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{{Short description|Chinese musical instrument}}
{{use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Distinguish|Sheng (instrument)|Guqin}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| title = '''Guzheng'''
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| tl = Kóo-tsing
}}
{{Leadcite comment}}
The '''zheng''' ({{zh|c=|p=zhēng|w=cheng}}) or '''guzheng''' ({{zh|c=古筝|p=gǔzhēng|l=ancient zheng}}), is a Chinese [[List of Chinese musical instruments#Plucked|plucked]] [[zither]]. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25, or 26 strings, is {{convert|64|in|m ftin}} long, and is tuned in a [[Major scale|major]] [[pentatonic scale]]. It has a large, resonant soundboard made from ''[[Paulownia]]'' wood. Other components are often made from other woods for structural or decorative reasons. Guzheng players often wear a [[fingerpick]] made from materials such as plastic, resin, [[tortoiseshell]], or [[ivory]] on one or both hands.▼
It can have nylon steel strings, steel strings, silk strings, etc., depending on the genre. The most common guzheng has 21 strings. The high-pitched strings of the guzheng are close to the player, and the low-pitched strings are on the opposite side. The strings' order from the inside to the outside is 1 to 21.
▲The '''zheng''' ({{zh|c=|p=zhēng|w=cheng}}) or '''guzheng''' ({{zh|c=古筝|p=gǔzhēng|l=ancient zheng}}), is a Chinese [[List of Chinese musical instruments#Plucked|plucked]] [[zither]]. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25 or 26 strings, is {{convert|64|in|m}} long, and is tuned in a [[Major scale|major]] [[pentatonic scale]]. It has a large, resonant soundboard made from ''[[Paulownia]]'' wood
The guzheng is ancestral to several other Asian zithers such as the Japanese [[Koto (musical instrument)|koto]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Deal|first=William E.|title=Handbook to life in medieval and early modern Japan|year=2006|publisher=Infobase Publishing|location=New York|isbn=0-8160-5622-6|pages=266–267|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OKr3XPabVQIC}}</ref><ref name=chime/><ref name=howard/> the Korean [[gayageum]] and [[ajaeng]],<ref name=chime/><ref name=howard>{{cite book|last=Howard|first=Keith|title=Korean musical instruments|year=1995|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-586177-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/koreanmusicalins00howa/page/38 38]|quote=The kayagum, the most popular South Korean instrument, is a 12-string half-tube plucked zither (H/S 312.22.5) (Plate 7). It resembles the Chinese zheng, Mongolian yatga, Japanese koto, and Vietnamese dan tranh. All these instruments descend from a common model, the ancient zheng.|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/koreanmusicalins00howa/page/38}}</ref> Mongolian [[yatga]],<ref name=howard/> the Vietnamese [[đàn tranh]],<ref name=chime>{{cite journal|title=Hugo's window on the world of Chinese zheng|journal=Chime|year=2005|volume=16–17|pages=242|publisher=European Foundation for Chinese Music Research|location=Leiden|quote=Throughout the centuries, the zheng became the parent instrument of the Asian zither family as it spread from China to a number of adjacent countries giving birth to the Japanese koto, the Korean kayagum and the Vietnamese dan tranh.}}</ref><ref name=howard/> the [[Sundanese people|Sundanese]] [[kacapi]],{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} and the [[Kazakhstan]] [[jetigen]].{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} The guzheng should not be confused with the [[guqin]], a Chinese zither with
The guzheng has
==
{{stack|[[File:XieZiqiao guzheng.gif|thumb|alt=Animated chart of the development of the guzheng|The number of strings on the Guzheng has gradually increased over its 2,000 year history.]]}}
[[File:Mawangdui Figures of Musicians (10112575404).jpg|thumb|Ensemble of musician figurines, with three ''Zheng'' players; 2nd century BCE, from [[Mawangdui]] tomb]]
Strings were once made of [[silk]]. During the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) the strings transitioned to
