In ancient times, qin and chess, calligraphy, and painting, as the four arts of literati, were an indispensable part of the daily life of scholars, so the ancients had a saying that "a gentleman does not withdraw his qin and serenity for no reason". In the last century, the guqin, which was the first of the four arts, was on the verge of danger several times, but the situation seemed to be ruined. Not only did most people make no distinction between qin and zheng, even if the guqin appeared in the works occasionally, Most of them will be inverted, and it is not surprising that the playing method is bizarre.

Southern Song Dynasty "Qing Lai" Qin Collection of the Palace Museum

When the guqin declined with the demise of the traditional Chinese "scholar" class, it was changed by several historical events - in 2003, "guqin art" was identified as "human oral and Intangible heritage masterpiece"; in 2008, the world heard the sound of the Chinese guqin at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Since then, the guqin has become no longer high and low. It has traveled 3,000 years from the ancient "high pavilion" to reach the hearts of the information age. It is being recognized and loved by more and more people. A wind of revival is swept in.

Perfect interpretation of the charm of historical travel traces

Qin, one of the oldest plucked instruments in China, was only called "Guqin" at the beginning of this century and is a treasure of Chinese traditional culture. The creators of the qin include "Xi Fuxi Zuoqin", "Shen Nong Zuoqin", "Shun Zuowu" Xianzhiqin is based on the song Nanfeng", etc. As a postscript legend, it is not necessary to believe it, but it can be seen that the qin has a long history in China.

Guqin is cherished by the world for its long history, vast literature, rich connotation and far-reaching influence. The objects unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng in Hubei are more than 2,400 years old. There are more than 100 kinds of qin scores from the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Qing Dynasty, 3,000 qin pieces, and a large number of documents on qin artists, qin theory, qin making, and qin art. In ancient times, qin, chess, calligraphy and painting were all called together to summarize the traditional culture of the Chinese nation.

Southern Song Dynasty - "Haiyue Qinghui" Qin

Many famous performers have emerged in the past dynasties, they are historical and cultural celebrities, and they have been passed down from generation to generation. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the guqin was also introduced to the East Asian countries, and was absorbed and inherited from the traditional culture of these countries. In modern times, with the footsteps of Chinese people all over the world, it has become a symbol of oriental culture in the eyes of Westerners.

Guqin music can be roughly divided into two categories: qin music and qin songs. A qin composer is a piece of music played purely on the guqin. Its music is monophonic, and is characterized by the linear presentation of melody, which can be said to be a linear movement on the sound level and auditory level. Due to the unique fingering and timbre of the guqin, when playing and listening to the qin music, one often finds that its melody and rhythm are looming, either present or absent. The charm and style of music. With its dense, intermittent and other playing characteristics, it forms the unique spatial interest and charm of qin music, and shows the richest spiritual connotation with the least sound and image, presenting an endless, infinite and profound realm. And the fun of "simplifying complexity"!

Guqin in the Metropolitan Museum

Qin Song, as the name suggests, is an art song accompanied by the guqin. Qin songs were called "string songs" in ancient times. For example, "Song of Qin" said: "Songs must be sung, and strings must be sung." This passage is quite in line with "Shangshu": "Poems express aspirations, and songs sing words, It means that the verse exists to express thoughts and emotions, the song is formed in conjunction with the singing of the language, the performance of the musical instrument is attached to the singing, and the regulation of the rhythm It is to harmonize the tunes played by the instruments. Therefore, the art of qin song is to use the fingering characteristics of guqin playing and the timbre characteristics presented by the instrument itself as accompaniment, and to match the vocal melody of poetry and verse, and reflect a unique rhythm. For example: use "roll, brush" fingering to express the bold and passionate scene, use the low-pitched "cuoyin" (that is, double tones) to render a solemn and solemn atmosphere, and use "chuo, note, chant, 猱" to express wonder and sadness Or sad mood, use "overtone" to create an ethereal and elegant mood...

Tang Chunlei Qin Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei

After the guqin became an "intangible cultural heritage", people's attention to the guqin gradually increased. However, although Guqin looks "hot" in contemporary times, it is still "hot" but its status in ancient times. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the qin was very popular. At that time, the qin carried the function of "music education", and it was combined with "ritual education", educating the people and loving each other in a gentle way, and realizing the ritual education civilization of peace and tranquility, and elegant body and mind. The music of the qin is sacred, elegant, and magnanimous. For thousands of years, the qin has been closely related to the life of the literati. The ancients used it to express their emotions and sustenance their ideals. For example, "Book of Books": "Fighting the qin and the selves to sing"; "Book of Songs": "The qin and seren are in control, so don't be quiet." Moreover, the solo music of the guqin already has a certain artistic expression ability, such as Boya playing the qin and good listening. legend.

