Blessed by music
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Having a rare musical talent like this can also pay, and even bring unexpected opportunities.
During college, she was invited to perform at art exhibitions and teahouses, receiving 500 to 600 yuan (US$73-88) each time.
In June 2007, she performed in a news conference in Beijing for the Shanghai 12th Special Olympics World Games and was paid 2,000 yuan.
Almost every guqin student works as a tutor. The payment is 120-150 yuan per hour, according to Liu Xiaofan, 21, a guqin junior at CCM.
Both Zhang and Liu are part-time teachers at the Zhao Jiazhen Guqin Center, founded last June by their teacher at CCM, Zhao Jiazhen.
Sometimes, there are also chances to work with famous film stars. In the summer of 2007, Liu stood in for actor Tony Leung (Leung Chiu Wai), who played Zhou Yu in the film Red Cliff (Chibi), a film about the battle in Hubei Province during the Three Kingdoms period (220- 280).
In one scene from the film, Zhou Yu played the guqin with Zhuge Liang. Liu performed the finger strokes, while his teacher Zhao produced the sound.
The film's director John Woo (Ng Yu-Sum) asked Liu to teach Leung guqin in his spare time.
"It's a happy memory. Leung was very keen to learn," Liu said. He received 10,000 yuan for his effort.
A passion to play
For Zhang, playing adjusts her moods, especially when she is tired or anxious.
"Playing guqin is like talking with a close friend. My distracting thoughts fade and any bad mood will disappear gradually," she said. If she ever neglects her "friend", she feels guilty.
Last winter after an evening performance, Zhang left her guqin in the trunk of her car overnight.
"Next day when I took it out, I found it was as cold as ice. Suddenly I felt heartbroken," she said.
She says she is surprised by her students' love of playing guqin.
Many have downloaded the music of the instrument as their mobile phone ringtone, and keep pictures of themselves playing it.
"To them, guqin is a holy thing to worship," Zhang said. "Their passion to guqin gives me confidence to be a full-time guqin teacher in the future. "
Such passion could spread. Across the country, the number of guqin players is rapidly increasing. In the 1970s, there were no more than 200. Now, the number is near to 500,000, according to Zhao.
"Some graduates run their own guqin training centers, and some work as teachers in musical schools and players in bands," Zhao said.
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