Presented by Peiyou Chang - August 27, 2026
Binghamton University, Ethnomusicology Class MUS304
Prof. James Burns introduced me to the students. As is his tradition, he prepared Taiwanese high-mountain oolong tea and brought out many beautiful Chinese tea cups that he had collected. He invited each student to choose a cup to use during the class, and everyone enjoyed the tea along with some freshly picked apples.
Finally, I invited the students to come up and try playing the qin themselves. I placed both qins on the table—one with silk strings and the other with nylon strings—and the students were very enthusiastic about trying them. The silk string qin sounded better in this room (FA21).
Burns 教授向學生介紹了我。按照他的傳統,他準備了台灣高山烏龍茶,並拿出他收藏的許多漂亮的中國茶杯(我的琴桌上就有一個), 讓每位學生選一個茶杯在課堂上使用。大家一邊品茶,一邊享用了剛採摘的新鮮蘋果。
最後,我邀請學生上前親自試著彈奏古琴。我把兩張琴都擺在桌上,一張使用絲弦,另一張使用尼龍弦, 學生們都非常踴躍地試彈。絲弦琴似乎比尼龍絃更適合在這間教室彈奏。