Guqin construction

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The construction of the guqin Chinese zither is a complex process like any other musical instrument. However, there is much symbolism in the choice of materials, the shape or form of the instrument that are important things to consider when creating a qin.

<i>Guqin</i> Chinese stringed music instrument

The guqin is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted by the quote "a gentle man does not part with his qin or se without good reason," as well as being associated with the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius. It is sometimes referred to by the Chinese as "the father of Chinese music" or "the instrument of the sages". The guqin is not to be confused with the guzheng, another Chinese long zither also without frets, but with moveable bridges under each string.

Contents

History

According to tradition, the qin originally had five strings, representing the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Later, in the Zhou dynasty, Zhou Wen Wang (周文王) added a sixth string to mourn his son, Bo Yihou (伯邑考). His successor, Zhou Wu Wang, added a seventh string to motivate his troops into battle with the Shang. The thirteen hui 『徽』 on the surface represent the 13 months of the year (the extra 13th is the 'leap month' in the lunar calendar). This is a traditional explanation, however the positions of the hui represent just intoned harmonic positions derived from the natural overtone series and form the basic system of universal consonance related to the fundamental tone. [1] The surface board is round to represent Heaven and the bottom board flat to represent earth. The entire length of the qin (in Chinese measurements) is 3 chi, 6 cun and 5 fen (approx. 136 cm)「三 尺 六 寸 五 分」; representing the 365 days of the year (though this is just a standard since qins can be shorter or longer depending on the period's measurement standard or the maker's preference). Each part of the qin has meaning, some more obvious, like "dragon pool" 『龍 池/龙池』 and "phoenix pond" 『鳳 沼/凤沼』.

King Wu of Zhou was the first king of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BC and ended three years later in 1043 BC.

Lunar calendar type of calendar

A lunar calendar is a calendar based upon the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases, in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly upon the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, the Gregorian calendar, is a solar calendar system that originally evolved out of a lunar calendar system. A purely lunar calendar is also distinguished from a lunisolar calendar, whose lunar months are brought into alignment with the solar year through some process of intercalation. The details of when months begin varies from calendar to calendar, with some using new, full, or crescent moons and others employing detailed calculations.

Just intonation

In music, just intonation or pure intonation is the tuning of musical intervals as (small) whole number ratios of frequencies. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval. Just intervals and chords are aggregates of harmonic series partials and may be seen as sharing a (lower) implied fundamental. For example, a tone with a frequency of 300 Hz and another with a frequency of 200 Hz are both multiples of 100 Hz. Their interval is, therefore, an aggregate of the second and third partials of the harmonic series of an implied fundamental frequency 100 Hz.

Names of (from left to right) the front, inside and back parts of the qin Qin part names.png
Names of (from left to right) the front, inside and back parts of the qin
The qin Hewu Longxiang <<He Wu Long Xiang >> in the Lianzhu form Lian Zhu Shi.jpg
The qin Hewu Longxiang 《鶴舞龍翔》 in the Lianzhu form

Materials

The sound chamber of the qin is constructed with two boards of wood, typically of differing wood types. The slightly rounded top board (soundboard) is usually made of tong wood 『桐』, the Chinese parasol tree, or Chinese paulownia. There are many different types of tong wood, the names of which are listed in the Yuguzhai Qinpu: wutong 『梧桐』 ( Firmiana simplex ), baitong 『白桐』, qingtong 『青桐』 (Japanese paulownia), paotong 『泡桐』 ( Paulownia tomentosa ), yitong 『椅桐』 and nantong 『南桐』; the best is wutong, but paotong is now widely used. The bottom board is made of zi mu 『梓木』 catalpa ( Catalpa ovata ) or, more recently, nan mu 『楠木』 camphor wood (Machilus nanmu ) . The wood must be well seasoned, that is, the sap and moisture must be removed (of the top board wood). If sap remains then it will deaden the sound and, as the moisture evaporates, the wood will warp and crack. Some makers use old or ancient wood to construct qins because most of the sap and moisture has been removed naturally by time (old shan mu 『杉木』, "Chinese fir", Chinese Cunninghamia or Japanese Cryptomeria, is often used for creating modern qins). Some go to lengths to obtain extremely ancient wood, such as that from Han dynasty tomb structures or coffins. Although such wood is very dry, it is not necessarily the best since it may be infected with wood worm or be of inferior quality or type. Many modern qins made out of new tong wood (such as those made by Zeng Chengwei) can surpass the quality of antique qins. Unfortunately, the supply of good wood to make qins has dwindled in recent years, causing a rush to make more qins. Paulownia takes many years to grow and requires a curing period of at least 20 years for the sap and moisture to be properly removed. As for old wood from old houses, there are not much old houses left after modernization of the cities and towns.

