Plucking a new sound from history

A part and parcel of the nation's intellectual history, the guqin, an ancient seven-stringed instrument, arguably, epitomizes China.

But Tang Bin, 35, a guqin player who now lives in Shanghai, is illustrating the instrument's versatility by using it to create a modern musical vibe. By converting its strings' vibration into electrical signals through an amplifier and a synthesizer, a new sound is generated.

With a modified guqin, Tang has formed an electronic music band that is wowing appreciative fans.

At one of his live performances last year in Shanghai, a blue-colored beam of light swept the venue; a nebula hologram, reminiscent of a faraway galaxy, seemed to float above the stage. Then the sound of the original guqin collided with the electronic noises, drum beats and a tune played on a metal percussion instrument. The stereotypical impression of a traditional music performance vanished in the haze of an electronic universe.

Through the live show, Tang recalls, he wanted to tell a thrilling time travel story about swordsmen from the ancient world and humanoid robots.

Experimenting with more daring ideas, he has even tried, to play the ancient instrument, not with both hands, but with a violin's bow, to activate its strings to create an even lower pitch.

He admits that although many concertgoers haven't accepted the new electronic format of the ancient instrument, he still wants to keep attempting to make the instrument more expressive, and explore its potential in different genres.

Tang's interest in the guqin was ignited by a sequence in director Zhang Yimou's 2002 blockbuster Hero. There was a duel between two swordsmen on a rainy day, with a gray-haired old man sitting nearby, accompanying their struggle by playing a captivating melody with the instrument.

"I was suddenly awestruck by the sound, which I never heard before. The sound he made by plucking the strings came to pluck my heartstrings," he recalls, adding that he began to fervently search for related books and video tapes, trying to learn how to play the instrument by himself.

After enrolling in a Beijing university to major in advertising, he kept practicing two-hand techniques in the dormitory and attending salons and concerts.

Among all the video tapes he bought, Tang's favorite performances were by master player Gong Yi, who lives in Shanghai. He paid a visit to Gong a dozen years ago and became one of his students.

"Under Gong's instruction, I no longer slavishly imitated other seasoned players, but started to play my own style," he says. He later moved to Shanghai and regularly stages charity performances in local communities.

In 2014, Tang and several other musicians founded the Zide Guqin Studio, which produces stylish music videos and solo shows. The studio quickly gained online popularity.

As its artistic director, Tang says the studio aims to better spread the culture of ancient music in as many ways as it can. He keeps exploring and testing electronic effects on the instrument.

"I'm not sure whether stepping into the electronic world is right or not, but I am absolutely certain that I am really enjoying the journey," he says.

To better deliver his creative ideas for popularizing the ancient instrument, he taught himself how to master practical skills, including arranging, recording and mixing sounds, as well as filming and editing music videos.

One of his students, Bai Wuxia, also a member of the studio, says Tang's passion for playing with the guqin has motivated the team members to utilize their versatile array of talents.

"His words and deeds encouraged me to take action once an idea hit me, without fear of the unknown," Bai adds.