The famous qin masters at that time included Shi Juan of Wei State, Shi Kuang of Jin State, Shi Wen of Zheng State, Shi Nang of Lu State, etc.; famous qin pieces such as "High Mountain", "Flowing Water", "Pheasant Chaofei", "Yangchun" ", "White Snow", etc., have been recorded in the annals of history.

During the period of Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, the art of guqin had a great development. In addition to being used as an accompaniment instrument in "Xianhe Ge" and "Qing Shang Yue", it also appeared in the form of "Danqu". For example, the instrumental pieces "Guangling San", "Big Hujia Ming", "Little Hu Jiaming", etc., reflect an important development stage of Guqin as an instrumental music performance.

Early Ming Dynasty, "Longmen Wind and Rain" Qin, Collection of the Palace Museum

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, music in the Western Regions prevailed, the pipa rose, and the development of Guqin music was restrained to a certain extent. However, due to the production of guqin scores, it not only promoted the spread of guqin music at that time, but also had far-reaching historical significance for the inheritance and development of guqin music in later generations, making the history of ancient Chinese music into a period with sound to follow. Tang Dynasty poets Li Qiao, Li Qi, Li Bai, Han Yu, Bai Juyi, Zhang Hu, Yuan Zhen, etc., all wrote immortal poems for Guqin. Xue Yijian summed up the role of guqin music in his "Qin Jue": "It can be taught by observing the wind, capturing the heart and soul, distinguishing between emotions, thinking with joy, calming the mind, being courageous, avoiding the secular and vulgar, and behaving like ghosts and gods." It is important for later qin masters to "keep their minds and worry, and focus on their affections", which leads to many norms of playing the qin.

Since the Tang Dynasty, Guqin has its own special notation method. In the late Tang Dynasty, Cao Rou created the reduced-character notation because of the inconvenience of using the notation because of its "extremely complicated characters". That is, on the basis of Chinese notation, it is a kind of notation formed by reducing strokes of Chinese notation, which is similar to playing symbols and is an early form of Guqin notation. This notation records the string position and emblem position, and the playing method of the left and right hands, but does not directly record the pitch.

It is composed of radicals, numbers and some minus-stroke characters of Chinese characters, called minus-character spectrum. The carefulness and scientific nature of the minus-character notation to record Guqin music makes modern notation methods such as stave still unable to replace it. There are more than 150 kinds of guqin scores recorded in the minus-character score and passed down to the present, and a large number of ancient music works have been preserved, which is a huge and precious music treasure house in our country.

Tang Dynasty Handwritten Scroll "Jie Stone Tunes You Orchid" Piano Score

On the one hand, the guqin of the Song Dynasty has a nostalgic retro-style tendency. On the other hand, due to the long-term practice of the guqin in the performance of "Xianhege" and "Qingshang Music", it has a profound connection with folk music, and the qin piece "Old Voices of Chu and Han". The historical tradition of guqin has made the guqin music not obliterated in the trend of retroism, but developed with ups and downs.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, due to the development of printing technology, a large number of qin scores were published and circulated. There are more than 140 kinds of qin scores recorded in the records. From this, it can be seen that there are more than 300 qin pieces created in the Ming Dynasty alone. Leng Qian, a qin master in the early Ming Dynasty, put forward the theory of the aesthetic thoughts, playing skills and artistic expression of the guqin.

During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, due to wars and social changes, especially the limitations of the guqin itself, the guqin music was on the verge of extinction. At that time, some qin associations also appeared all over the country, such as "Yue Yun Qin Ji" in Beijing, "De Yin Qin Society" in Jinan, "Jin Yu Qin Society" in Shanghai, "Yue Yun Qin Society" in Changsha, Yuanyin Qin Society", Yangzhou's "Guangling Qin Society", Nanjing's "Qinghuo Qin Society", Nantong's "Mei'an Qin Society", etc., their activities have certain social influence. Among them, the "Jinyu Qin Club" in Shanghai lasted the longest and had the greatest impact on the piano industry.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Guqin music was valued and rescued by the government, and various musical scores lost to the people were investigated, collected and sorted out, and a batch of audios were recorded; Lan", etc.; has cultivated a group of guqin musicians, which has opened up new prospects for the arrangement, research and development of guqin music in the future. Famous qin masters include Guan Pinghu, Wu Jinglue, Longqinfang, Zha Fuxi, Zhang Ziqian, Xia Yifeng and so on.

Guqin's playing method, notation, qin history, rhythm, aesthetics and other aspects have long formed an independent and complete system, which is called "qin study". Its content is profound and broad, it is a representative of traditional Chinese music, and it is also a mirror reflecting Chinese philosophy, history and literature. In terms of the ability to reflect the traditional Chinese culture, there is no musical instrument that can compare to the guqin, because the qin goes far beyond the meaning of music and becomes a symbol of Chinese culture and ideal personality.