In the "Book of Songs", there are many records of the harp. For example, "A graceful lady is a friend of the piano and the harp". "With the harp and harp at your disposal, it's best to be quiet." Liu Ji once praised in "Qin Yi Pian": "Beautiful but not flashy, sad but not sad, quality but capable of writing, discerning but not deceitful."
"I have a guest who plays the piano, harp, and harp." "etc. Moreover, records about Qin appear frequently in "Xiaoya" of "The Book of Songs". It can be seen that at that time (around 1000 BC) playing the harp was very common among the people. This means that three thousand years ago, Qin culture had been widely spread in China. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, playing the harp was very common in various countries. During this period, there were many legends about the harp. For example: Boya's emotional work "The Water Fairy", Boya's "Mountains and Flowing Water" in search of a close friend, Zhong Yi's unforgettable homeland of Chu moved the Marquis of Jin, Confucius traveled to various countries and wrote "Orchid", etc., are all popular stories. During this period, a number of famous qin players such as Boya, Confucius, Shi Kuang and Shi Xiang also emerged. Qin culture had already developed considerably at that time. (1) Western Han Dynasty
During the Western Han Dynasty, the famous qin player Sima Xiangru, whose qin music such as "Phoenix Seeking Phoenix" and "The Resentment of Changmen" are all masterpieces handed down from generation to generation. During this period, Liu Xiang wrote "Qin Shuo" and discussed that "there are seven examples of drums and qin: one is to understand morality, the other is to sense ghosts and gods, the third is to beautify customs, the fourth is to observe wonderful minds, the fifth is to control the tone, and the sixth is flow. Elegant, Qiyue is good at teaching." The famous Qin writings of this period include Huan Tan's "New Theory of Qin Dao Chapter". The popular Qin music in the Western Han Dynasty mainly includes: "Youlan", "White Snow", "Two Phoenixes Li Luan", "Yao Chang", "Shun Cao", "Yu Cao", "Wen Wang Cao", "Weizi Cao", "Jizi Cao", "Bo Yi Cao", etc.
(2) Eastern Han, Wei, and Western Jin Dynasties
During the Eastern Han, Wei, and Western Jin Dynasties, Qin culture developed greatly. The famous qin players of this period mainly include: Cai Yong, Cai Yan, Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, Zuo Si, Liu Kun, etc. Famous qin studies works of this period include: Cai Yong's "Qin Fu" and "Qin Cao"; Ji Kang's "Qin Fu", etc. Famous composers of Qin music during this period include: "Cai's Five Nongs" (including "Spring Outing", "Lushui", "Qin Fu", "Seclusion", "Sitting in Sorrow", and "Autumn Thoughts") composed by Cai Yong, "Eighteen Beats of Hujia" by Yan, "Drunken Madness" by Ruan Ji, "Four Lanes of the Ji Family" by Ji Kang (including "Changqing", "Duanqing", "Longside", "Duanside") , "Zhao Yin" by Zuo Si, and "Five Hujia Lanes" by Liu Kun (including "Climbing the Ridge", "Wang Qin", "Bamboo Singing Wind", "Sorrow for Truffles", "Sorrow for the Han Moon"). In addition, "Guangling San", "Dongwu Taishan", "Wang Zhaojun", "Baixue", "Yao Chang", "Wei Zi", "Flying Dragon", "Lu Ming", "You Xian", etc. are also popular.
(3) Eastern Jin Dynasty and Southern and Northern Dynasties Period
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Northern and Southern Dynasties period, Qin culture was still developing. The famous qin players of this period include: Xie An, Zong Bing, Xie Zhuang, Xiao Yan, Qiu Ming, Liu Yun, Chen Zhongru, Zhao Yeli, etc. In addition, the works of the great litterateur Tao Qian had a considerable influence on qin studies, such as his "Returning Words" and so on. The famous Qin works of this period mainly include: "Qin Lun" written by Xie Zhuang, "Qin Yao" written by Xiao Yan, "Jieshi Diao. Youlan" music score by Qiu Ming, "Qing Diao Lun" written by Liu Yun " and "Yue Yi", "Qin Fingering" by Chen Zhongru, "Left-hand Fingering Method for Playing the Qin" by Zhao Yeli, etc. Among them, the score of "Jieshi Diao. Orchid" is the oldest written music score in the world so far. In addition, the art of Qin playing in the Eastern Jin Dynasty was also very superb. This can be reflected from the "Picture of Qin" by Gu Kaizhi, a great painter of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. (1) Tang Dynasty Period
In the Tang Dynasty, Qin culture began to enter its heyday. The development of Qin culture in the Tang Dynasty can be manifested in many aspects. The first is the development of the art of playing qin. In addition, during this period, great qin players emerged in large numbers, music scores were further improved, and some representative famous songs were released. There were also many writings on qin studies, and the external influence also developed. In terms of qin playing, famous qin playing masters such as the Lei family, Guo Liang, Zhang Yue, and Shen Luo have emerged. Among them, Lei and Zhang Zhiqin are the most famous. "Tang Xian valued only Lei and Zhang Qin. Lei Qin was heavy and solid, with a warm, powerful and elegant sound; Zhang Qin was firm and clear, with an exciting and moist sound" ("Qin Yuan Yao Lu"). Among the famous qin players, we should recommend the Lei family in Sichuan. There are many famous people in the Lei family. The most famous ones are Lei Shao, Lei Zhen, Lei Xiao, Lei Wei, Lei Wen, Lei Yan, Lei Jue, Lei Hui and Lei Xun. Among them, Lei Wei is the most famous. The famous Tang Qin "Chun Lei", "Jiu Xiao Huan Pei", "The Great Sage's Relics", "Fei Quan", "Yu Linglong", etc. were all made by the Lei family.
