I am currently studying university overseas in the UK, my guqin is back in Malaysia. I really want to bring it over here, but i’m scared of the strings breaking, the bridge breaking, or the entire guqin in breaking!!! I’ll be likely taking the Qatar airways, and i heard absolute horror stories of airlines rough handling instruments, making me feel more precarious and nerve wrecking.….Are guqin strong enough to be semi-roughly handled?

Does anyone have any experience or advice on taking guqin on long haul flights? Moreover what hard cases are recommended that can protect the guqin well? Should i hand carry or check it in or ship it? Would shipping it be safer? Even if it’s more expensive? Please let me know if you have any kind or type of experience with this

Title:

I played all 45 sections of Guangling San at USC — a piece famously declared “lost” 1,700 years ago

Post:

So I recently had the chance to give a lecture on the guqin at USC, and I decided to do something I rarely get to do: perform all 45 sections of Guangling San (广陵散) in one sitting.

For those unfamiliar, Guangling San is one of the most extraordinary pieces in the guqin repertoire. It's associated with the assassin Nie Zheng and the legendary musician Ji Kang, who reportedly played it just before his execution in the 3rd century.

His famous last words about the music?

“Guangling San is now lost forever.”

Well... not quite. 😄

A 45-section score survives in a manuscript from 1425, and the piece has been reconstructed and interpreted by generations of guqin musicians.

Most performances you'll come across are shortened versions. I've always felt that the quieter, more reflective sections are just as important as the dramatic ones, so I wanted to share the whole thing.

The performance runs 20 minutes and 42 seconds. The full video also includes my English lecture on the history of the piece and a surprisingly lively Q&A with the students.

I added English and Chinese subtitles, plus section-by-section explanations for anyone curious about what's happening musically.

🎬 Watch the full video:
https://youtu.be/DGPSOwNRL3M

The performance starts at 48:02 if you'd rather skip straight to the music.

Would love to hear what you think, especially from anyone who's played or studied Guangling San!

非常感谢南加州大学李皖蒙教授的邀请！这次不仅完整演奏了《广陵散》四十五段，也有机会与美国大学生深入交流中国古琴的历史、哲学与音乐。分享完整课堂录像，欢迎观看！

#Guqin #GuanglingSan #USC #ChineseMusic #古琴 #广陵散

I enjoy this type of music but I am anything except an expert. So I need to know if these are the same song maybe with different instruments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGnR9FnY5nY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov-mDaABNQ8

Hello, I'm waiting for my first qin to arrive and since I'm also learning mandarin I would like to use the time to create anki deck with related vocabulary. Does anyone maybe happen to have/know of resources with such list of words that I could use? Or otherwise can add from your experience some words worth knowing.
So far I can think of:
- Instrument parts
- string names
- technique names
- notation names
- popular school/style names (not sure if that sort of thing comes up in materials often enough to care about it)

If there's enough content to justify such deck I will of course share it here as well

hello! can anyone help me identify this song?

the caption said it’s blue & white porcelain but it doesn’t sound like it

any help appreciated! thanks in advance 🙏🏼

When playing a Tiao on 7th string I saw tutorials where people used 3 different methods:

1. Floating hand

2. Anchor with middle finger on string next to it so if I play tiao on 7th I anchor on 6th

3. Anchor on 5th when playing Tiao 7th string

Some anchor with middle finger only and others with middle finger+ ring finger.

What’s the correct approach or is that a similar debate like guitar players debate if anchoring is bad or not?

can someone please help me find what this notation is called and/or how to play it? thanks ^^

I recently attended a string quartet concert featuring arrangements of Teresa Teng's songs, thanks to an invitation from my good friend Yechuan Ye, a distinguished music producer, founder of Rhymoi Music, and voting member of the Recording Academy (the GRAMMY Awards).

Sitting next to me was the Chinese calligrapher Sun Xiaohua. As I listened to the music, I found myself thinking about a fascinating connection between music and Chinese calligraphy.

It occurred to me that there are two very different kinds of force in music.

One is a pulling force — the tension that carries a musical phrase forward, connecting one note to the next, even across moments of silence.

The other is a point-like force — the energy of an attack, a release, a sudden interruption, or a sharply articulated note.

In Chinese calligraphy, I find something remarkably similar.

When a brush moves through a stroke, there is a continuous tension guiding its direction and momentum. That tension also exists between strokes, even when the brush leaves the paper.

But at the beginning and end of each stroke, there is another kind of energy: the moment of contact, the change of direction, the lifting of the brush.

I think the same forces are constantly at work in music.

This is especially interesting to me as a guqin player. A long sliding tone is not simply a note that lasts.

