China has been celebrating Cultural and Natural Heritage Day on the second Saturday of June since 2016, and June 10 marks the Day this year.
Currently, five items of UNESCO intangible cultural heritages are from Guangdong or include a branch from the province. The Cultural Heritage in Focus series will shed light on these items, and this chapter continues with Guqin and its music (Lingnan School).
The Guqin has existed for over 3,000 years and represents the foremost solo musical instrument tradition in China, with seven strings and thirteen marked pitch positions. By attaching the strings in ten different ways, players can obtain a range of four octaves.
(Photo provided to GDToday)
The Guqin was introduced to the Lingnan area during the Qin Dynasty (221BC-207BC), and the Lingnan school of guqin art is mainly prevalent here. This school of Guqin features the cadence of the musical structure, the varied and lively rhythms, and the remote and ethereal sound, constituting a distinctive style of guqin music.
Author| Holly
Poster| Mia
Editor| Wing, Olivia, Steven, Monica, James
