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How playing the guqin evokes ancient culture, the simple life and nature
By Wang Yong |
September 22, 2009, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
IT'S rare for urbanites walled in concrete forests to hear the sound of flowing water - that burbling or splashing sound from the heart of nature.
But my wife and I heard it on Saturday night, not real water falling down a high mountain - there's no such thing in Shanghai - but water evoked in a concert by Zhao Jiazhen, one of the most accomplished guqin players in China today.
Performing at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center, virtuoso Zhao conjured the sounds of flowing water from her guqin, a seven-stringed Chinese zither, a musical instrument dating back 5,000 years. It became popular in Confucius' time or earlier, particularly among Chinese literati who, as a group, were known for their love of nature, simple life and peace of mind.
In fact, the song Zhao performed on her 1,000-year-or-so-old guqin, bears the title "Flowing Water." It's one of the 10 most famous ancient Chinese classical songs.
In 1977, NASA sent a guqin recording of "Flowing Water" into outer space, along with other great compositions from around the world.
Listening to Zhao's "Flowing Water" was not just about art appreciation, it was also about the story behind the song - two soul mates who shared their profound admiration of mountains and rivers - and what it means today for Chinese increasingly caught up in frenzied pursuit of material comforts.
The story goes thus: During the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC), renowned musician Yu Boya was playing guqin when Zhong Ziqi, a humble woodcutter, passed by. The two men were strangers, but as soon as Yu plucked the strings to create the sound of water, Zhong said, "How great a river!"
When Yu tried to "describe" mountains, Zhong immediately understood him. To Yu, Zhong was a rare soul mate. When Zhong died, Yu destroyed his guqin, vowing never to play again, because there would be no one who could understand him like Zhong.
The audience on Saturday included foreigners who were quite absorbed by "Flowing Water" and other guqin compositions performed by master Zhao.
I could not tell, of course, whether they knew the story of Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi, but there's no doubt they loved ancient Chinese culture, at least the part that teaches love of nature, simple living and peace of mind - values embodied in guqin songs.
Shi Hanbing, a veteran newspaper commentator and a fan of guqin, opened the concert by saying that, at a time marked by material desires, it would be great to calm our minds with guqin music. Shi is known for his relentless criticism of speculation in China's stock and real estate markets. He studies guqin art with master Zhao and also plays guqin very well.
My wife and I have just started to learn guqin. The more we play, the more we appreciate the greatness of ancient Chinese culture, which teaches one to lead a simple life and to respect nature.
It's sad that since 1919, China has often been driven by a desire to copy the modern Western model of material "civilization."
If you read "The Confessions of St Augustine," you will see that there was a time when Westerners hated "the muddy cravings of the flesh." Even John D. Rockefeller Jr said in 1941 that he believed "that thrift is essential to well-ordered living..."
But today's West, from Jack London's "Call of the Wild" to the greed of Wall Street, has been dominated by "mankind's foolish attempt to pursue comforts and riches by decimating the wilderness" (Claudia Durst Johnson, "Understanding the Call of the Wild").
China does need to learn the best of Western culture, but we should not become ashamed of not being shameless in material pursuits.
There was nothing wrong or shameful for Chinese to wear simple and similar shoes and clothes 30 years ago. Those shoes and clothes 30 years ago were actually much more diversified in style than today's Western suits and Nike shoes.
The more you listen to "Flowing Water," the more distant you feel from the gas-guzzlers and air-conditioned offices some people - Westerners and Chinese - are ignorantly proud of.
But my wife and I heard it on Saturday night, not real water falling down a high mountain - there's no such thing in Shanghai - but water evoked in a concert by Zhao Jiazhen, one of the most accomplished guqin players in China today.
Performing at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center, virtuoso Zhao conjured the sounds of flowing water from her guqin, a seven-stringed Chinese zither, a musical instrument dating back 5,000 years. It became popular in Confucius' time or earlier, particularly among Chinese literati who, as a group, were known for their love of nature, simple life and peace of mind.
In fact, the song Zhao performed on her 1,000-year-or-so-old guqin, bears the title "Flowing Water." It's one of the 10 most famous ancient Chinese classical songs.
In 1977, NASA sent a guqin recording of "Flowing Water" into outer space, along with other great compositions from around the world.
Listening to Zhao's "Flowing Water" was not just about art appreciation, it was also about the story behind the song - two soul mates who shared their profound admiration of mountains and rivers - and what it means today for Chinese increasingly caught up in frenzied pursuit of material comforts.
The story goes thus: During the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC), renowned musician Yu Boya was playing guqin when Zhong Ziqi, a humble woodcutter, passed by. The two men were strangers, but as soon as Yu plucked the strings to create the sound of water, Zhong said, "How great a river!"
When Yu tried to "describe" mountains, Zhong immediately understood him. To Yu, Zhong was a rare soul mate. When Zhong died, Yu destroyed his guqin, vowing never to play again, because there would be no one who could understand him like Zhong.
The audience on Saturday included foreigners who were quite absorbed by "Flowing Water" and other guqin compositions performed by master Zhao.
I could not tell, of course, whether they knew the story of Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi, but there's no doubt they loved ancient Chinese culture, at least the part that teaches love of nature, simple living and peace of mind - values embodied in guqin songs.
Shi Hanbing, a veteran newspaper commentator and a fan of guqin, opened the concert by saying that, at a time marked by material desires, it would be great to calm our minds with guqin music. Shi is known for his relentless criticism of speculation in China's stock and real estate markets. He studies guqin art with master Zhao and also plays guqin very well.
My wife and I have just started to learn guqin. The more we play, the more we appreciate the greatness of ancient Chinese culture, which teaches one to lead a simple life and to respect nature.
It's sad that since 1919, China has often been driven by a desire to copy the modern Western model of material "civilization."
If you read "The Confessions of St Augustine," you will see that there was a time when Westerners hated "the muddy cravings of the flesh." Even John D. Rockefeller Jr said in 1941 that he believed "that thrift is essential to well-ordered living..."
But today's West, from Jack London's "Call of the Wild" to the greed of Wall Street, has been dominated by "mankind's foolish attempt to pursue comforts and riches by decimating the wilderness" (Claudia Durst Johnson, "Understanding the Call of the Wild").
China does need to learn the best of Western culture, but we should not become ashamed of not being shameless in material pursuits.
There was nothing wrong or shameful for Chinese to wear simple and similar shoes and clothes 30 years ago. Those shoes and clothes 30 years ago were actually much more diversified in style than today's Western suits and Nike shoes.
The more you listen to "Flowing Water," the more distant you feel from the gas-guzzlers and air-conditioned offices some people - Westerners and Chinese - are ignorantly proud of.
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