▲There are varied accounts for how the guzheng came to be. An early guzheng-like instrument is said to have been invented by [[Meng Tian]],<ref name=sound>{{cite web|url=http://www.newzealandpostgraduate.com/inspiration/stories/the-sound-of-history/|title=The Sound of History|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118041548/http://www.newzealandpostgraduate.com/inspiration/stories/the-sound-of-history|archive-date=2012-11-18}}</ref> a general of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC), largely influenced by the [[se (instrument)|se]].<ref name=Sharron>{{cite book|title=A Cultural History of the Chinese Language|author=Sharron Gu|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2011|isbn=978-0-7864-6649-8|page=14}}</ref> Some believe the guzheng was originally developed as a bamboo-[[tube zither]] as recorded in the ''[[Shuowen Jiezi]]'', which was later redesigned to be more like the [[se (instrument)|se]] and made from larger curved wooden boards and movable bridges.<ref>{{cite book | last=Kaufmann | first=Walter | author-link=Walter Kaufmann (composer) | title=Musical References in the Chinese Classics. Detroit Monographs in Musicology. | publisher=Harmonie Park Press | date=1976 | page=101 | quote=According to the Shuo Wen the cheng was a bamboo-tube zither. […] The bamboo tube eventually was replaced by a larger curved wooden board and while in one or two zither types fixed or movable bridges were used, the noble ch'in remained an unfretted instrument. Despite the fact that the cheng is not mentioned in the Classics, it is mentioned here because of its old age. The movable bridges which allowed variable tunings linked the cheng securely with popular music. It still exists side by side with the distinguished ch'in and se. Since the fourth or third centuries B.C. there existed another form of the se, a zither with five (to thirteen) strings, called chu (M 1375). The instrument is not mentioned in the Classics.}}</ref> A third legend says the guzheng came about when two people fought over a 25-string se. They broke it in half, one person receiving a 12-string part and another the 13-string part.<ref name="vanGulik">{{cite journal |last1=van Gulik |first1=R.H. |title=Brief Note on the Cheng, the Chinese Small Cither |journal=Toyo Ongaku Kenkyu : The Journal of the Society for the Research of Asiatic Music |volume=1951 |date=1951 |issue=9 |pages=10–25|doi=10.11446/toyoongakukenkyu1936.1951.en10 }}</ref>
The guzheng is often decorated. Artists create unique cultural and artistic content on the instrument. Decorations include carved art, carved [[lacquer]], straw, [[Nacre|mother-of-pearl]] inlays, [[painting]], [[poetry]], [[calligraphy]], [[Seashell|shell]] carving ([[jade]]), and [[cloisonné]].{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}▼
▲Strings were once made of [[silk]]. During the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) the strings transitioned to bare wire such as brass.<ref name="vanGulik" /> Modern strings are almost always [[steel]] coated in nylon. First introduced in the 1970s these multi-material strings increased the instrument's volume while maintaining an acceptable [[timbre]].
Guzheng music has similarity with folk songs, it is developed on the basis of people's life. Through the performance of performers, it reflects the production and life of people at that time.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Shuling |last2=Zhong |first2=Yong |last3=Du |first3=Ruxu |date=2022-09-22 |title=Automatic composition of Guzheng (Chinese Zither) music using long short-term memory network (LSTM) and reinforcement learning (RL) |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=15829 |doi=10.1038/s41598-022-19786-1 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=9500105 |pmid=36138058}}</ref>
▲The guzheng is often decorated. Artists create unique cultural and artistic content on the instrument. Decorations include carved art, carved [[lacquer]], straw, [[Nacre|mother-of-pearl]] inlays, painting, poetry, calligraphy, [[Seashell|shell]] carving ([[jade]]) and [[cloisonné]].
=={{anchor|Schools and Styles}}Styles and techniques==
The guzheng is plucked by the fingers with or without [[Plectrum|plectra]].<ref name="vanGulik" /> Interestingly, among the 21 strings of Guzheng,
Traditional playing styles use the right hand to pluck notes and the left hand to add ornamentation such as pitch [[slide (musical ornament)|slides]] and [[vibrato]] by pressing the strings to the left of the movable bridges. Modern styles use both hands to play on the right side of the strings. There are many techniques used to strike notes. One iconic sound is a [[tremolo]] produced by the right thumb rotating rapidly around the same note. Other guzheng techniques include [[harmonics]] (''Fanyin'') where one plucks a string while tapping it at the same time, producing a note in a higher [[octave]].<ref name=":02" />