Sounding board canopy over pulpit

A sounding board, also known as a tester and abat-voix is a structure placed above and sometimes also behind a pulpit or other speaking platforms which helps to project the sound of the speaker. It is usually made of wood. The structure may be specially shaped to assist the projection, for example, being formed as a parabolic reflector. In the typical setting of a church building, the sounding board may be ornately carved or constructed. The term abat-voix, from the French word for the same thing, is also used in English.

<i>Paulownia</i> genus of plants

Paulownia is a genus of six to 17 species of flowering plants in the family Paulowniaceae, related to and sometimes included in the Scrophulariaceae. They are present in much of China, south to northern Laos and Vietnam and are long cultivated elsewhere in eastern Asia, notably in Japan and Korea. They are deciduous trees 12–15 m (39–49 ft) tall, with large, heart-shaped leaves 15–40 cm across, arranged in opposite pairs on the stem. The flowers are produced in early spring on panicles 10–30 cm long, with a tubular purple corolla resembling a foxglove flower. The fruit is a dry capsule, containing thousands of minute seeds.

<i>Firmiana simplex</i> species of plant

Firmiana simplex, commonly known as the Chinese parasol tree, Chinese parasoltree, or wutong, is an ornamental plant of tree size that has recently been assigned to the family Malvaceae and was formerly the family Sterculiaceae in the order Malvales, and is native to Asia. It grows up to 16 m (52 ft) tall.

The names of the woods used are not exact but ambiguous and one name could be used to name a variety of different woods, or a wood may have several different names.

Jiu Xiao Huan Pei <<Jiu Xiao Huan Pei >> : The famous Tang Dynasty qin in the Fuxi form by Lei Wei Jiu Xiao Huan Pei.jpg
Jiu Xiao Huan Pei 《九霄環佩》: The famous Tang Dynasty qin in the Fuxi form by Lei Wei

Lacquer

There are two sound holes in the bottom board, as the playing techniques of the qin employ the entire surface of the top board which is curved / humped. The inside of the top board is hollowed out to a degree (if the board is too thick, then the sound will be dull and deadened; if the board is too thin, the sound will be too bright and loud). Inside the qin, there are 'nayin' 『納音』 sound absorbers to reinforce the sound, and a 'tian chu' 『天 柱』 and 'di chu' 『地柱』 soundposts that connect the bottom board to the top (which act as sound reinforcers but also anti-warping devices). The boards are joined using a "hinge joint" method to produce the typically mellow sounds of the qin. Lacquer 『漆』 from the Chinese lacquer tree ( Rhus verniciflua ) is then applied to the surfaces of the qin, mixed with various types of matrix, the most common being "lujiao shuang" 『鹿 角 霜』, the remains of deer antler after the glue has been extracted. Often, ceramic powder is used instead of deer antler powder, but the quality is not as good. After the lacquer has dried (a qin will need several layers), the surface will be polished using oil stones. At the head end of the instrument is the "yue shan" 『岳 山』 or bridge, and at the other end is the "long yin" 『龍齦/龙龈』 (dragon's gums) or nut. There are 13 circular mother-of-pearl inlays which mark the harmonic positions, as well as a reference point to note position, called hui 『徽』 ("insignia"). They are roughly the same size, but the 7th hui in the middle is usually slightly bigger. If the hui are too big, then it is considered vulgar or ugly. The book Yugu Zhai Qinpu is perhaps the most famous book that describes in detail the construction method of the qin.

A sound hole is an opening in the body of a stringed musical instrument, usually the upper sound board. Sound holes have different shapes:

Lacquer liquid, powder coating material which is applied thinly to objects

The term lacquer is used for a number of hard and potentially shiny finishes applied to materials such as wood. These fall into a number of very different groups.

Deer A family of mammals belonging to even-toed ungulates

Deer are the hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the fallow deer, and the chital; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer (caribou), the roe deer, and the moose. Female reindeer, and male deer of all species except the Chinese water deer, grow and shed new antlers each year. In this they differ from permanently horned antelope, which are part of a different family (Bovidae) within the same order of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla).