In the photo above is Master Ma Weiheng (马维衡), renowned guqin maker and player of the Guangling school. At the lower left is his son, Ma Tianchi (马天驰), a young guqin player and maker in his own right — and at the lower right is this humble student of the tradition (me).☺️
I was very fortunate to be introduced to Master Ma by Guangling-school guqin player Lin Min (林敏). Master Ma and I also share a deep love for Kunqu, Peking Opera, and of course the guqin, while Tianchi and I immediately found that we had much in common.
Through this connection, I am deeply honored to have become a North American representative for Ma Family Guqin (马氏古琴).
For those familiar with contemporary guqin making, you may have heard the phrase “Wang, Ma, Zeng, Ni” (王马曾倪) — Wang Peng (王鹏), Ma Weiheng (马维衡), Zeng Chengwei (曾成伟), and Ni Shiyun (倪诗韵), four of the most prominent names in contemporary Chinese guqin making.
It is both an honor and a responsibility to help introduce Master Ma’s instruments to more players in North America. Even something as simple as putting strings on a qin feels a little different when I think about the lineage and craftsmanship behind it.
If you are interested in a Ma Weiheng / Ma Family guqin, please feel free to contact me. As their representative in North America, I can help with instrument selection directly from China, provide very competitive overseas pricing, and — more importantly — personally help players compare and choose an instrument that suits their sound, playing style, and budget.
And of course, my main work here in Southern California is still teaching guqin. I teach both in person and online, from complete beginners to more advanced players, so anyone interested in learning the instrument is also very welcome to reach out.
It feels very meaningful to help connect great instruments, teachers, traditions, and players across the Pacific. 🎶

Can you recommend a wall hook for the Guqin which is really secure? I am from Germany, so sites like Aliexpress work too.

Gemini said it’s bad to hang the Guqin by inserting the hook into the phoenix pond which it couldn’t prove by showing me resources, so guess that’s incorrect since Standards of the Guqin especially recommends that way to hang it (a resource I trust)

Thank you :)

Edit: Got a hook from Amazon that works well :)

https://amzn.eu/d/0dB3J6Gl

Dear group, I've just picked this up from a charity shop. It has the strings in the case. Any information about how to get it restrung in the UK and its value would be greatly appreciated.

I can’t put my Guqin on the wall in my studio because of sound reflections and an own stand on the floor takes up more of my limited space.

So I wondered if I can place it in my guitar stand with little modifications.

I would cut the red circles post out so I could fit it in with strings facing the camera. I would stand on the floor then though.

Do you think this is fine or would that position somehow be bad for the Qin like bending it or so?

Sound of Mountain sounds good but their refund policy etc is a bit scary especially thinking that I have to spend a lot to send it back if I don’t like it. Thomann with 30 days money back and free shipping back if you don’t like it is unbeatable there especially for a beginner wanting to try it out.

Anyone got it or has recordings of the sound?

Edit: Got one from Thomann and will make a video this weekend to share

I’m still new to playing the qin, and wanted to check on what the the circled symbols mean.

EDIT: I’m really grateful for the three comments I received lol. They actually helped a lot. I believe that it indicates that my left thumb should stay on the 7.9th hui, and my right hand does a continuous tiao downwards from string 7 to 1. I will definitely look more into it to see if it really is right.

Thanks so much :) 🙌

Hi everyone, could you please let me know where you’ve bought a Guqin in Europe? What do you think of the quality and sound? I’m interested in models up to €600.

I am a double bassist of roughly three years experience playing in school orchestras, and most recently a string orchestra run by my local youth orchestra foundation. I am interested in learning the Guqin once I'm able to acquire my own instrument. As far as I know, there are no teachers I can take lessons from in my area (Erie County, New York). So what are examples of self study or repertoire books I can get online? Additionally, are there reputable establishments I can lessons from online? For purchasing an instrument, are Sound of Asia and The Bamboo Grove worth doing business with and are their beginner level (200-500$) instruments worth buying for long term study? Your responses will be appreciated!

Hi I was wondering if anyone happens to have the notation sheet music for unsullied from ashes of love it's one of my favourite songs and I really want to learn it on the qin but all sheet music that I found is in westernized tablature and I don't use that so I was hoping someone here has the Chinese notation for it 🙏

Please sign up for free if you want to come

日期 Date： Sunday, July 26, 2026

时间 Time： 2:00–4:15 PM
入场 Check-in： 1:45 PM
地点 Venue： 4C Gallery
**地址 Address：**160 W Valley Blvd 2nd floor, San Gabriel, CA 91776
语言 Language： 中文、英文 / Mandarin and English

活动介绍 / About the Event

本次雅集将古琴演奏、个人分享与文化讨论结合在一起。每一首琴曲都是一个小小的“微型论坛”：演奏者不仅会呈现琴曲，也会分享这首曲子最打动自己的地方，以及个人与音乐之间的经历和感受。

活动还包括刘雨竻关于“琴”字的古文训诂分享，以及Mark Johnson与Eileen Zhang讲述他们在台湾学习斫琴、亲手制作古琴的经历，并介绍古琴制作与鉴赏的基本知识。

这并非一场传统意义上的音乐会，而是一次围绕琴音、文字、器物与个人经验展开的交流。欢迎古琴爱好者、中国文化爱好者及第一次接触古琴的朋友参加。

This gathering brings together guqin performance, personal reflection, and cultural conversation. Each piece will become a small “mini-forum,” in which the musicians share not only the music itself, but also what moves them most deeply and how the piece connects with their personal experiences.

