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Guqin and its Music

Ⅱ-34Traditional MusicHong Kong, ChinaBatch 4 (2014)Extension ItemFeatured

01 · Historical Records

The transmission of the art of the guqin in Hong Kong began in the 1940s and 1950s. After Xu Wenjing came to settle in Hong Kong, in the 1950s he transmitted the craft of qin making to Cai Changshou of the “Cai Fuji” instrument factory. In the 1990s Cai Changshou opened a qin-making research class and openly transmitted the craft of qin making.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

At that time a number of qin players moved south to Hong Kong and brought this art form to this land, laying the foundation for the dissemination and development of the art of the guqin in Hong Kong. The founder of Hong Kong's qin-making craft was Xu Wenjing, whose qin study was transmitted from Xu Yuanbai and Daxiu Shangren. The Xu brothers made more than fifty qin together and were greatly accomplished in the field of imitating Tang qin. From then on the line of Xu family qin making took root in Hong Kong. Cai Changshou's qin-making technique follows the ancient methods, chiefly using paulownia, China fir, catalpa and zi wood for the body, deer-antler ash mixed with raw lacquer for the ash coat and raw and cooked lacquer for the surface coating; the processes of selecting and opening the material, planing the face of the qin, hollowing the resonance chamber, grinding and stringing are all completed by one person and take about two hundred hours. In qin making the first importance attaches to the selection of material: the wood must be light, loose, crisp and smooth, and old China fir, wutong and catalpa that have been stored for many years and naturally dried are the first choice. Naturally dried qin wood has fewer cracks and conducts sound better. The soundboard of the guqin is mostly of China fir or wutong, and the bottom board is made of catalpa or other relatively hard wood. The wood must be straight in grain, even in width and free of knots, worm-holes and other defects of material. Through academic exchange and exhibitions Cai Changshou and his many students have carried on this cultural heritage and merged it into the community. Cai Changshou chiefly chooses qin players as his students, hoping that they will use qin making to raise their artistic cultivation rather than study it with the attitude of seeking profit. At the same time he encourages his students to create on the basis of following the ancient methods, so as to carry forward the art of the guqin, including the craft of qin making.

The Qin-Making Transmission of the Xu Wenjing Line

Xu's qin study came from Xu Yuanbai and Daxiu Shangren; the Xu brothers made more than fifty qin together and were greatly accomplished in imitating Tang qin, and their line of qin making took root in Hong Kong.

The Processes of Cai Changshou's Qin Making

Using paulownia, China fir, catalpa and zi wood for the body and deer-antler ash mixed with raw lacquer for the ash coat, with raw and cooked lacquer for the surface; the processes of selecting and opening the material, planing the face, hollowing the resonance chamber, grinding and stringing are done by one person and take about two hundred hours.

The Qin-Making Research Class and Community Transmission

From 1993 a qin-making research class has been run continuously; Cai chiefly chooses qin players as students and, through academic exchange and exhibitions, merges this cultural heritage into the community.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The qin-making craft of Hong Kong circulates mainly in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, with Cai Changshou and the Cai Changshou Qin-Making Society as its core transmitting group, and its influence extends also to qin players overseas.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The qin-making craft of Hong Kong fuses woodwork, lacquerwork, calligraphy, inscription and music and other forms of cultural expression into one; it is the crystallisation of the wisdom and creativity of qin players, has contributed to transmitting the ancient craft of qin making and to carrying on the art of the guqin and the Chinese tradition of ritual and music, and has also become one of the important cultural vehicles maintaining the feeling of the community, possessing artistic, social and cultural value that must not be underestimated. (Associated bearer recorded in the official archive:) Liu Changshou, male, Han, born August 1933, a native of Chaozhou city, Guangdong. His qin-making technique follows the ancient methods, chiefly using paulownia, China fir, catalpa and zi wood for the body and deer-antler ash mixed with raw lacquer for the ash coat, with raw and cooked lacquer for the surface coating. The processes of selecting and opening the material, planing the face of the qin, hollowing the resonance chamber, grinding and stringing are all completed by him alone and take about two hundred hours. Since the 1960s he has made more than two hundred guqin for qin players in Hong Kong and overseas and restored more than a hundred old qin of successive ages. From 1993 he has run a qin-making research class, continuing to this day, and has carried on in Hong Kong the tradition of qin players making their own instruments. He is a representative bearer of the fifth batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage items, the art of the guqin.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

  1. Guqin and its Music (Hong Kong, China) · China ICH Official Project Archive
  2. Liu Changshou · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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