The distinctive form of the Luoxia style, noticeably difficult to create LuoXiaShi.jpg
The distinctive form of the Luoxia style, noticeably difficult to create

Storage

Generally, the qin should be stored in an appropriate climate. That is, a constant environment. Sudden changes may cause it to warp or split at the joint. Generally, the appropriate climate to keep a qin in depends on where it is manufactured (mostly, in China, which is humid). The air temperature is best at around 20-24°C, with a humidity of around 50-70%. If the temperature is too high, then the glue may melt or soften, causing the joints to split (in the worst case, the edge of the qin cracks open). If the humidity drops too low, typically below 25-30%, then the wood may warp and/or crack, either internally or externally, and maybe the joints could split. Some players, particularly in dry countries or in countries that have a very dry summer, obtain a humidifier to protect the qin from damage by correcting the humidity level of the room in which the qin is stored.

Temperature physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold

Temperature is a physical quantity expressing hot and cold. It is measured with a thermometer calibrated in one or more temperature scales. The most commonly used scales are the Celsius scale, Fahrenheit scale, and Kelvin scale. The kelvin is the unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), in which temperature is one of the seven fundamental base quantities. The Kelvin scale is widely used in science and technology.

Humidity amount of water vapor in the humid air

Humidity is the amount of water vapour present in air. Water vapour, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. The amount of water vapour needed to achieve saturation increases as the temperature increases. As the temperature of a parcel of air decreases it will eventually reach the saturation point without adding or losing water mass. The amount of water vapour contained within a parcel of air can vary significantly. For example, a parcel of air near saturation may contain 28 grams of water per cubic metre of air at 30 °C, but only 8 grams of water per cubic metre of air at 8 °C.

Humidifier

A humidifier is a device, primarily an electrical appliance that increases humidity (moisture) in a single room or an entire building. In the home, point-of-use humidifiers are commonly used to humidify a single room, while whole-house or furnace humidifiers, which connect to a home's HVAC system, provide humidity to the entire house. Medical ventilators often include humidifiers for increased patient comfort. Large humidifiers are used in commercial, institutional, or industrial contexts, often as part of a larger HVAC system.

Yuntao Mingquan inscription.jpg

The qin must always be placed vertically and not horizontally (i.e. resting on the goose feet and/or tuning pegs), otherwise the qin would gradually curve, making it unplayable. That is why the preferred way to store a qin is to hang it up on a wall, away from sunlight. The weight of the instrument pulls it straight and stops it from curving (though it might curve or wrap anyway if the climate is not constant or the wood is not sufficiently seasoned or cured).

Sometimes, the player may attempt minor repairs to the instrument (major repairs like structural faults and splitting of the joints, warping of the wood, etc. are best done by professional qin makers). Minor repairs include re-lacquering areas of the surface of the qin that have had the lacquer chipped, re-patching areas of the surface where the lacquer is worn causing "running-cloud markings", repairing cracks in lacquer, etc. Because these are relatively minor and can often happen due to ageing and constant use, it is more easier to do repairs by oneself than call a qin maker to do it, especially if there isn't a qin maker available to do the work. Small quantities of lacquer and deer horn powder (known as 『角粉（つのこ）』 "tsunoko" in Japanese) are available to purchase online by the player to carry out simple repairs.

Forms

Examples of duanwen. Top to bottom: Flowing-water markings with running-cloud markings {Liu Shui Xing Yun Wen } , snake-skin cracks {She Fu Duan } , ice-crack markings {Bing Lie Wen } Duanwen.jpg
Examples of duanwen. Top to bottom: Flowing-water markings with running-cloud markings 『流水行雲紋』, snake-skin cracks 『蛇腹斷』, ice-crack markings 『冰裂紋』

Qin forms are shapes or styles which a qin can be made in. In the Wuzhi Zhai Qinpu there is a large number of qin forms listed with their origins. The most popular form is the Zhongni 「仲尼式」 form, which is named after Confucius' style-name. It is the most simple yet elegant. Other popular forms include the Fuxi 「伏羲式」 form which was popularlised by the famous Tang qin Jiuxiao Huanpei, which is difficult to create to an elegant standard. There is the Lianzhu 「連珠式/连珠式」 form and the distinctively attractive forms of Luoxia 「落霞式」 ("falling mist"), Cijun 「此君式」 ("this gentleman") or "bamboo" and Jiaoye 「蕉葉式/蕉叶式」 ("banana leaf") forms. Although there is a dizzying array of forms a maker can use (which includes some rather bizarre ones), generally, makers stick to more usual and popular forms. This is because not only are they easier to make, but because changing the outer shape can alter the shape and volume of the soundbox considerably, and the more chunks and indentations on the outer shape, the smaller the soundbox becomes.

