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.