Guzheng Art

01 · Historical Records

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 · Core Techniques & Process

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.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

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.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Guzheng Art.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The Zhongzhou zheng school is transmitted mainly within families and through master-apprentice lineages and is widely popular among the people of Henan. Local associations for the study of bantou pieces, using the Henan zheng as the principal instrument, have been founded, and tea houses and other venues are used to carry out transmission activities. The Zhongzhou zheng school has beautiful, grand and delicate tones that appeal to both refined and popular taste; it preserves both relics of the ancient central-plains musical character and the inflow of traditional music from many quarters, fully embodying the inclusiveness of Chinese folk music. It has high artistic and aesthetic value and a deep historical tradition, exerts a certain influence in many parts of China, and is one of the representative fine folk musics of Henan; it also has some academic reference value for research into the distinctive musical styles of Chinese traditional instruments. Cao Guifen (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): female, Han, born in June 1938, a native of Dengzhou City, Henan Province. She studied the zheng with her father from childhood, mastered the essence of the Cao school of zheng art, and learned many Henan dadiao quzi pieces and tune patterns from him as well. In 1954 she joined the Kaifeng Quju Troupe as a zheng player, and in 1978 was transferred to the Henan Provincial Quju Troupe. In 1963 she was invited to take part in the first national folk music solo concert, performing Chen Xingyuan Luo Yuan, Shang Lou and Qupai Lian Zou. The records made for her by the China Record Company sold well overseas. Zheng pieces in her performance were used in the films Qu Yuan and Guilin Landscape. In 1989, at the invitation of the Hong Kong Hugo Recordings company, she recorded twenty-one Cao school zheng pieces. Using Gao Shan Liu Shui as the title, she had a CD produced in Japan and released at home and abroad. Representative inheritor of zheng art (Zhongzhou zheng school), inscribed in the fifth national-level batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage.

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

1. Guzheng Art (Henan) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Cao Guifen · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