8/28/2025
3:15 - 4:45 pm
At Binghamton University Ethnomusicology class.
On August 28, 2025, I had the opportunity to introduce the guqin (古琴), or simply the qin (琴), to students in an ethnomusicology class at Binghamton University.
The guqin is a seven-string, fretless zither with a history of more than two thousand years in China. Traditionally associated with Confucian scholars and Daoist practitioners, it was valued not simply as a musical instrument, but also as a means of self-cultivation, contemplation, and developing harmony between human beings and nature.
During the program, I introduced some of the guqin’s distinctive features, including its seven strings, thirteen hui (徽) markers for harmonics, and its three fundamental sound types: open strings (散音), harmonics (泛音), and pressed tones (按音). I also demonstrated different tunings and briefly introduced the traditional fingering notation used to record guqin music.
Beyond its musical characteristics, the guqin reflected important aspects of Chinese intellectual and artistic traditions. Its music was closely connected with poetry, nature, and contemplation. The tradition of qin song (琴歌) combined guqin playing with singing and poetry, while Daoist ideas emphasized simplicity, stillness, and harmony with nature. Confucian thought associated the practice of the qin with discipline, balance, and personal cultivation.
The program concluded with performances of four pieces from different historical periods: Flowing Spring over Stone (石上流泉), Harmony between Divine and Human (神人暢), Song of Bamboo Branches (竹枝詞), and Misty Clouds over the Xiao and Xiang Rivers (瀟湘水雲).
Rather than focusing only on the individual pieces, the program offered students a glimpse into the guqin as a tradition in which music, poetry, philosophy, nature, history, and self-cultivation were deeply intertwined.
