HONG KONG, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Choi Chang-sau still vividly remembers the first encounter with his master.

Over 70 years ago, his father, who ran a musical instrument shop, had entrusted him with the task of returning a repaired guqin, a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument, to its owner. The recipient of the instrument was a gentleman named Xu Wenjing, who had settled in Hong Kong seeking treatment for an eye ailment.

Little did Choi know that this encounter would ignite a lifelong love affair with the guqin, an instrument that has resonated through Chinese history for over three millennia.

Xu was a virtuoso in guqin performance, interpretation of ancient scores, and the art of crafting the instrument itself. Choi found himself irresistibly drawn to the allure of this ancient art form. In a daring display of youthful rebellion, he would occasionally skip school to seek the wisdom of his newfound mentor. Through a stroke of fate and the recommendation of a renowned guqin artist, Choi was eventually accepted as Xu's apprentice, embarking on a transformative journey that would shape his destiny.

As Xu's eyesight gradually faded, his hands became the vessel through which the ancient secrets of the guqin were transmitted. Choi learned to decipher the intricate nuances of the guqin's curved surface with his fingertips alone. He honed his ability to discern the subtle characteristics of the wood, its thickness, imperfections, and tonal qualities, simply by listening.

The guqin stands as one of the earliest plucked instruments in China. Among the four arts revered by ancient Chinese scholars -- namely, qin (the guqin), qi (the game of go), shu (calligraphy), and hua (painting) -- the guqin holds an esteemed position of being the first.

Within the realm of guqin artistry, Xu was from the Zhe School (named after Zhejiang region). This distinguished lineage emerged during the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279 AD), and Xu has inherited its rich tradition. Choi, as the torchbearer of this venerable tradition, assumed the weighty responsibility of preserving its cultural essence for future generations.

From selecting the finest wood to shaping the instrument, carving the soundboard, hollowing the resonance chamber, polishing, lacquering, and stringing, the entire process of crafting a guqin is undertaken by the maker alone. This is a distinctive feature of Choi's craftsmanship.

The completion of a single guqin requires an average of 200 hours of meticulous work. To graduate from Choi's apprenticeship, one must complete the construction of three instruments. The "graduation certificate" takes the form of a brown apron emblazoned with the words "Choi Chang-sau Qin Making Society."

The qin making society serves as Choi's institution for teaching and research in the guqin. Located on the fifth floor of a building in Shek Kip Mei of Hong Kong's western Kowloon, it consists of a reception room and two working spaces. The tools and wood materials in the workshops are mostly provided by Choi himself.

Many of the woods used here have a history spanning over a century. They come from a wide range of sources, such as beams, pillars, doors, or old wooden furniture salvaged from demolished houses, or even fenders from the docks, or old wooden bridge planks purchased from San Francisco in the United States.

Since wood is the most crucial factor in shaping the instrument, finding quality wood is one of Choi's most important aspects of heritage preservation. Despite already having a substantial supply of century-old timber, whenever he hears of an old building being dismantled, Choi would eagerly become a wood treasure hunter.

Interestingly, while wood is essential to the craft of guqin making, it is not a prerequisite to have woodworking experience to become a student of Choi, and the first requirement is to be able to play the guqin.

Choi believes that those who cannot play the instrument will struggle to discern the quality of the guqin. The key to preserving the ancient methods lies in having a profound understanding of music itself, he said.

The physical structure of the guqin was established during the Wei and Jin dynasties, around 1,800 years ago. Even today, the surviving Tang dynasty melodies can be faithfully reproduced, with the musical notations transcending the passage of millennia as if they were naturally created.

From the 1960s until now, Choi has crafted over 250 guqins. At the age of 90, he spends most of his time accompanying his apprentices in the art of qin making. Within the confines of his modest workshop, this millennium-old art form continues to breathe new life. Enditem

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