![]() Heavily researched both in China and in the West, the qin is one of a large, important family of Asian zithers-musical instruments with strings stretched across a long, hollowed-out resonating chamber.5Members of the qin’s extended family include the Japanese koto, Korean kayageum, Mongolian yatga, andVietnamese dan tranh. 3 Antique qins are bought and sold as artworks in and of themselves, and a recent article that appeared in The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune stated that a qin once owned by a Song dynasty emperor fetched $22 million in 2010. The qin is familiar to many Chinese because it is often referred to in classic poetry and prose, and it is frequently portrayed in Chinese paintings. ![]() Nevertheless, the music of the qin is widely known if not commonly heard in person. 2 Only a handful of young people are pursuing qin study at Chinese music conservatories nowadays. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), there were “perhaps no more than fifty surviving masters” of the qin in 2008. After the end of the Imperial Era a hundred years ago, few expert qin players passed their knowledge and skills on to younger students. By practicing the qin and learning to appreciate its music, scholar-officials refined their personalities, leading to a more harmonious world.īecause the modern national philosophy of the People’s Republic of China is heavily invested in making the arts serve the masses, and the qin has historically been connected with wealth, high social rank, and classical Chinese poetry and language dating from the Chinese Empire, the qin has had limited appeal in contemporary China. A true scholar’s study included a qin amongst its furnishings. These men-women are almost never mentioned as qin players in writings or portrayed in pictures-undertook qin study as one of the four arts that educated gentlemen of their class and rank were expected to master, the other three being calligraphy, painting and weiqi, an ancient form of chess. ![]() Their main work was that of scholars, gentlemen, and officials. Qin performers were not professional (that is, paid) musicians, though they apparently took great care to learn how to play. At most, qin enthusiasts played for a small group of friends, many or all of whom probably also played the instrument. Confucius admonished the readers of the Analects to “Be awakened by poetry, be established by ritual, be perfected in music.” 1 The qin was traditionally used for the solitary, private edification of the player, and thus there are many depictions of qin players playing in remote locations in the countryside, often in the mountains. Men of rank and privilege learned to play the qin primarily as a means of self-cultivation. The qin is associated with the elite class of scholar-officials of imperial China, and it boasts a history of thousands of years. The instrument’s name is often translated as “Chinese lute” or “ancient lute” (guqin). Rock carving of a bodhisattva playing a guqin, found in shanxi, Northern Wei dynasty (386–534).Ĭhina is home to numerous distinctively Chinese musical instruments, but none is more revered than the qin (pronounced something like the English word “chin” and sometimes written “ch’in”). Re-envisioning Asia: Contestations and Struggles in the Visual Artsĭownload PDF Editor’s Note: Readers can visit the EAA spring online supplement for audio and performance examples of the music specifically discussed in this essay. ![]() Distinguished Service to the Association for Asian Studies Award.Distinguished Contributions to Asian Studies Award.Striving for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Asian Studies: Humanities Grants for Asian Studies Scholars.Gosling-Lim Postdoctoral Fellowship in Southeast Asian Studies.Cultivating the Humanities & Social Sciences Initiative Grants.Key Issues in Asian Studies Book Series.Connect, Collaborate, Contribute: AAS Membership Recruitment Drive.AAS Takes Action to Build Diversity & Equity in Asian Studies.AAS Community Forum Log In and Participate.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |