Kotone

古琴

China

Seven-string zither

Gǔqín (古琴) is the Chinese seven-string zither: a long, fretless board instrument plucked with the right hand and stopped, slid and touched for harmonics with the left. It has long been the instrument of scholars and literati, prized for subtlety rather than volume.

  1. 秋風詞Qiū fēng cí — Autumn Wind PoemGǔqín1:47
  2. 平沙落雁Píng shā luò yàn — Wild Geese Descending on the SandbankLo Ka Ping · Gǔqín4:45
  3. 孔子讀易Kǒngzǐ dú Yì — Confucius Reads the Book of ChangesCharlie Huang · Gǔqín · 20065:48
  4. 流水Liú shuǐ — Flowing WaterCharlie Huang · Gǔqín · 20068:13
  5. 酒狂Jiǔ kuáng — Drunken EcstasyCharlie Huang · Gǔqín · 20062:35
  6. 平沙落鴈Píng shā luò yàn — Wild Geese Descending on the SandbankCharlie Huang · Gǔqín · 20067:14
  7. 佩蘭Pèi lán — Admiring the OrchidCharlie Huang · Gǔqín · 20068:11
  8. 神人暢Shén rén chàng — Harmony Between Gods and MenCharlie Huang · Gǔqín · 20065:05
  9. 陽關三疊Yáng guān sān dié — Three Refrains on the Yang Pass ThemeCharlie Huang · Gǔqín · 20135:50
  10. 醉漁唱晚Zuì yú chàng wǎn — Evening Song of the Drunken FishermanCharlie Huang · Gǔqín · 20134:47

Liner notes

For most of its history it was simply called qin. By the twentieth century qin had come to name many other instruments, the piano among them, so the prefix gu-, "ancient", was added to tell it apart.

The instrument

The qin is very quiet, with a range of about four octaves, and its open strings sit in the bass. Its lowest note is roughly the lowest note of the cello. Thirteen inlaid dots of mother-of-pearl or similar material, the hui, run along the front. They mark the points where a lightly touched string gives a clear harmonic.

Traditionally the top was made of parasol wood, rounded to stand for Heaven, and the base of catalpa, flat to stand for Earth. Strings were once always twisted silk. Most players now use nylon-wound steel, and some still argue that nothing replaces the sound of silk.

How to listen

Qin music is built from three kinds of sound. San yin are open strings, plucked. Fan yin are harmonics, light and bell-like, made by touching the string at a hui. An yin are stopped notes, pressed by the left hand, which often slides along the string after the pluck so that a single note bends, wavers or travels. Players value even the faint sound of the fingers moving on the string after the note has died away. Listen closely and at low volume, as the instrument was meant for a quiet room or a small gathering of friends.

A short history

Legend credits the qin's invention to the sage-rulers of Chinese prehistory, and the old handbooks repeat this; it is now treated as myth. The instrument is mentioned in writings close to three thousand years old, and examples have been found in tombs of about 2,500 years ago. It counted among the arts a cultivated scholar was expected to master, alongside calligraphy and painting, and many pieces are tied to famous names such as Confucius.

Qin music is written in tablature that records strings, finger positions and strokes rather than pitches and rhythm. The compact form called jianzi pu emerged in the Tang dynasty, and from the Ming onward a great many printed handbooks appeared. Because rhythm is left open, reviving an old piece, called dapu, takes long interpretive work. UNESCO proclaimed guqin music a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2003, while noting that of several thousand known compositions only about a hundred are regularly played.

Start with

Begin with Flowing Water, the piece linked in legend to Bo Ya, in Charlie Huang's 2006 recording. Then compare two readings of the same piece, Wild Geese Descending on the Sandbank by Charlie Huang and by Lo Ka Ping. More is on the qin music page and in the collection The scholar's qin.

Questions

What is a guqin?
The guqin is a Chinese plucked zither with seven strings and no frets, with thirteen inlaid dots marking harmonic positions. It is a quiet instrument long associated with scholars and with Confucius.
What is the difference between the guqin and the guzheng?
Both are long Chinese zithers, but the guqin has seven strings and no bridges, and pitch is changed by stopping the strings on the board. The guzheng has many more strings, each raised on its own movable bridge.
How is guqin music written down?
In tablature. Each compound character tells the player which string to play, which finger and stroke to use and where to stop the string, but not the rhythm, which is learned from a teacher or worked out by the player.