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The
guqin
The ''guqin'' (; ) is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted b ...
is a
Chinese musical instrument
Chinese musical instruments are traditionally grouped into eight categories known as (). The eight categories are silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd and skin; other instruments considered traditional exist that may not fit these group ...
with a long history of being played since ancient times. When the guqin is played, a number of
aesthetic
Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...
elements are involved.
Aesthetics
The first aesthetic is
musicality
Musicality (''music -al -ity'') is "sensitivity to, knowledge of, or talent for music" or "the quality or state of being musical", and is used to refer to specific if vaguely defined qualities in pieces and/or genres of music, such as melodiousnes ...
. In the second section of "Pingsha Luoyan", for example, the initial few bars contain a ''nao''
vibrato
Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...
followed by a phase of sliding up and down the string, even when the sound has already become inaudible . The average person trained in music may question whether this is really "
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
". Normally, some players would pluck the string very lightly to create a very quiet sound. For some players, this plucking isn't necessary. Instead of trying to force a sound out of the string one should allow the natural sounds emit from the strings. Some players say that the sliding on the string even when the sound has disappeared is a distinctive feature in qin music. It creates a "space" or "void" in a piece, playing without playing, sound without sound. In fact, when the viewer looks at the player sliding on the string without sounds, the viewer automatically "fills in the notes" with their minds. This creates a connection between player, instrument and listener. This, of course, cannot happen when listening to a recording, as one cannot see the performer. It can also be seen as impractical in recording, as the player would want to convey sound as much as possible towards a third audience. But in fact, there is sound, the sound coming from the fingers sliding on the string. With a really good qin, silk strings, and a perfectly quiet environment, all the tones can be sounded. And since the music is more player oriented than listener oriented, and the player knows the music, he/she can hear it even if the sound is not there. And with silk strings the sliding sound might be called the
qi or "life force" of the music. The really empty sounds are the pauses between notes. However, if one cannot create a sound that can be heard when sliding on a string, it is generally acceptable to lightly pluck the string to create a very quiet sound.
In the music of the qin, we often come across (especially in harmonics) the use of the same note to two different strings. A good example of this would be in the main harmonic sections of "Meihua Sannong", where at the last three notes of the first two phrases all play sol (first sol on the sixth string at 7th hui, second on third string at 9th hui, then again on the sixth string at 7th hui) . The question would be why does one need to play the sol on the third string when one can play sol thrice on the sixth string. One reason is timbre; although both these two positions sound the same note, they sound different or have a different quality to them. Another reason is to add flavor during performance. We have other examples, like the first two phrases of ''Shenren Chang'', where the playing of the harmonics is on the left of the qin on the first phrase, then the same notes are played on the right of the qin. This adds symmetry to the play, and we often see this in many qin melodies where the same notes are mimicked in a different way.
Philosophy of the qin
Qin music tends to linger on certain notes, with an emphasis on silence and timbre, giving it a
meditative
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
quality. Being an instrument historically associated with
literati
Literati may refer to:
*Intellectuals or those who love, read, and comment on literature
*The scholar-official or ''literati'' of imperial/medieval China
**Literati painting, also known as the southern school of painting, developed by Chinese liter ...
, its aim is
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...
(in trying to cultivate one's mind) as well as
Daoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
(in seeking harmony between man and nature). 「琴棋書畫」 (qin qi shu hua) refers to the
Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar
The four arts (wiktionary:四, 四wiktionary:藝, 藝, ''siyi''), or the four arts of the Chinese scholar, were the four main academic and artistic talents required of the aristocratic ancient Chinese scholar-official, scholar-gentleman. They wer ...
, wherein 『琴』 qin/music refers specifically to guqin.
Song period (according to the ''Wuzhizhai Qinpu''), so it is not clear how essential it was to the pedagogy of earlier scholar classes]. It is rarely used to play popular and fast tunes which are deemed to be vulgar to the instrument of the scholars.
Because of this, the qin is not so popular amongst the uninitiated, and because of the decline of its popularity in the periods of political disturbances (when the qin was seen as an
elitist
Elitism is the belief or notion that individuals who form an elite—a select group of people perceived as having an intrinsic quality, high intellect, wealth, power, notability, special skills, or experience—are more likely to be construc ...
and
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
instrument. These days, the qin is referred to as a "
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
instrument" to move away from these connotations), very few people are familiar with it, even in China. However, there has been a revival of interest in recent years, especially among
Westerners
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania. , as the qin embodies a
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
which appeals to those who wish to escape the
stress
Stress may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition
* Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...
and confusion of the
modern world
The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...
