Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    Culture
    Home / Culture / Music and Theater

    Plucking at the strings of the nation's heart

    By Chen Nan | CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2023-05-30 07:36
    Share
    Share - WeChat

    Editor's note: There are 43 items inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage lists that not only bear witness to the past glories of Chinese civilization, but also continue to shine today. China Daily looks at the protection and inheritance of some of these cultural legacies. In this installment, we discover why guqin, a musical instrument with a history spanning three millennia, still strikes a chord with Chinese music lovers.

    Zide Guqin Studio uses modern means to popularize the ancient zither, as well as other traditional musical instruments, among a younger audience. WANG JING/CHINA DAILY

    When talking about the history of the guqin, Wu Wenguang, a virtuoso performer of the ancient zither, likes to quote a folktale about the legendary friendship between a musician and his biggest fan.

    During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), there was a musician named Yu Boya, who lived alone in a forest where he played the guqin. A passing woodcutter named Zhong Ziqi was intrigued by the sounds of the musical instrument and stopped to listen. Yu's playing conjured up various pictures in Zhong's imagination, such as clouds flowing and waterfalls plunging. They became good friends. After many years, when the woodcutter died, Yu decided to smash his instrument and never to play again because he knew that he would never again have someone like Zhong to so intuitively understand his music.

    "Such was the connection between performing and listening, which is linked by the guqin, an instrument that is endowed with the power to communicate the deepest feelings," says Wu, 78. "When we talk about traditional Chinese culture, the guqin, which was played by many literati and other notables, is definitely at the core of this culture."

    The guqin and its music, with a history of 3,000 years, are kept alive thanks to the devotion of generations of musicians. Wu Wenguang, a virtuoso performer, has passed on his skills to his students, including Huang Mei and Sun Haopeng. WANG JING/CHINA DAILY

    Indeed, the guqin — the favored instrument of Confucius — was an essential musical instrument of ancient China's educated elite. It was added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2008.

    "The Chinese zither has existed for more than 3,000 years and represents China's foremost solo musical instrument tradition. Described in early literary sources and corroborated by archaeological finds, this ancient instrument is inseparable from Chinese intellectual history," the UNESCO website reads.

    In April, when President Xi Jinping met with French President Emmanuel Macron, a classic guqin piece, High Mountain and Flowing Water, was played to celebrate the friendship and mutual understanding between the two countries.

    1 2 3 Next   >>|
    Most Popular
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    色欲综合久久中文字幕网| 久久精品中文字幕第23页| 亚洲精品99久久久久中文字幕| 日韩免费人妻AV无码专区蜜桃| 中文字幕国产精品| 日韩AV无码精品人妻系列| 欧美日韩亚洲中文字幕二区| 日韩无码系列综合区| 人妻少妇精品无码专区二区 | 国产在线无码一区二区三区视频| 国产中文字幕在线| 四虎国产精品永久在线无码 | 亚洲AV日韩AV永久无码免下载| 人妻无码中文久久久久专区| 成人无码区在线观看| 无码国产精品一区二区免费3p | 中文字幕在线一区二区在线| 亚洲一区二区无码偷拍| 成年午夜无码av片在线观看| 亚洲AV无码一区东京热| 在线天堂资源www在线中文| а√在线中文网新版地址在线| 无码AⅤ精品一区二区三区| 日韩欧国产精品一区综合无码| 亚洲AV永久无码精品成人| 乱人伦中文无码视频在线观看| 久久中文字幕一区二区| 2022中文字幕在线| 无码AV中文一区二区三区| 中文精品久久久久人妻不卡| 亚洲熟妇少妇任你躁在线观看无码 | 亚洲AV永久青草无码精品| 无码人妻一区二区三区一| 在线观看中文字幕码| 日韩人妻无码精品一专区| 亚洲AV综合色区无码一区爱AV| 熟妇人妻中文a∨无码| 国产日韩AV免费无码一区二区| 日韩三级中文字幕| 成人麻豆日韩在无码视频| 东京热人妻无码一区二区av|