Cao Guifen

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Her playing absorbs elements of Henan local opera and of string music. The school she represents has distinctive characteristics and a strong local colour, and she is equally accomplished in playing and singing, to wide acclaim. Within the regional tradition and school record of Guzheng Art in Henan: The zheng, anciently called the “Qin zheng”, originated in the Qin region; as the Qin zheng spread into the central plains, the zheng gradually came to be used to perform Henan folk music. The line “The Zheng sounds are indeed brilliant, the Qin sounds again are bleak” from Li Qiao's Tang-dynasty poem Singing of the Zheng shows that the central-plains zheng of that time already had distinct characteristics and could hold its own against the Qin sound. In the early twentieth century, with the rapid development of Henan's local theatre, the zheng became the main accompanying instrument of local genres such as quju and Yuediao, and gradually established itself as a solo instrument. The zheng, anciently called the “Qin zheng”, originated in the Qin region. As the Qin zheng spread into the central plains, the zheng gradually came to be used to perform Henan folk music. The line “The Zheng sounds are indeed brilliant, the Qin sounds again are bleak” from Li Qiao's Tang-dynasty poem Singing of the Zheng already shows that the central-plains zheng of that time had distinct characteristics and could hold its own against the Qin sound. Within it, the bantou pieces are purely instrumental, deriving from the preludes that open the dadiao quzi and serving to adjust and colour the atmosphere, such as Chen Xingyuan He Fan and Gao Shan Liu Shui; the paizi pieces, some of which also carry text, are finely and briefly structured, light and lively in mood and strongly local in style, such as Shan Po Yang and Jian Dian Hua.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Cao Guifen, female, Han, was born in June 1938 and is a native of Dengzhou City, Henan Province. She learned the zheng from her father from childhood and deeply absorbed the essence of the Cao school of zheng art, and she also learned many Henan dadiao quzi tunes and qupai from him. In 1954 she joined the Kaifeng Qu Opera Troupe as a zheng player, and in 1978 she was transferred to the Henan Provincial Qu Opera Troupe. In 1963 she was invited to take part in the First National Folk Music Solo and Instrumental Concert, performing Chen Xingyuan Luoyuan (Chen Xingyuan Enters the Courtyard), Shang Lou (Climbing the Tower) and Qupai Lianzou (A Medley of Qupai). Records she made for the China Record Company sold well overseas. Her zheng pieces were used in the films Qu Yuan and Guilin Shanshui (Guilin Scenery). In 1989, at the invitation of the Hong Kong Hugo Recording Company, she recorded twenty-one Cao school zheng pieces. Under the title Gaoshan Liushui (High Mountains and Flowing Water), a CD was produced in Japan and released at home and abroad. Within the documented technical tradition of Guzheng Art in Henan: The Zhongzhou zheng school is one of the four great schools of zheng art in China. It is known as the “Zhongzhou gudiao” and is circulated mainly in Nanyang, Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Xuchang, Kaifeng, Zhumadian and other places in Henan Province, as well as in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. The formation of the Zhongzhou zheng school is closely related to the folk opera and narrative-singing music of Henan, such as dadiao quzi and quju. The Zhongzhou zheng school is generally divided into two parts: bantou pieces, also called the “Zhongzhou gudiao” or “Zhongzhou guqu”, and paizi pieces, also called “xiaoqu”. The Zhongzhou zheng school is played mainly with the wrist leading the fingers; its traditional technique can be known from the “Qiazheng Verse” handed down among the people: “The named finger plants like a stake, four fingers hang in the air; hook, shake, kick and set the strings, played with a light touch; know that the left hand has no other device, press, vibrate, push and roll, at ease. Among them the left-hand techniques of “sliding press”, “small vibrato”, “sliding vibrato”, “large vibrato” and “rolling vibrato” are the most distinctive. The Zhongzhou zheng school makes much use of altered and substitute tones, and its performing style is marked by depth and plainness, by an inward and resonant quality and by stirring vehemence. In the early twentieth century, with the rapid development of Henan's local theatre, the zheng became the main accompanying instrument of local genres such as quju and Yuediao, and gradually established itself as a solo instrument. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Chen Xingyuan He Fan": One of the representative bantou pieces of the Zhongzhou zheng school and a staple in the repertoire of the inheritor Cao Guifen. "Gao Shan Liu Shui": One of the representative bantou pieces of the Zhongzhou zheng school. "Shan Po Yang": One of the representative paizi pieces of the Zhongzhou zheng school, strongly local in style. "Jian Dian Hua": One of the representative paizi pieces of the Zhongzhou zheng school, finely and briefly structured and light and lively in mood.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of Guzheng Art (Zhongzhou Zheng School), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Cao Guifen · National Representative Bearer Archive