About the Guzheng
“Enjoy the peony in a cart, listen to the zheng while riding a horse.” Ancient Proverb (Tang dynasty)
Guzheng, also known as zheng, is a traditional Chinese plucked string instrument that belongs to the zither family. Derived from the ancient Chinese qin (seven strings without bridges), guzheng is the fore-runner of the Japanese koto, Korean kayagum, Mongolian yatag, and Vietnamese dan tranh.
Constructed primarily from wu tong wood (Paulownia tomentosa), the modern-day zheng has 21 or 23 copper-wound steel strings and movable wooden bridges.
According to the documents written during the Qin dynasty (206 BC), one can trace the origins of this ancient instrument from the Warring States Period (403 BC). Guzheng, considered as one of the main chamber and solo instruments in Chinese traditional music, became especially popular during the Qin and Tang (618-907 AD) dynasties. Since, it has evolved from 12 to 16 and 18 strings.
In 1961, Xu Zhengao, a reputed guzheng artisan, together with Wang Xunzhi, one of the most influential Chinese folk musicians of the century, invented the 21-stringed modern guzheng.
Capable of producing melodies that evoke imageries such as the cascading waterfalls, thunder or birds’ chirping, the guzheng has diverse schools of performance styles. Since the 1850s, its solo repertoire has enlarged and evolved into a very rich technical complexity that requires demanding 8-fingered techniques. Its contemporary atonal experimental compositions have also developed vastly since the 1980s.
