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A special concert featuring the Guangling school of guqin (a seven-stringed zither), mostly practiced in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, took place on March 15 at the Liu Shaochun Memorial Hall in Fuping, Shaanxi province.
Guqin performers of the Guangling school gather on stage at the Liu Shaochun Memorial Hall. [Photo/yznews.cn]
At the age of 14, Liu Shaochun (1901-71) left his hometown Fuping and headed south to Yangzhou, where he sustained himself as a salt merchant. Indifferent to wealth but obsessed with the guqin, Liu became an apprentice to Sun Shaotao (1879-1949), a ninth-generation practitioner of the Guangling school. Through his unwavering dedication to learning, Liu mastered the essential artistry of the guqin.
During a nationwide survey of guqin music in 1956, Liu recorded eight classic pieces, including The Song of Woodman and Wild Geese on the Sandbank, helping to preserve audio resources for the school.
Tao Qianying plays the guqin in front of a portrait of Liu Shaochun. [Photo/yznews.cn]
The concert's first performer was a 13-year-old girl named Tao Qianying, the great-granddaughter of Liu. Plucking the strings of longyin (dragon's gums), a renowned zither dating back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and once collected by Liu, Tao performed a piece titled Thinking of an Old Friend, stirring up feelings of nostalgia for the late master.
Most of the concert's guqin players were born in the 1990s or 2000s. They hailed from families with a long-standing tradition in guqin playing and pursued further education at prestigious institutions.
The Guangling school of the guqin found its voice anew in the hands of these young artists, ensuring that its melodies continue to resound across generations to come.
The Liu Shaochun Memorial Hall is located in Fuping, Shaanxi province. [Photo/yznews.cn]