Peerless Clear Sound

Author: Wu Zhao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Recently, Mr. Wu Zhao, a renowned Chinese guqin player and music historian, president of the China Guqin Association, and president of the Beijing Guqin Research Association, presented a book he wrote to his hometown of Suzhou as a gift for the 28th session of the World Heritage Conference. The book was published by Gu Wu Xuan Press. It is understood that this work compiles theories on guqin instruments and scores, as well as stories and discussions about guqin players. It also provides a comprehensive and systematic introduction to guqin. At the end of last year, following Kunqu Opera, China's guqin art was awarded the title of "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO, bringing global attention to guqin. Originally known as "qin" or "seven-stringed qin," guqin is one of China's oldest plucked instruments with a history of over 3,000 years. It was also the most prestigious instrument in ancient China, hailed as a philosophical art or a philosophical art, ranking first among the "Four Arts" of qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and was a mandatory skill for every scholar in ancient times. The Book of Songs contains records such as "Gentle and graceful, she plays the qin and zither with friends" and "When I have guests, I strike the zither and the qin." The music of guqin is often difficult to understand. As early as the pre-Qin period, there was the saying "The music of Yangchun and Baiyun, high tune and few who harmonize," and even today, finding a "companion in music" for guqin remains exceptionally rare. However, with the success of guqin's "intangible cultural heritage" application, more people are becoming aware of and learning guqin. It is understood that there are currently about 40 people learning guqin in Suzhou, a number far smaller compared to those learning the piano and other traditional Chinese instruments, yet it is still commendable. Wu Zhao explains that learning guqin requires considerable cultural refinement, as it has always been an elite culture rather than a popular one. He also emphasizes that guqin is a cultural heritage that must be protected and passed down. Wu Zhao laments that the "promotion" of guqin has brought him heartache. He notes that many students at conservatories often combine guqin with other instruments or collaborate with orchestras. He says that in the process, they have unknowingly adopted the aesthetic standards of Western music—such as pitch—to modify guqin, making it more popular but losing its essence, thus no longer being guqin. He gives an example: the aesthetics of guqin emphasize contrasts between the tangible and the intangible. The subtle sounds () can only be truly appreciated when played and listened to quietly, but they are completely lost on a stage. "Guqin is not just an instrument; it is a symbol of Chinese culture," Wu Zhao says. As China's second intangible cultural heritage, he hopes that guqin can be passed down from generation to generation in its original form.