Renewal of Confucian instrument qin offers hope for better Chinese values
- By Wang Yong
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, September 26, 2014
Symbol of man-nature harmony
Qin is such a symbol of man-nature harmony that a typical qin is usually 3 chi and 6.5 cun long (chi and cun are ancient Chinese units of measurement), representing 365 days a year. As a qin is mainly made of two wooden boards, the above board always comes in the shape of a curve, representing the sky that is round, and the bottom board is always flat, representing the earth that is flat.
Qin is indeed not just any other musical instrument pleasant to the ear. It's the carrier of Confucian thoughts that are meant to please and pacify the mind, to teach one to be in harmony with nature and with oneself.
That's why the 1919 party of a few qin aficionados went a long way to manifest the meaning of not only a few melodies, but of Confucian ideas of balance and benevolence. In the better part of ancient China, most scholars and emperors played and promoted qin in their pursuit of a harmonious society.
But after the collapse of China's last dynasty in 1911, especially after 1919's New Culture Movement that sought to bury Confucian values, so to speak, qin gradually lost its luster in the life of Chinese people. In 1935, Yi Garden witnessed the last qin party on its turf. Wars made further gatherings impossible. In the "cultural revolution (1966-76)," qin was derided as a carrier of so-called decayed feudal thoughts and many pieces were burned to ashes. What a pity.
A turning point came in 1986, when tai chi and qin master Wu Zhaoji, also a professor of mathematics at Suzhou University, launched Wu's Qin Society along with a few other qin artists. Regular qin parties at Yi Garden were gradually restored thereafter. Wu's Qin Society insists that qin is a carrier of Confucian characters, not merely a piece of musical instrument.
Last Saturday, Qin Society organized more than 150 qin artists and enthusiasts across China to gather at Yi Garden in celebration of the 95th anniversary of the landmark 1919 party of qin devotees.
Certainly, we outnumbered the 1919 participants, but was this time really different? Has spring finally come for qin and the simplistic way of life it signifies? The answer is both yes and no.
Yes in the sense of ever growing popularity of qin art among young Chinese today. In 1956, less than 200 people in China could play qin. Now the number is in the tens of thousands.
No in the sense that this generation of ours is perhaps more exposed to Western influence than our forerunners in 1919, only in a different way.
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