Guqin, also known as Yaoqin and Yuqin, is one of the oldest musical instruments in China with a history of more than 3,000 years. A curly score contains the stories of many talents and beauties, and a guqin carries the feelings of countless ancient and modern literati. Even in the modern age where "people don't play much nowadays", the guqin, with its profound and ethereal sound, is still fascinating with its unique artistic charm.

The 25-year-old qin master Wang Wenqi has been attracted to the guqin since he was 13 years old. Now, he has been searching for 12 years in plucking the qin one by one.

Listen to your heart

At the gate of a courtyard in Xinhua Lane in the urban area, a plaque with the words "Chen Cangzitong Guqin Square" was erected. Every day, the melodious and euphemistic sound of the guqin emanates from a room in the northwest corner.

"The guqin has three tones. The scattered sounds are as deep and distant as the earth, the overtones are like the sounds of nature and long, and the sounds are like the changing moods. The longer I play the guqin, the more I like it." Talking about why he took the path of qin, Wang Wenqi said, " When I was 13 years old, I happened to hear a teacher playing the guqin, and I was shocked at that time, how a musical instrument can contain so many natural sounds in 'stillness'."

This accidental "encounter" made Wang Wenqi yearn for Guqin. Her parents were very supportive and took her to learn how to play the guqin from a famous teacher. In the process of learning how to play the guqin, Wang Wenqi developed a strong interest in the skill of guqin. At the age of 14, she officially became a teacher with Xie Mengxu, who was a guqin from the Shu School, and tried her best to learn the guqin.

Making a guqin is a very complicated and lengthy process. A qin master must not only be proficient in rhythm, art, culture, acoustics, etc., but also be proficient in woodworking, carving, lacquer work and other techniques. These were no small challenges for Wang Wenqi, who was still a minor at the time. In those years, Wang Wenqi not only had to take care of his studies, but also went to Xi'an, Hangzhou and other places to take guqin lessons every weekend and vacation.

one thing for one's life

In Wang Wenqi's workshop, there are hundreds of tools such as carving knives and troughs of different shapes on the table. Wang Wenqi follows the ancient method that has been passed down from the Tang Dynasty to the present. When picking a guqin, there are dozens of processes in woodworking, such as material selection, grooving, tuning, and synthesizing the qin. Each process is very particular. It directly affects the tone and volume of the piano. The next lacquer process is more complicated, filtering paint, scraping the ash tire, grinding, brushing, rubbing the paint, re-brushing... Especially the scraping of the ash tire and the lacquer need drying time, and it needs to be dried for three times. sky. Among them, the push light needs to be repeated at least 64 times, and a good guqin on a bed cannot be "choked" for two or three years.

"Looking at the teachers playing the qin, they are dignified and elegant. Only when I picked up the qin did I know what it means to be 'dust-covered, with frost on the temples', not to mention dirty and tired. When doing woodwork and planing, my hands were often pierced with wood thorns and blood dripped. The most painful thing is allergy to raw lacquer. Rotten hands, rotten face, itching all night, can't sleep all night." At Amy's age, she worked with wooden knives and axes all day, and suffered from repeated allergies to raw lacquer, Wang Wenqi also thought about giving up , But when she sat in front of the first bed of the guqin that she had kneaded herself and plucked the strings to hear her own sound, at that moment, she felt that everything was worth it.

For this worth, one knife and one axe, plucking the strings and listening to the sound, it will be ten years in a flash. In Wang Wenqi's view, there will be more ten years in the future for her to focus on the qin.

There is a saying in the piano world that "the good player is good at cutting". The guqin she made has a wide range, deep timbre, lingering voice and long charm, and many people came to her for customization.

In April 2021, Wang Wenqi's qin skills were recognized as an intangible cultural heritage project in Weibin District. In November of the same year, 24-year-old Wang Wenqi became the youngest intangible inheritor in Weibin District and the first person in our city to have qin skills. .

One Law Inheritance

"The total length of the guqin is 3 feet, 6 inches and 5 minutes (about 1.2 meters), which symbolizes 365 days in a year. The sound of the qin is invisible and the music is intentional. There is a natural beauty of 'the mountains and rivers are like Taishan, and the oceans are like rivers'... "When it comes to guqin, Wang Wenqi has endless stories to tell. She feels that the cultural significance of guqin has gone beyond the musical instrument itself. Adhering to the ancient method of playing the qin is also protecting and inheriting the traditional culture behind the guqin.

Nowadays, the demand for guqin in the market is increasing, and the mass-produced guqin is formed by mechanical grooving at one time, and chemical paint is applied after the plywood. Although the price is cheap, the tone of the factory guqin is almost the same.

"The pure lacquer guqin cannot be imitated by any chemical lacquer. The color of the raw lacquer guqin will become more and more red, and the patterns will become more and more rich. The hand-picked qin will be repeatedly adjusted according to each listening sound, and the sound of the violin can be cultivated slowly. "Yes." Talking about this, Wang Wenqi said, "A qin master can only make hundreds of qin in his lifetime. I want to pluck a guqin that will change and have temperature."

There are many people who came into contact with Guqin through Wang Wenqi, and one of them impressed her deeply. "In the beginning, the other party bluntly said that she wanted a guqin that does not need to be played as a decoration. I was sad and did not understand. I explained it for her. Unexpectedly, the customer really fell in love with the guqin through trying, and now every week All come to study.” This incident gave Wang Wenqi confidence. Last year, she established the “Zi Tong Guqin Square” studio, which specializes in the promotion and dissemination of Guqin culture. Up to now, she has organized more than 100 Guqin performances and exchange activities, free for those who are interested. The masses of the people will provide guqin training and guidance, and demonstrate the inheritance of the guqin.

Talking about the future, the girl's face is filled with longing and happiness, she said: "A chisel and an axe are not just grinding wood, but the calluses on the hands and the wonderful sound in the ears are all gifts of the qin. I'm going to fight for it all my life."