Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Guzheng
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{Short description|Chinese musical instrument}} {{use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Distinguish|Sheng (instrument)|Guqin}} {{Infobox Chinese | title = '''Guzheng''' | pic = Guzheng 2020 by Glenn Francis.jpg | piccap = Guzheng display at "The [[NAMM Show]]" 2020 | picsize = 260px | l = Ancient Zheng | s = 古筝 | t = 古箏 | p = Gǔzhēng | w = ku<sup>3</sup>-cheng<sup>1</sup> | mi = {{IPAc-cmn|g|u|3|zh|eng|1}} | y = Gú-jāang | 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 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 seven strings played without moveable bridges.<ref>{{Cite thesis |title=Guqin and Guzheng: the historical and contemporary development of two Chinese musical instruments |url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4894/ |publisher=Durham University |date=1996 |degree=Masters |first=Harriet Rosemary Ann |last=Gaywood}}</ref> The guzheng has undergone many changes during its long history. The oldest specimen yet discovered held 13 strings and was dated to possibly the [[Warring States period]] (475–221 BCE).<ref name="Smithsonian">{{cite book |last1=So |first1=Jenny |title=Music in the Age of Confucious |date=2000 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |location=Washington D.C. |isbn=0-295-97953-4 |pages=152|url=https://archive.org/details/musicinageofconf00soje}}</ref> The guzheng became prominent during the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE). By the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), the guzheng was perhaps the most commonly played instrument in China.<ref name=sound/> The guzheng is played throughout all of China with a variety of different techniques, depending on the region of China and the time period. It has a light timbre, broad range, rich performance skills, and strong expressive power, and it has been deeply loved by many Chinese people throughout history.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Zithers of East Asia: Extension of Silk Strings and Diversity of Sounds (Video Review)|journal=Yearbook for Traditional Music|volume=40|pages=207–208, 221|jstor=20465106}}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)