Guzheng Art
01 · Historical Records
By the Ming dynasty the zheng was widely popular in southwestern Shandong, and its performance techniques also developed considerably.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
After the entry of the Qing dynasty, zheng music had already become part of the everyday life of the people of places such as Heze; for a time the saying circulated among the people that 'every wealthy household inside the city walls owns a se, and every village outside the city walls owns a zheng.' In the course of its long transmission, Shandong zheng music gradually formed artistic characteristics of gorgeous and gentle beauty combined with vigour and brightness. In Heze there circulate ten suites of classical zheng pieces and more than two hundred xiaoban pieces.
Autumn Moon over the Han Palace
By form and style the Shandong zheng repertoire falls into two categories. The first is classical pieces, commonly called 'daban zheng pieces', which use the eight-section (baban) form; their tones are elegant, their structures rigorous, their rhythms marked, and most have a distinct theme and profound ideological content, with representative pieces such as Autumn Moon over the Han Palace and High Mountains, Flowing Water. The second is xiaoban zheng pieces, adapted in modern times from local narrative singing and folk tunes; they are concise in structure, varied in rhythm and have beautiful, gentle melodies, and are mainly current in the Heze area, with representative pieces such as Song of the Phoenix and All Under Heaven Are One.
High Mountains, Flowing Water
By form and style the Shandong zheng repertoire falls into two categories. The first is classical pieces, commonly called 'daban zheng pieces', which use the eight-section (baban) form; their tones are elegant, their structures rigorous, their rhythms marked, and most have a distinct theme and profound ideological content, with representative pieces such as Autumn Moon over the Han Palace and High Mountains, Flowing Water. The second is xiaoban zheng pieces, adapted in modern times from local narrative singing and folk tunes; they are concise in structure, varied in rhythm and have beautiful, gentle melodies, and are mainly current in the Heze area, with representative pieces such as Song of the Phoenix and All Under Heaven Are One.
Song of the Phoenix
By form and style the Shandong zheng repertoire falls into two categories. The first is classical pieces, commonly called 'daban zheng pieces', which use the eight-section (baban) form; their tones are elegant, their structures rigorous, their rhythms marked, and most have a distinct theme and profound ideological content, with representative pieces such as Autumn Moon over the Han Palace and High Mountains, Flowing Water. The second is xiaoban zheng pieces, adapted in modern times from local narrative singing and folk tunes; they are concise in structure, varied in rhythm and have beautiful, gentle melodies, and are mainly current in the Heze area, with representative pieces such as Song of the Phoenix and All Under Heaven Are One.
All Under Heaven Are One
By form and style the Shandong zheng repertoire falls into two categories. The first is classical pieces, commonly called 'daban zheng pieces', which use the eight-section (baban) form; their tones are elegant, their structures rigorous, their rhythms marked, and most have a distinct theme and profound ideological content, with representative pieces such as Autumn Moon over the Han Palace and High Mountains, Flowing Water. The second is xiaoban zheng pieces, adapted in modern times from local narrative singing and folk tunes; they are concise in structure, varied in rhythm and have beautiful, gentle melodies, and are mainly current in the Heze area, with representative pieces such as Song of the Phoenix and All Under Heaven Are One.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The zheng is an ancient plucked-string instrument widely circulated among the people; in the course of its spread in different localities it combined with local folk songs, narrative singing, opera and other folk music, producing a variety of regional schools with different timbral features and performance techniques. In modern times several representative schools of zheng performance emerged, of which the Henan, Shandong, Chaozhou, Hakka and Zhejiang schools are the more famous. The performance art of Shandong zheng music is one of the more influential zheng schools in China; it is mainly transmitted in Mudan District, Yuncheng County and Juancheng County of Heze City in Shandong Province and the surrounding areas, as well as in Linqing City of Liaocheng and its surrounding areas. Shandong zheng music has a long history; according to tradition, zheng pieces such as Autumn Moon over the Han Palace and The Lament of Duke Yin were already played by local folk musicians in the Western Han period. By form and style it falls into two categories. The first is classical pieces, commonly called 'daban zheng pieces', which use the eight-section (baban) form; their tones are elegant, their structures rigorous, their rhythms marked, and most have a distinct theme and profound ideological content, with representative pieces such as Autumn Moon over the Han Palace and High Mountains, Flowing Water. The second is xiaoban zheng pieces, adapted in modern times from local narrative singing and folk tunes; they are concise in structure, varied in rhythm and have beautiful, gentle melodies, and are mainly current in the Heze area, with representative pieces such as Song of the Phoenix and All Under Heaven Are One.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Guzheng Art.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The development history of Shandong zheng music is closely bound up with that of places such as Heze; it has become an important part of the local culture of southwestern Shandong and has high historical and cultural research value. In recent years, because traditional culture has been lost and altered, the living space of zheng music has become increasingly narrow; in addition, a number of accomplished zheng performers have died one after another, and many excellent traditional pieces and performance techniques have not been transmitted in time, so that Shandong zheng music is on the verge of decline and urgently needs rescue. Zhao Dengshan (official archive record of the associated inheritor): In his performance technique he both inherited the traditions of the Shandong school and broke through boldly with innovation, giving his playing an antique elegance and an enthusiastic, uninhibited style. In more than sixty years of artistic career he not only inherited the tradition of folk artists who could both play and perform, but also created and adapted many works full of local colour, such as the solo pieces Spring Comes to the Fields, Celebrating the Festival, The Liuyang River, Echoes in the Valley, The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate and A Journey to Guangling, and the zheng ensemble piece Spring in Luoyang; his works have been published and issued at home and abroad. A man of the Han people, born in January 1933 in Yuncheng County, Shandong Province, he died in February 2021. Representative inheritor of guzheng art (Shandong zheng music) in the third national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. He devoted himself to teaching, and his students have won prizes many times in international and domestic competitions.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zhao Dengshan 03-0879
- Cao Guifen 05-2127
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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