Vài nét về Đàn Guzheng (bản Anh ngữ)

GUZHENG (English)

 

Đàn Tranh Việt Nam & Guzheng Trung Quốc song tấu

The gu-zheng originated during the Warring Period over 2500 years ago in China. The earliest known versions were constructed with a bamboo frame and used silk strings. Its scale was pentatonic, using the notes DO, RE, MI, SOL, and LA with a major note for each of its five strings. Because the gu-zheng was developed in a region called "Qin Quo," its name became known as the "Qin Zheng."

The gu-zheng became very popular in the imperial court and among the common people. Historical records from ancient books and scholarly writings give vivid accounts of the instrument and its music.

Hou Jin, a scholar of the Eastern Han Period (25 A.D. - 220 A.D.) wrote that the gu-zheng’s sound touches the heavens above and the gods and spirits below. The gu-zheng became improved by the Tang dynasty (618 A.D. - 907 A.D.). The number of strings was increased from five to thirteen, and the bamboo was replaced with wu-tong or paulownia wood for the frame of the instrument. By the time of the cultural renaissance during the Tang dynasty, various forms of the gu-zheng appeared through cultural exchanges to Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam and many other Asian countries.

The gu-zheng remained popular through the later Qing dynasty (1644 A.D. - 1911 A.D.), where contemporary gu-zheng musicians began the first attempts to formalize gu-zheng music by compiling and arranging both classical and popular works such as "High Mountain and Flowing Water" and "Evening Song of the Fisherman." In 1948, the renown musician Cao Zheng established the first university level gu-zheng program in China. The old silk strings were replaced with nylon strings, which are still being used today. 

After the Cultural Revolution, the 1960’s revival of folk music also paved the way for the gu-zheng’s popular return. 

In the present, the gu-zheng has developed a wider range, depth, and versatility. Musicians are constantly refining new playing techniques for the instrument. One day a new generation of gu-zheng musicians will broaden the scope of the gu-zheng and take it to a higher level. 

(From http://www.melodyofguzheng.com/history_eng.htm)