The Guqin
The guqin (古琴) is a seven-string zither with no bridges, played on a long lacquered board. Quiet, deep and full of sliding tones and bell-like harmonics, it was the instrument of China’s scholars.
弾 Play it yourself
Play the guqin
Play the guqin right here, from recorded notes; the line under the board says exactly which recording you hear. Nothing plays until you touch it.
More from the Chinese scholar’s garden: Guzheng · Erhu · Dizi · Pipa. All seven, Japanese and Chinese, are in East Asian instruments.
The guqin is a Chinese seven-string zither with no bridges. Its three kinds of sound — open strings, light-touch harmonics and stopped notes that slide — make it soft, deep and intimate. It was the first of the scholar’s four arts, and UNESCO recognises guqin music as intangible cultural heritage.
Its voice
Low, soft and close. The guqin is one of the quietest instruments in Chinese music, and it was meant to be. Harmonics ring like small bells; stopped notes slide and fade, and the silence after each phrase is part of the piece.
The guqin, often simply called the qin (琴), is a long, narrow board zither with seven strings — silk in the past, and today often steel wound with nylon. Unlike the guzheng, it has no bridges: the player stops the strings directly on the lacquered wood, guided by thirteen inlaid dots called hui (徽) that mark the harmonic points.
It has three kinds of sound: open strings (散音, sǎn yīn), harmonics touched lightly at a hui (泛音, fàn yīn), and stopped notes (按音, àn yīn) that the left hand can slide between, so a single pluck can keep singing as it moves.
Old, and quiet on purpose
The qin is one of China’s oldest instruments, and tradition places its invention among legendary sage-kings. The archaeology is more modest: a ten-string qin-type instrument was found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, sealed around 433 BCE. The seven-string form had become standard by around the end of the Han dynasty, and the hui markers appear somewhat later; sources differ on exact dates. Several instruments from the Tang dynasty (618–907) still survive.
The qin was the first of the scholar’s four arts — qin, the board game qi, calligraphy and painting (琴棋書畫) — and was played for oneself or a few friends rather than for a crowd. In 2003 UNESCO proclaimed guqin music a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity; it is now on UNESCO’s Representative List.
Finger instructions, not rhythm
Qin music is written in jianzi pu (減字譜, “reduced-character notation”). Each compound sign tells the player which string, which hui, which finger and which technique — but not the exact rhythm.
Rhythm was passed from teacher to student, so bringing an old piece back from the page (打譜, dǎpǔ) is a creative act, and two players’ versions of the same piece can differ.
Good to know
What is the difference between the guqin and the guzheng?
The guqin has seven strings and no bridges, and is played quietly, often alone. The guzheng has around twenty-one strings over movable bridges and a brighter, louder voice. Both are Chinese zithers.
How many strings does a guqin have?
Seven. Earlier qin-type instruments had different numbers, such as the ten-string instrument found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng.
What are the dots on a guqin?
They are the thirteen hui (徽), inlaid markers showing where a light touch produces a harmonic. The seventh hui, in the middle of the string, sounds the octave.
Why is the guqin so quiet?
Its strings are stopped on the bare board rather than over bridges, and its tone is soft by nature. It was traditionally played for oneself or a few listeners, so it never needed to be loud.