The scattered sound is solemn and majestic like the earth; the general sound is crisp, beautiful and light and clear like the sounds of nature; the sound is euphemistic and moving like the human voice... A person, a guqin, ten fingers produce autumn water, and several times play the sunset.

In the Guangzhou promotional video for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Ou Hongshan, a representative inheritor of the post-80s Guqin art (Lingnan style), played the qin in Yongqingfang, Guangzhou, and introduced Guqin to foreign friends passing by in fluent English. With its rich history and unique cultural charm, on the quaint bluestone alleys, China and the West collide, ancient and modern meet, and the sound of Qingyue has entered the hearts of the public like flowing water.

Ou Hongshan was born into a family of guqin. His father, Ou Junhong, studied under Yang Xinlun, the master of the Lingnan School of Guqin. Near Dade Road in Guangzhou, Ou Hongshan and his father run a guqin shop. They play qin, restore guqin, and teach qin art... The two generations jointly supported the Lingnan guqin culture. In the process, Ou Hongshan also I have a clearer understanding of the responsibilities and missions that the times have entrusted to this generation of non-genetic inheritors.

He was immersed in his eyes and ears, and he embarked on the road of Guqin inheritance

Guqin, also known as Yaoqin, Yuqin and Qixian, is a traditional Chinese plucked stringed instrument with a history of more than 3,000 years.

Since childhood, Ou Hongshan has been exposed to the Guqin culture through his eyes and ears. His father, Au Junhong, is good at cultivating handed down old qin and good at making good qin. He is the representative inheritor of the provincial intangible cultural heritage of "Guqin Art (Lingnan School)", and is known for his ancient and clear style of qin.

When he was a child, watching his father chop and play the piano at home, Ou Hongshan was very interested at a young age, and he followed and learned while playing. "Guqin music has long been imprinted in my mind. My father played it once, and I played it again. I didn't need to read the score, and I learned it so naturally."

At the beginning, Ou Hongshan just regarded Guqin as a hobby, not thinking about it as a career. In college, he was admitted to Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, majoring in business English, and entered the foreign trade industry after graduation.

Unexpectedly, the long-silent Guqin culture has ushered in the spring of development. In 2003, the art of Chinese guqin was selected as the "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO. In 2008, the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games allowed the world to hear the sound of the Chinese guqin.

As the country pays more and more attention to traditional culture, students, young white-collar workers, retired teachers... Many people from all walks of life are interested in guqin. "There seems to be a force that pulls me down the path of inheritance." Around 2010, Ou Hongshan chose to return and devoted himself to the inheritance of Lingnan guqin culture.

In 2011, the successful holding of the first Guangfu Temple Fair strengthened Ou Hongshan's determination. That year, the Ou family was invited to perform Guqin repertoire at the temple fair. The wonderful performance attracted many tourists to stop. After the temple fair, more than a dozen students approached Ou Hongshan and hoped to learn the guqin further. This result surprised Ou Hongshan very much. "It is also from this year that we officially recruited guqin students to the society, realizing the transition from family inheritance to social inheritance."

Breaking the tradition, two generations of running-in and innovation

At the beginning, whether to participate in the Guangfu Temple Fair. Her father, Ou Junhong, was worried. For thousands of years, the guqin often gives people a sense of artistic conception of the bright moon and the wind. Whether it's Wang Wei's "Sit alone in a secluded room, playing the qin and howling again" or Bai Juyi's "When the mood is free, you can play the plain qin", they all emphasize the playing environment of the guqin - tranquility and solitude. Does performing at a noisy temple fair detract from the ancient rhyme of the guqin? Let go of accepting apprentices, will Yangchun Baixue become vulgar because of this? The father and son were unsure at first.

To this end, Ou Hongshan had a long talk with his father Ou Junhong. In the end, Ou Hongshan and his father reached a consensus: Guqin should be a kind of "living" art. On the basis of tradition, we should always pay attention to the society. needs, make appropriate changes and innovations.