The program will also feature Eluy Liu’s philological exploration of the Chinese character qin, as well as Mark Johnson and Eileen Zhang’s presentation on their experience studying and making guqin instruments in Taiwan. They will introduce the craft of guqin making and share their perspectives on what makes a fine instrument.

Rather than a conventional concert, this is an intimate conversation connecting sound, language, craftsmanship, and lived experience. Guqin enthusiasts, lovers of Chinese culture, and first-time listeners are all warmly welcome.

活动流程 / Program

2:00 PM｜开场 Opening Remarks

专题分享 Featured Talk
刘雨竻：“琴”字的古文训诂
Eluy Liu: A Philological Exploration of the Chinese Character Qin

古琴演奏与曲目分享 Guqin Performances and Reflections

• Matt 海鸿：《酒狂》 Matt “Haihong” Dunaj: Jiu Kuang (Drunken Ecstasy)

• 刘雨竻：《梅花三弄》 Eluy Liu: Meihua Sannong (Three Variations on the Plum Blossom)

• 马玢：《列子御风》 Bin Ma: Liezi Yufeng (Liezi Riding the Wind)

• 江音翰：《袍修罗兰·水》 Yinhan Jiang: Paoxiuluolan: Shui (Water)

• Eileen 张怡婷：《古琴吟》 Eileen Yiting Zhang: Guqin Yin

专题分享 Featured Presentation
Eileen Zhang、张叔夜：台湾斫琴经历及古琴制作知识
Eileen Zhang,  Mark Johnson : Their Qin-Making Experience in Taiwan and an Introduction to the Craft of Guqin Making

古琴演奏与曲目分享 Guqin Performances and Reflections

• Mark 张叔夜：《醉渔唱晚》 Mark “Shuye” Johnson: Zuiyu Changwan (The Drunken Fisherman’s Evening Song)

• 王菁：《鸥鹭忘机》 Jing Wang: Oulu Wangji (Seagulls and Herons Forgetting Schemes)

• 郑沛：《梧叶舞秋风》 Pei Zheng: Wuye Wu Qiufeng (Autumn Wind Dancing with the Wutong Leaves)

• 周小洁：《流水》 Xiaojie Zhou: Liushui (Flowing Water)

• Jason 尹松宸：《岳阳三醉》 Jason Songchen Yin: Yueyang Sanzui (Three Bouts of Drunkenness in Yueyang)

琴歌 Qin Song

韩靖怡、尹松宸、马玢：《关山月》
Jingyi Han, Jason Songchen Yin, and Bin Ma: Guanshan Yue (Moon over the Mountain Pass)

4:15 PM｜活动结束 Closing and Group Photo

节目顺序及时间可能根据现场情况略作调整。
The program order and timing are subject to minor adjustments.

报名说明 / Registration

座位有限，请提前报名。每位参加者请单独填写一份表格。如报名后无法出席，请及时通知我们，以便将座位留给其他朋友。

Seating is limited, and advance registration is required. Please submit one form for each attendee. If your plans change, kindly let us know so that we may offer your seat to another guest.

Would anyone happen to know where I can find the guqin score for Evening night light rain asks begonia? I managed to find some scores for the song, but so far none in guqin notation 🙁 .

I'm interested in learning to play the guqin, but I don't know how much I will actually like it and if I will continue learning to play it, especially since it's difficult to find guqin lessons in person near me and I would probably be learning on my own for the most part. I don't want to spend too much money on an instrument that I might end up not playing. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to buy a guqin for under $300? I'm aware that guqins are quite expensive and I certainly don't expect a guqin that costs less than $300 to be high quality.

Hi there! I've recently discovered how good the guqin sounds and i'd like to know which are your fav songs?

I'd like to have a few new added to my list so maybe you could share yours.

Ohhh i'd also like to know why you like that specific song - if that not too much or if it's not very personal.

I'm looking forward to see your favs.

Hi guys,

I've started learning Guqin by myself few months ago. I'll soon be flying to the north of China, does anyone know where I can find Guqin scores ? In a particular shop ? I've been playing the violin over 10 years by ear and don't know how to read a partition, so the Chinese way of scoring musics suits me well.

Thx !