Gayeqinyishu
01 · Historical Records
The gayageum, also called the “Korean zither”, is the most representative plucked string instrument of the Korean ethnic group; it is popular in Jilin, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Hebei and other provinces and regions, and is most prevalent in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. According to the Korean ancient chronicle Samguk Sagi: “The gayageum too was made in imitation of the zither of the Chinese music department.” By the end of the nineteenth century gayageum music had reached its height, the music gradually changing from the slow court music to the light and lively sanjo. The gayageum that had traditionally circulated was unsuitable for playing the fast notes of sanjo, so it was modified into the sanjo gayageum, which has circulated down to the present. The gayageum was also brought from Korea into the areas of China inhabited by the Korean ethnic group at the end of the nineteenth century, and was inherited among the people. Gayageum art is a typical representative of the traditional music culture of the Korean ethnic group; whether in its form and its materials of construction, or in its timbre and tone colour, its style of musical expression and its playing technique, it embodies the character of the Korean people and fully reflects the historical shape of the life of the Korean people of China.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The gayageum has a soft timbre and a deep tone, and in appearance resembles a zither. “The gayageum, though somewhat different from the zither in its structure, is broadly similar to it.” Therefore the origin of the gayageum can be traced back at least to the years 42—551, that is, to the time after the kingdom of Koguryo came into existence and before its downfall, when Yol brought the instrument and fled to King Jinheung of Silla.
Sanjo
By the end of the nineteenth century gayageum music had reached its height, the music changing gradually from the slow court music to the light and lively sanjo.
Slow court music
The slow and solemn court pieces that the gayageum chiefly played before sanjo took shape.
Sanjo gayageum
The gayageum that had traditionally circulated was unsuitable for playing the fast notes of sanjo, so it was modified into the sanjo gayageum, which has circulated down to the present.
Record in the Samguk Sagi
According to the Korean ancient chronicle Samguk Sagi: “The gayageum too was made in imitation of the zither of the Chinese music department… The gayageum, though somewhat different from the zither in its structure, is broadly similar to it”; the origin of the gayageum can therefore be traced back at least to the years 42—551.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Throughout Yanbian, gayageum art is carried on through the College of Arts of Yanbian University, Korean ethnic art troupes and folk teaching centres; after the gayageum was brought from Korea into the areas of China inhabited by the Korean ethnic group at the end of the nineteenth century it was inherited among the people, and the music moved in a single direction from the slow court style to the lively style of sanjo.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
As society progresses and musical culture innovates, with the vigorous development of the internet new forms of culture, art and entertainment keep appearing and enriching themselves, so the social basis on which gayageum art survives and develops has changed; the performance regions, the performance market and the audiences of gayageum art are all declining, platforms for performance and display are steadily shrinking, and urgent protection is needed. Jin Xingsan (from the official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, Korean ethnic, born in October 1955, native of Yanji City, Jilin Province. While studying traditional music, he has carried out performance and teaching activities both in the university and among the people. He is a representative inheritor of gayageum art, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fourth national-level batch. To widen the reach of gayageum art he opened a required course on the gayageum in the music education programme of the College of Arts at Yanbian University, worked on the training of reserves of talent, and taught traditional gayageum technique among the people, laying a foundation for the transmission of gayageum art. He has trained more than seventy performers on the gayageum.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Jin Xingsan 04-1539
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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