Techniques can also vary in [[Northern China|Northern]] and [[Southern China]], producing different sounds and styles.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}<ref>van Gulik, R.H. (1951). "Brief Note on the Cheng, the Chinese Small Cither". ''Toyo Ongaku Kenkyu : The Journal of the Society for the Research of Asiatic Music''. '''1951''' (9): 10–25. doi:10.11446/toyoongakukenkyu1936.1951.en10.</ref>
=== Northern China ===
Northern styles include songs from the [[Shandong]] and [[Henan]] regional schools.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}
Songs from Shandong include "High Mountain and Flowing Water [Shandong Version]" (''Gao Shan Liu Shui'') and "Autumn Moon Over the Han Palace" (''Han Gong Qiu Yue''). Songs from Henan include "High Mountain and Flowing Water [Henan Version]" and "Going Upstairs" (''Shang Lou'').<ref name=":02" />
According to [[Samuel Wong]], songs from Henan are fiery.<ref name=":02" /> Left hand slides and vibrato are used frequently and tremolo is done with the thumb.<ref name=":
=== Southern China ===
Southern styles include [[Chaozhou]] and [[Kejia|Kejia (Hakka)]] regional styles. Another prominent school is the [[Zhejiang]] regional school in the southeast.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}
Southern songs include ''"''Jackdaw Plays with Water" (''Han Ya Xi Shui)'' from Chaozhou and "Lotus Emerging from Water" (''Chu Shui Lian'') from the Hakka School. Famous songs from Zhejiang include "The General's Command" (''Jiang Jun Ling'').<ref name=":02" />
[[Chaozhou]] and [[Hakka]] songs are similar but according to [[Han Mei|Mei Han]], “Hakka melodies are similar to but less highly embellished than those of the neighboring Chaozhou school.”<ref name=":
The guzheng is played on a [[pentatonic scale]], with notes "[[Fa (musical note)|fa]]" and "[[Ti (musical note)|ti]]" being produced by bending the strings. The [[Scale (music)|scale]] can change with using [[Semitone|"flat", "natural" and "sharp"]] notes. Chaozhou songs use multiple scales, using both "flat" notes or both "natural" notes. The tone of the song can change based on the scale.<ref name=":
=== Modern music ===
{{stack|[[File:Woman playing guzheng in Taipei. 2010.jpg|thumb|Woman playing guzheng in Taipei
Many pieces composed since the 1950s
Experimental, [[atonal]] pieces have been composed since the 1980s. For example, "Ming Mountain" (''Ming Shan'') and "Gloomy Fragrance" (''An Xiang'') are contemporary songs that do not use the traditional pentatonic scale.<ref name=":02"/><ref name=":22"
In 2021, Chinese/Australian guzheng composer and player [[Mindy Meng Wang]] collaborated with Australian [[electronic music]]ian [[Tim Shiel]], releasing a single, "Hidden Qi 隐.气", in February,<ref name=hiddenqi/> followed by an EP, ''Nervous Energy 一 触即发'', in March of that year.<ref>{{cite web | title=Tim Shiel & Mindy Meng Wang's new EP happens to be some of the best Australian electronic music released this year -| website=[[MTV]]|first= Josh| last=Martin | date=25 March 2021 | url=https://www.mtv.com.au/news/miw4sd/tim-shiel-mindy-meng-wang-nervous-energy-ep | access-date=2022-04-24 }}</ref><ref name=hiddenqi>{{cite web | last=Gallagher | first=Alex | title=Mindy Meng Wang and Tim Shiel share new single 'Hidden Qi 隐.气' | website=[[NME]] | date=26 February 2021 | url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/mindy-meng-wang-tim-shiel-share-new-single-hidden-qi-2889555 | access-date=2022-04-24 }}</ref> She has previously collaborated with British band [[Gorillaz]] and Australian band [[Regurgitator]], and intends to stay in Australia and continue to produce modern music.<ref name=ep>{{cite interview| interviewer-first= Zan| interviewer-last= Rowe| interviewer-link= Zan Rowe|first1 = Mindy Meng |last1=Wang |first2= Tim|last2= Shiel| title=Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 and Tim Shiel have released a collaborative EP | website=[[Double J (radio station)|Double J]]| format= Audio + text | date=18 Mar 2021 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/programs/mornings/double-j-mornings-zan-rowe-mindy-meng-wang-interview/13256858 | access-date=2022-04-24 | quote= I have been settled here for about five years. [Mindy Weng Wang]}}</ref>
=={{anchor|Notable people}}Notable people==
Notable 20th-century players and teachers include Wang Xunzhi ({{zh|c=王巽之|labels=no}}, 1899–1972), who popularized the Wulin ''zheng'' school based in [[Hangzhou]], [[Zhejiang]]; Lou Shuhua, who rearranged a traditional ''guzheng'' piece and named it ''Yu Zhou Chang Wan''; [[Liang Tsai-Ping]] (1911–2000), who edited the first ''guzheng'' manual (''Nizheng Pu'') in 1938; Cao Dongfu (1898–1970), from Henan; Gao Zicheng (born 1918) and Zhao Yuzhai (born 1924), both from Shandong; Su Wenxian (1907–1971); Guo Ying (born 1914) and Lin Maogen (born 1929), both from Chaozhou; the Hakka Luo Jiuxiang (1902–1978) and Cao Guifen and Cao Zheng ({{zh|c=曹正|labels=no}}, 1920–1998), both of whom trained in the Henan school. The Cao family of Henan are known as masters of the ''guzheng''.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}
