Zhou Fang's "Picture of a Lady Playing the Qin"

"Book of Rites? Qu Li Xia": "A scholar does not withdraw his harp without any reason." In ancient China, even the lowest-level nobles had to be able to play the piano. It is not only an accompaniment instrument for literati to sing, but also a compulsory instrument. Huangdi once played the Qingjiao qin music to summon ghosts and gods on Mount Xitai; Shun played the five-stringed qin and sang the song "Southern Wind", thus bringing great enlightenment to the world.

Guqin is not used to vent emotions like other musical instruments. On the contrary, "Bai Hu Tong" says: "Qin is forbidden." Qin is used to purify emotions and eliminate evil thoughts. Even those who are listening to the music can reach a state of peace, meditation, and forget worldly concerns. When Boya, the great harpist of the Spring and Autumn Period, played the harp, the horses stopped grazing and raised their heads to admire the music.

According to legend, after Shennong inherited the world, he made the earliest qin by cutting paulownia wood into the body and using silk ropes as strings based on the principles of all things in the universe. This harp can connect to the virtues of gods and guide the harmony of all things.

The length of the guqin is three feet, six inches and five minutes, which represents the three hundred and sixty-five days in a year; the top panel is an arc, symbolizing the "round sky"; the flat bottom panel is square, which represents the "place". There are thirteen round emblems on the outside of the piano surface that mark the overtone positions, representing the twelve months of the year and the leap month. The earliest guqin had only five strings, symbolizing the "five elements" of gold, wood, water, fire and earth. Later, King Wen of Zhou and King Wu of Zhou each added a string to it to symbolize the way of king and minister, and it became the current seven-string system.

When Confucius was besieged in Chen and Cai, he only did one thing, which was to "keep singing", playing the piano, singing, and giving lectures to calm down the violent environment. .

During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Ji Kang was falsely accused and imprisoned. On the day of his execution, he asked his brother for a piano and calmly played "Guangling San" as the swan song of his life. Guqin is the musical instrument that Ji Kang believes has the most "virtue". "Among all instruments, the Qin has the best virtues." He also used this to express his personality and voice.

"Sitting alone in the secluded bamboo, I play the harp and whistle loudly. People in the deep forest don't know that the bright moon comes to shine." (Wang Wei's "Zhuli Pavilion") The harp has never been a performance tool, but has directly become a ritual tool. Instrument or artifact; you play the harp not to please others, but to listen to yourself. During the performance, have a dialogue with your own soul and reach a state of emptiness and tranquility.

Guqin is actually a tool to communicate with heaven, earth, and people through music, and to achieve the integration of life and the universe. In 1977, the United States NASA launched a spacecraft to search for life in outer space, and carried music on the spacecraft to communicate with life in the universe. One of them was the famous Chinese guqin song "Flowing Water".

Guqin really connects the universe. A qin is an artifact that guides people back to heaven.