. Some may argue that the spiritual side is one of the most appealing aspects of qin music, since much other music concerned with entertainment, social bonding or academic issues, the music of the qin offers a breath of fresh air, concerning with the individual and his/her connection with nature and surroundings. Of course, there is no reason why one cannot submit to a
realist and/or
idealistic
In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ide ...
view of the purpose of the qin music. It all depends on the player's preference of what s/he wants out of qin music.
There is much comment in qin texts decrying "vulgar" music, but this really only means that there was much of it around. And it is interesting to hear people decry "popular and fast tunes" and then find out their favorite qin melody is ''Flowing Water''. By focusing only on what the scholars have idealized, people can miss a lot of the
reality
Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...
and
beauty
Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...
of pure music.
Some people (particularly the younger generation) find qin music difficult to appreciate upon first listening. The reason for this may be because they rate it against music that they only heard in their life, namely modern or
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
. Because qin music is very simple and plain (
minimalist
In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...
, some might say), they may find it boring when compared to the fast beat and sound saturated songs of the modern era. This can lead to a misunderstanding of the true nature of qin music and its aesthetic purposes. Perhaps some people's perceptions of qin music can be summed up in a quote:
On the other hand, musicians and music lovers can easily appreciate qin music because they can hear music objectively and have a better understanding of music in an ethnomusicological context.
There has also been a move to a more Western approach to qin music. A handful of professional players prefer to look at the qin from a purely realist and scientific approach, treating the qin as a purely musical instrument, rather than a cultural phenomenon. This is due to some traditionalists treating the instrument as an 'other-worldly' object than a 'this-worldly' one.
This move to a much more technical approach signifies a progression in qin study and appreciation; holding on to too much old values tends to impede the transmission of qin. An example would be composition. Although around 60-odd new compositions have been composed for the qin since the 1960s, all in all, no one plays them. The reason is that many believe these new compositions do not compare with ancient scores. But technically, these ancient scores were new at the time when they were composed. Some fear that in 100 years' time, people then might say that we have contributed nothing new to qin. That is not to say that the qin cannot be viewed in a traditional way, but to say that the qin is also capable of a progression into new territory. There is no reason why players cannot embrace both traditional and scientific study of the qin.
Manifestations of qin music
Classical descriptions of guqin aesthetics discuss ''shengjiang'' 〔聲像〕 or "manifestations of sound" of the qin. These are single words used to describe the
mood or
theme
Theme or themes may refer to:
* Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work
* Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos
* Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...
of the piece. The number of these 'manifestations' are disputed. Some say only 4, some say 13-16, and some say over 24. Listed in some ''qinpu'' they have very lengthy descriptions of each manifestation, going into every detail.
The most basic words used to describe qin music are, for example, Yushan school's ''qing'' 『清』, ''wei'' 『微』, ''dan'' 『淡』 and ''yuan'' 『遠』, or "pure", "profound", "light" and "distant". Another important essay on qin manifestations is ''Xishan Qinkuang'' 【谿山琴况】 which lists 24 qin manifestations in great detail. This essay has several layers; some words describe the playing method, some describe ornamentation and some describe the body of the music. They also explain the union between musician and instrument and how to achieve unity with the music.
References
:''Please see:''
References section in the guqin article for a full list of references used in all qin related articles.
Footnotes
# London Youlan Qin Society (2004) Yaji 5 September 2004 (http://www.ukchinesemusic.com/londonyoulanqin/yaji_20040905.htm, 29 July 2006)
# Personal correspondence with John Thompson.
# Sachs, Curt. ''The History of Musical Instruments''.
# Li, Xiangting. ''Tangdai Guqin Yanzou Meixue ji Yinyue Sixiang Yanjiu'' 【唐代古琴演奏美學及音樂思想研究】. Chapter one: sections 1-13.
# Xu, Shangying. ''Dahuan Ge Qinpu'' 【大還閣琴譜】. Folio 1.
{{Qin list
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Movements in aesthetics
Philosophy of music