Zhong’s death, Boya broke his Quqin and sword not to play music again. The music played by Boya was played at that time was called flowing water, which has been wandering through the universe today. Because of this legend, “High Mountain and Flowing Water” represents cherished friendship in Chinese culture. Although the piece “High Mountains and Flowing Water” performed today is not the same one that Yu played almost 3,000 years ago, it conveys the same idea, the magnificence of high mountains and the power of moving water.

The Chinese parasol tree, is the most common material from which guqin is made. It is regarded as secret tree in the Chinese traditional culture that representing virility. It is said that the parasol trees can attract the phoenix, the singing of which is the most propitious and beautiful sound in the world. As guqin is mainly made from the Chinese parasol tree, at the same time, it is also consider by the ancient Chinese people a tool to communicate with the Gods.

The design of the Guqin was finalized in the Han Dynasty. Its body is usually hand-made from the Chinese parasol tree. It has 7 strings and along its side there are 13 batches, which are the harmonic marks. There are 91 harmonic tones can be played. Along its back, there are two holes of different sizes. Respectively called ‘the phoenix pond’ and ‘the dragon pond’, symbolized the harmony between Yin and Yang. Because the entire body of the Guqin resonates the sound and the holes are along the back, it produces a unique sound, deep and long.

According to the lengend, the Chinese emperor Shun, played guqin quite well. Thus, the people of the country he ruled can all live in harmony and enjoy peaceful life. It is believed by the ancient people that the harmony sound of this music bring good fortune and peace to their live.

Feng Qiu Huang (A Love Story) is the first guqin composition I learnt when I started to learn guqin playing from Professor Chi Li in UCLA. It is a famous Music-Conservatory Guqin Song in Chinese history. According to Chinese legends, Phoenix (Feng or Huang) is a deity bird which will appear when hearing elegant music. The word "Phoenix" is compared to a couple since the word in Chinese contains both names of male and female phoenix. Accordingly, Feng Qiu Huang is used to express the performer's adoration to the one he loves and the wishes of seeking for bosom friends.

It has bearing on the love story of Zhuo Wenjun and Sima Xiangru, a great author of Cifu (a literary form, sentimental or descriptive composition, often rhymed) in the Western Han Dynasty. Concisely speaking, the story is like this: Sima Xiangru, once went to a banquet at the home of a wealthy man called Zuo Wangsun. Zuo's daughter Wenjun had long admired secretly Xiangru's literary talent and grace, so she peeped through the screen to see him. Xiangru pretended to know nothing about it, but when invited to play a musical instrument he availed himself of the opportunity to express his love for her by performing the music Feng Pursuing Huang. As it turned out, Xiangru had also heard a lot about Wenjun. Falling in love at first sight, they eloped that very night. Plunged in a strait circumstance as they had, they each clung close to the other. At last, their marriage won the consent of Zuo Wangsun. The love story between them has been a much-told story and has been providing prototypes for literary and artistic creation of later generations.

At the same time, Feng Qiu Huang has become popular with people, for it symbolizes the spirit of smashing feudal ethics and bravely pursuing love. Lyrics and verses of Feng Qiu Huang are concise and endowed with profound morals and characteristics of gaudy Elegies of Chu and novel Han Yue Fu (a style of poems during the Han dynasty, collected by the Bureau of Music). By contrast, its syllables are featured by mellifluence, tactfulness, vehemency, sentimentality, sincerity and appeals. Accordingly, Feng Qiu Huang is of extremely high artistic value.

The story of Feng Qiu Huang can be found in numerous literature works and dramas created by later generations. For instance, it acts as a promoter of scenarios in such famous dramas as The Romance of West Chamber, Over the Wall, On the Horse and The Story of Jade Hairpin. Moreover, the stage play Music of the Heart is a direct description of the love story of Zhuo Wenjun and Sima Xiangru. In modern films and TV plays, Feng Qiu Huang has served as a symbol of the youth's pursuit for love, free marriage and happy life.

Different from many instruments, guqin is a very peaceful instrument. The guqin music pursues a status of the harmony in life, the harmony in inner heart’s world and harmony between human being and nature. It can represent the gamut of human beings-happiness, anger, grief and joy and convey the ambition of the literati in the ancient times that to run a country well and give the people peace and security.

Guqin playing , a way to cultivate one’s moral character, also represent the feeling of human beings to the nature world. There is no country boundary in the music world. We believe that the guqin art will gain more and more bosom friends in the world by right of its special musical fascination.