Guqin, also known as the seven-stringed zither, is one of the earliest plucked string instruments of the Chinese nation. Ranked first among the Four Arts (guqin, chess, calligraphy and painting), guqin is a treasure of traditional Chinese musical culture. In 2003, the art of Chinese guqin was included on the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Playing the guqin can alleviate worries, express emotions, and clarify aspirations. Chinese literati have loved the guqin since ancient times, and the story of “meeting soulmates through the melody of guqin” has touched countless people. (During the Spring and Autumn (770-476 BC) and Warring States (475-221 BC) periods, Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi became bosom friends through the guqin piece High Mountains and Flowing Water. Later, after Zhong Ziqi’s death, Yu Boya decided to never play the guqin again for the rest of his life). Deeply attracted by the elegant style and profound cultural heritage of guqin, Hanh Phuc, a Vietnamese international student at Shenyang Normal University, embarked on a poetic musical journey in Liaoning.
Hanh Phuc, who has loved musical instruments since childhood, once learned to play the one-string zither in Vietnam. After coming to Liaoning to study, she made a special trip to the Liaoning Provincial Museum to visit the “Jiuxiaohuanpei Guqin Exhibition” and attended a refreshing guqin concert, which sparked her fascination with the art of Chinese guqin.
“The culture of the guqin embodies the wisdom and emotions of the ancient Chinese. Through practicing the guqin, they cultivated serene and unworldly characters and became junzi (the moral exemplar in Chinese philosophy) with purity, resilience, and elegance, like orchids. They nourished their nature and improved their cultural literacy in the process of ‘pleasing oneself and others’,” said Hanh Phuc. “My teacher also told me that learning guqin is not just about acquiring a skill, but also about treating it as a way of life. Learning guqin has taught me the relationship between ‘tranquility’ and ‘profoundness’. Whenever I calm my mind, I will gain more insights and achievements.”
Guqin is an instrument for junzi. Hanh Phuc, who has fallen in love with the guqin, often emulates the ancient Chinese by carrying her guqin to visit friends and seek soulmates. In the music studio of Gu Mo, a representative inheritor of the Guangling Guqin School, Hanh Phuc exchanges skills and insights with fellow guqin enthusiasts, and they encourage each other and make progress together. Gu Mo has also generously gifted her with a cherished collection of guqin notation, hoping that her guqin playing skills will reach even greater heights and that she will bring the culture of the guqin to her hometown Vietnam in the future.
“Guqin is a musical instrument with extremely high artistic and cultural value. The key to learning guqin lies in how to express the connotations of ancient melodies with one’s own emotions.” After a period of study, Hanh Phuc has already been able to play several short pieces, and her favorite guqin melody is the free-spirited A Laugh in the Vast Sea. “When playing this piece, it seems as if there is boundless heroism in my fingertips, unrestrained and natural, elegant and ethereal, leaving me with endless afterthoughts,” Hanh Phuc said excitedly. “Next, I want to challenge the more technically complex famous guqin piece Three Variations on the Plum Blossom, to experience the charm of another guqin style and play it for more people in the future.”
