Beauty of Zither

(We were introduced to the successful and promising guzheng player, Luo Xiaoci. Now let’s get a first-hand insight into her work with a selection of pieces that she played at her recent concert in east China’s Shanghai. )

The guzheng is one of China’s oldest musical instruments. Its history can be traced back as far back as the Warring States Period. It was especially popular in the state of Qin, in the northwest of China and, as a result, some people still refer to the instrument as the qinzheng.

This half-tube plucked zither has 21 strings spanning a series of 21 movable bridges that are spaced along the length of the instrument for tuning purposes. The guzheng player plucks the strings with the right hand and touches the strings with the left hand to produce the desired pitch and create subtle tones and musical ornamentation. It has been considered as one of the main solo instruments of Chinese traditional music since classical times and, since the mid-19th century, its solo repertoire has been steadily growing and evolving towards an increasing technical complexity.

One of the most renowned solo pieces for the guzheng is called “Fighting with the Typhoon”.

One reason for the continuing popularity of this ancient instrument may be the constant improvements that have been made to the guzheng over the years. According to historical texts, the guzheng originally had 12 strings prior to the Han Dynasty, approximately 2,000 years ago. Later, the number of its strings increased to 13 during the Tang Dynasty, then 14 and 15 in the Ming Dynasty, and finally to the present number of 21. Some instrumentalists even prefer to play a 24 or 26-string guzheng. All these constant changes have provided musicians with greater space in which to give a free reign to their talents. Taking advantage of this artistic freedom, a number of innovative guzheng players have applied elements of modern music to the traditional instrument, which has endowed the guzheng with a greater colour and vitality.

The young guzheng player Luo Xiaoci is one such innovator. Here is an experimental solo piece of hers called “Fantasia”, which clearly embodies fresh elements from modern music in a harmonious marriage between the old and the new.

The guzheng is not only a good solo music instrument. Its gentle yet crisp sound makes it an excellent instrument for accompaniment. Composers have created various combinations for the guzheng and other traditional Chinese music instruments, such as the erhu, the flute and the pipa. But among them, the union of the guzheng and the xiao, the Chinese vertical flute, has proved the most successful. The piece we will now hear is played by Luo Xiaoci and called “Looking at the Moon”. In this piece, the guzheng plays in harmony with a xiao.

The guzheng is also used as an accompaniment to human vocals. It has long been a tradition amongst Chinese musicians to sing as an accompaniment to their instrumentation. Since the guzheng was a common item in the chambers of ladies in ancient China and was generally favoured by women, most songs that accompanied it were emotional or sentimental, expressing feelings of love. Nowadays, however, this tradition of simultaneously singing and playing has gradually faded into the past.

Luo Xiaoci is one of those current exponents of the guzheng who are keen on exploring the new while, at the same time, attaching great importance to their cultural heritage. Her performance of singing to the accompaniment of the guzheng at her recent concert received a particularly warm response from the audience. Let’s now hear a piece performed by Luo Xiaoci entitled “Cherish You Forever”. The song, in combination with the guzheng playing, vividly portrays a lady’s nostalgic longing for her long-departed husband.