After the Guangfu Temple Fair, as more and more students came to study, Ou Hongshan also felt deeply that the traditional "one-on-one" mode of oral and heart teaching was difficult to adapt to the new trend. When the traditional and innovative needs collided again, Ou Hongshan made another change and decided to add small class teaching in the piano hall.

Today, after years of exploration, Tianhong Guqin Museum has formed a complete and scientific teaching system, including fun and interesting experience courses for beginners, and professional courses for students of different levels. "From a dozen students at the beginning, there are now about 150 students every year, students of all ages, and the guqin has been loved by more and more people."

What makes Ou Hongshan even more gratified is that in the past few years, some students of the piano museum have begun to teach in Guangxi, Hunan and other places after they have completed their studies. As a result, the Lingnan Guqin genre has begun to go out of Guangdong and take root and sprout everywhere. .

Ou Hongshan, who is the inheritor of non-genetics, knows that the more ethnic it is, the better it is to the world. In recent years, he has been hoping to combine what he has learned to promote the Lingnan guqin on a broader stage of dissemination.

In 2017, at the "Guangzhou Night" in Summer Davos, Ou Hongshan played the famous Guqin song "Flowing Water" for Schwab, Chairman of the World Economic Forum, and introduced the traditional Chinese Guqin culture to Schwab in fluent English. In the 14th "Fortune" Global Forum held in Guangzhou, he used the "Golden Silk Tong" made by himself to play the famous Guqin song "Shen Ren Chang" to the economic leaders of various countries, participating members and their spouses. In the recent Winter Olympics Guangzhou promotional video, Ou Hongshan also participated in the special shooting of intangible cultural heritage, further showing the international community the style of the Lingnan Guqin genre.

The mission of the times, seeking a balance between change and originality

In 2020, the list of recommended candidates for the representative inheritors of the seventh batch of municipal intangible cultural heritage representative projects in Guangzhou was announced, and Qu Hongshan was successfully selected, which also marked that a group of young and middle-aged people represented by Qu Hongshan, Gradually walked to the center of the stage and carried the banner of non-genetic inheritance. "Guqin has gradually become popular, and more and more people are participating. My responsibility is to protect it from its taste and to promote it socially."

Ou Hongshan took his own qin as an example. In the past, the strings were all real silk. Later, he gradually used artificial metal wire wrapped in nylon to provide more sound choices. The traditional guqin styles are mostly Fuxi style, Zhong style Nepalese style and banana leaf style, but in recent years, he has also created new styles such as jade pillow, jianque, flat boat, and ruyi on this basis, which have been welcomed by the market.

In addition, the form of communication is also advancing with the times. Many people have explored the combination of guqin with traditional poetry, songs, recitations and other elements, which has greatly improved the public awareness of guqin.

For these changes, Ou Hongshan has always maintained an "open" mentality. He believes that everyone has a different understanding of "innovation": to play good old songs and add their own understanding is a natural "new"; Arranging qin music, joining a band, and letting more people know and become familiar with guqin is another kind of "new".

But Ou Hongshan believes that there are always some things that remain the same. "In the process of inheritance and promotion, the guqin cannot be vulgarized. It is necessary to inherit not only the skills, but also the culture."

Today, walking into the Lingnan Tianhong Qin Museum is like walking into a miniature cultural center. In addition to the guqin of various styles, there are also various cultural elements such as calligraphy, painting, engraving, Taiji swordsmanship and so on.

"My father often said that it may only take one or two years to learn the skills of the guqin, but to truly understand and inherit the culture of the guqin, it requires lifelong learning. Traditional culture has been truly integrated into all aspects of his life, and even in daily life, he can be seen wearing a Tang suit, accompanied by pen, ink, paper and inkstone, Taiji sword or guqin." In Ou Hongshan's view, his indifferent and casual father has a great appreciation for art. The persistent pursuit of Guqin is the "original intention" that Guqin inheritors should adhere to. "I hope to find a balance, to better integrate the Guqin tradition and Chinese culture, and eventually form my own artistic form and style."