The guqin is a Chinese plucked zither with seven strings.
Ways of producing sound#
The UNESCO account distinguishes open-string playing, stopped-string playing and harmonics. It also describes thirteen marked pitch positions on the instrument.
Heritage record#
Guqin and its music entered the Representative List in 2008, following the earlier proclamation in 2003. These recognition dates do not describe the instrument’s origin.
A listening exercise#
Listen to a named piece and notice the contrast between a plucked note, a sustained harmonic and a sliding stopped note. Use the performer’s programme notes to identify what is being demonstrated. Old nomination-era player totals are not treated here as current statistics.