199 Old Stories on the Seven Strings, Human Affairs Beyond the Strings: Discussing the Guqin with Cao Xiaojiao and Donglai
In this episode, Teacher Sha invites Donglai and her guqin performance teacher, Ms. Cao Xiaojiao, to discuss the guqin’s present and past. The program begins with the form of the instrument and the materials of the strings, moves on to what jianzi notation is and how it records fingering techniques, and explores how the rhythms not marked in the notation are understood through breathing and duet playing between teacher and student. Following the stories of lineage and mentorship, we will also discuss the changing circumstances of modern guqin players, the gathering and dispersal of various guqin societies, and the methods of transmitting guqin knowledge both inside and outside academic institutions. How did the guqin once provide solace for the minds of literati? When it becomes a profession, a career, or a vocation, how should the parts connected to daily life be sustained? The two guests also share their different experiences of listening to and playing the guqin, as well as those moments of focus where they occasionally forget themselves and lose track of time.
Original Chinese title & description
199 七弦有旧事，弦外是人间：与曹小姣、东来聊古琴
本期节目，沙老师邀请东来与她的古琴演老师曹小姣女士聊聊古琴的今时与往昔。节目中，会从琴的形制、琴弦的材质聊起，谈到什么是减字谱如何记录指法，以及谱上没有标出的节奏，又是怎样通过呼吸和师生对弹来体会的。顺着师承往事，我们还会谈到近代琴人的处境变迁、各方琴社的聚合离散，以及学院内外的传琴方式。 古琴曾怎样安放文人的心思？当它成为一门专业、一种职业又或是一份志业，那些与日常生活相连的部分又该如何延续？两位嘉宾还分享了她们听琴与弹琴的不同体验，以及偶尔忘记自己、忘记时间的专注时刻。
Participation credit “本期参与者”：沙青青（微信公众号 13号埋立地、小红书 Sha-13号埋立地）。
Original episode page ↗