Notable 21st-century Chinese ''guzheng'' players include Xiang Sihua, Wang Zhongshan, Chang Jing, Jing Xia, and Funa.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}} Although most ''guzheng'' music is [[Music of China|Chinese classical music]], the American composer [[Lou Harrison]] (1917–2003) played and composed for the instrument. Contemporary ''guzheng'' works have also been written by non-Chinese composers such as [[Halim El-Dabh]], [[Kevin Austin (composer)|Kevin Austin]], David Vayo, [[Simon Steen-Andersen]], and [[Jon Foreman]].{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}
Zhang Yan (张燕, 1945–1996) played the ''guzheng'', performing and recording with [[Asian American jazz]] bandleader [[Jon Jang]]. Other musicians playing in non-traditional styles include [[Wu Fei]], [[Xu Fengxia]], [[Randy Raine-Reusch]], Mohamed Faizal b. Mohamed Salim, Mei Han, Bei Bei He, [[Zi Lan Liao]], Levi Chen, [[Andreas Vollenweider]], [[Jaron Lanier]], [[Mike Hovancsek]], Chih-Lin Chou, Liu Le
==In popular culture==
{{stack|[[File:YEAR OF THE MONKEY IN DUBLIN (CHINESE POETRY ON THE DART TO CELEBRATE THE NEW CHINESE YEAR)-111441 (24752589386).jpg|thumb|Guzheng in a Chinese New Year celebration (2016) in Dublin, Ireland]]}}
In the television drama series ''[[My Fair Princess]]'', actress [[Ruby Lin]]'s character Xia Ziwei plays the ''guzheng'' (although she mimes to the music). It is featured in the 1980 pop hit, "[[Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime]]", by [[the Korgis]].{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}
{{stack|[[File:Even more Guzhengs (古箏) cropped.jpg|thumb|
In the film ''[[Kung Fu Hustle]]'', the assassins known as The Harpists play a long zither to generate bladed and percussive attacks. The instrument has raised bridges like a guzheng but its body is shaped like a guqin. The sound is that of a
The ''guzheng'' has been used in rock music by Chinese performer [[Wang Yong (musician)|Wang Yong]] of [[Cui Jian]], the English musician [[Jakko Jakszyk]] (on the 2011 Jakszyk, Fripp & Collins album ''[[A Scarcity of Miracles]]''), J.B. Brubaker of [[August Burns Red]] on "Creative Captivity" from the 2013 album ''[[Rescue & Restore]]'', and the [[virtual band]] [[Gorillaz]] on "Hong Kong" (from the 2005 ''[[Help! A Day in the Life]]'' compilation). Jerusalem-based multi-instrumentalist [[Bradley Fish]] used the ''guzheng'' with a rock-influenced style and electronic effects on his 1996 collaboration
In the first book of the [[Remembrance of Earth's Past]] trilogy by [[Liu Cixin]], a military operation which sets up thin strands of nanomaterial across the [[Panama Canal]] in order to slice the incoming ship Judgment Day into slivers as it travels through the canal is codenamed Guzheng, referencing the resemblance of the strands of nanomaterial across the canal to the strings of the instrument.
▲The ''guzheng'' has been used in rock music by Chinese performer [[Wang Yong (musician)|Wang Yong]] of [[Cui Jian]], the English musician [[Jakko Jakszyk]] (on the 2011 Jakszyk, Fripp & Collins album ''[[A Scarcity of Miracles]]''), J.B. Brubaker of [[August Burns Red]] on "Creative Captivity" from the 2013 album ''[[Rescue & Restore]]'', and the [[virtual band]] [[Gorillaz]] on "Hong Kong" (from the 2005 ''[[Help! A Day in the Life]]'' compilation). Jerusalem-based multi-instrumentalist [[Bradley Fish]] used the ''guzheng'' with a rock-influenced style and electronic effects on his 1996 collaboration, "The Aquarium Conspiracy" (with [[Sugarcubes]]/[[Björk]] drummer [[Sigtryggur Baldursson]]), and is the most widely recorded artist of [[Loop (music)|loops]] for the instrument. Mandopop singer-songwriter and music producer [[Lay Zhang]] is known for using traditional Chinese instruments such as the guzheng.
==See also==
*[[Chadagan]]
*[[Đàn tranh]]
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*[[Se (instrument)|Se]]
*[[Yatga]]
==References==
{{Reflist|
==
{{Commons category|Guzheng}}
*[[Han Mei]]. "Zheng." In ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (Oxford, 2001).
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[[Category:Zithers]]
[[Category:Chinese musical instruments]]
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