Among them, the "Spring Thunder" made by Lei Wei is the most precious guqin handed down from generation to generation.
The famous qin players of this period mainly include: Dong Tinglan, Cao Rou, Xue Yijian, Bai Juyi, Liu Zongyuan, Yan Shigu, Chen Kangshi, Chen Zhuo, etc. During this period, Cao Rou created the Guqin subtracted notation for the first time on the basis of his predecessors, which further improved the Guqin music score. This type of reduced character notation is still used today. The famous Qin works of this period mainly include: "Qin Jue" written by Xue Yijian, "Qin Shu Zhengsheng" and "Qin Diao" compiled by Chen Kangshi, "Datang Zhengsheng New Zheng Qin Pu" and "Qin Diao" compiled by Chen Zhuo "Qin Book" and "Qin Methods and Numbers" and so on. During this period, some ancient songs were revised and improved, such as "High Mountains and Flowing Waters" written by Boya. By the Tang Dynasty, it had been divided into two qin pieces, "High Mountains" and "Flowing Waters". Some distinctive Tang songs also came out, among which the more representative ones are "Yangguan Sandie" (then named "Weicheng Song") and so on. During this period, the guqin was constantly integrated and borrowed from other music, resulting in the emergence of some qin music transplanted from other types of music. For example, Yan Shigu transplanted the flute music "Three Plum Blossom Variations" into the guqin music "Three Plum Blossom Variations". In addition, the popular Qin music at that time mainly included: "Da Hu Jia", "Xiao Hu Jia", "Feng Yun You", "Wye Cry", "White Snow", "Autumn Thoughts", "Guang Ling San", "South Wind", " Wen Wangcao" and so on. During this period, harp culture spread widely to other countries, especially Japan, where harp culture received great attention and had a certain impact on local culture.
(2) The Two Song Dynasties
The Two Song Dynasties is another important period of Qin culture. Qin culture has been greatly developed in all aspects. During the Song Dynasty, the imperial court attached great importance to Qin culture. Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, once set up the Wanqin Hall to collect famous pianos from all over the world, and Zhao Ji himself was also a very good piano player. In terms of the art of qin-playing, the government “set up official bureaus to make qin-making, and all the qin-playing instruments have fixed styles and are of the same length and size, so they are called official qin-playing instruments. However, anything inferior to the style is all wild-made qin playing” (Ge Gu Yao Lun). The main famous qin players at that time included: Cai Rui, Seng Zhiren, Wei Zhongzheng, Zhu Renji, Ma Xiliang, Ma Xiren, etc. in the Northern Song Dynasty; Jin Yuan, Jin Gongdao, Chen Hengdao, Gao Zongchao, etc. in the Southern Song Dynasty. The shape of the Song Qin also changed from the round arch characteristics of the Tang Qin and became flatter, forming the style of "Tang Yuan and Song Qin". In addition, Song Qin also made certain reforms in the materials used.
There were many famous qin players in the Song Dynasty, the main ones are: Zhu Wenji, Tang Yi, Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Seng Yizhong, Seng Zhibai, Seng Yihai, Zhu Changwen, Zhao Ji, Jiang Kui, Guo Chuwang, Xu Tianmin, Mao Minzhong, etc. The famous Qin works in the Song Dynasty mainly include: "Miscellaneous Books on Qin Shi" written by Su Shi, "History of Qin" written by Zhu Changwen, etc. Among the famous Qin music that appeared during this period, the most influential ones include "Xiaoxiang Shuiyun" by Guo Chuwang; "Woodcutter Song" and "Fishermen's Song" by Mao Minzhong, etc. In addition, the popular Qin music at that time mainly included: "Lu Shuang Cao", "Drunkard Old Man's Yin", "Gu Qin Yin", "Guang Ling San", "Eighteen Beats of Hu Jia", "Ancient Resentment", "Pan Cang Lang", "Mountain Steps", "Autumn Rain", "Mountain Dwelling", etc.