There is also a special construction process called baina 『百 衲』 (literally "hundred patches") which uses around a hundred or so small pieces of wood, in square or diamond shapes, fitted and stuck together, then carved into a qin. This method is used by only a few makers. One of the properties claimed by making a qin in such a way is that the sound can emit more easily out of the instrument. Unfortunately, the glue holding the pieces could melt in a bad climate condition and may go through a lot of repair work due to the nature of the structure before it stabilizes.

Duanwen

On the surface of the qin there may be cracks or patternations called duanwen 〔斷 紋/断纹〕. These cracks appear after a long period of time due to ageing. The wood's water content slowly evaporates, so the wood retracts; the lacquer, however, does not, so it cracks. It should be distinguished from cracking or warping from the wood, which creates structural cracks. Duanwen are highly prized by the qin connoisseur because they not only prove the qin's antiquity (to a certain degree of error), but are also pleasant to look at. There are many names for different cracks, such as "snake-skin cracks" 『蛇腹斷』, "ice-crack markings" 『冰裂紋』, "cow-hair cracks" 『牛毛斷』, "flowing-water markings" 『流水紋』, "running-cloud markings" 『行雲紋』, "tortoise-back markings" 『龜背紋/龟背纹』, "plum-blossom cracks" 『梅花斷』, etc. Modern qin makers can artificially create cracks by first heating the lacquered qin for a few hours until it is hot, then immersing it in a bath of ice cubes, thus the wood retracts quickly causing cracks on the surface of the qin (this is not a new method). Of course, this method does not create the best of cracks. Although a qin may have duanwen, one can still play it, providing the duanwen is not flaking off or lifting off the surface. Otherwise, it would have to be re-lacquered, partially if the flaking is not too severe, entirely if it is literally unplayable. Qin makers tend to avoid removing the old lacquer when re-lacquering and maintain as much of the duanwen as possible since real duanwen cannot be created overnight but through centuries of natural ageing. Some makers when re-lacquering would use a different hue or colour of lacquer so that the lacquer underneath can contrast with the new, and thus be seen more clearly. The colour of the lacquer used can range from extreme black to brown to purple to red (in the rarest cases). Colour is achieved by using minerals or chemicals added to the processed lacquer. The most beautiful duanwen are, understandably, from old antique qins.

Another property of duanwen is that the lacquer does not stick to the wood so tightly, therefore, the sound is not restricted as in a newly lacquered qin.

The back of the Hewu Longxiang qin with its name inscription Hewu Longxiang.jpg
The back of the Hewu Longxiang qin with its name inscription

Inscriptions and seals

Other than the form and the duanwen of the qin, the qin player may marvel at the inscriptions at the back of the qin. These will be names, poems, dates of manufacture, seals and other artistic inscriptions. Of course, some qins have 'no name' on them, or are plain. Some think that there is no need to adorn the qin with written words, the sound should speak for itself. Most would just write the name and date inside the qin. However, carving inscriptions into the back of the qin is an art form in itself. It is a point of admiration to the qin, and collectors may add their own inscriptions on the qin, much like they would do to a piece of Chinese painting that they praise highly. Inscriptions can be used to date the qin as well, since most makers brush in their names and years of manufacture, mostly inside the soundhole, on the sound absorber or next to it. A calligrapher may be called in to compose a piece and that will be copied onto the qin.

The name given to the qin may reflect its sound quality, or reflect an ideal or philosophical musing. It may be the name of a piece of qin music or a mode or tuning. The seal/s are often the maker's seals, often large and square, but the owner may add their own.

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Zeng Chengwei Chinese musician

Zeng Chengwei (曾成偉) is a Chinese musician of the guqin, born in the Sichuan province of China. He is a fifth-generation transmitter of the Shu school of qin music, having studied with his maternal grandfather, Yu Shaoze. Zeng is also a well-known maker of the instrument.

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Guqin tunings

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Guqin aesthetics

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Shu school

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References

Please see: References section in the guqin article for a full list of references used in all qin related articles.
  1. ↑ The harmonic scale of Guqin described in the essay 3rd Bridge Helix by Yuri Landman on furious.com

Footnotes

  1. ^ The scientific names can be misleading as the Chinese use different names for the same wood, or use one name for different woods.
  2. ^ Chu, Fengjie. Yugu Zhai Qinpu 【與古齋琴譜】. Volume 2 Chapter 2.
  3. ^ Zhou, Zi'an. Wuzhi Zhai Qinpu 【五知齋琴譜】. Volume 1, folio 2, leaves 1-14.
  4. ^ Chu, Fengjie. Yugu Zhai Qinpu 【與古齋琴譜】. Volume 3 Chapter 7.
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