Exploration of the Origin and Development of the Guzheng

Authors

  • Yanjun Li Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), The National University of Malaysia (UKM)
  • Shazlin Amir Hamzah Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), The National University of Malaysia (UKM)
  • Nur Atiqah Tang Abdullah Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), The National University of Malaysia (UKM)

Keywords:

Guzheng, Origin, Development, Heritage, Preservation methods

Abstract

As one of the traditional Chinese Musical Instruments, Guzheng has a long history and rich cultural connotation. First of all, this paper reviews the origin and development of Guzheng, and discusses the background of Guzheng. Secondly, it analyzes the origin of the name Zheng, and reveals the historical and cultural connotation and naming meaning behind it. With the development of society, because of some geographical, historical, cultural and other reasons, Guzheng has formed different schools, each with its own characteristics, showing the diversity and richness of Guzheng art and propose some specific methods to protect the Guzheng school. Through these methods, we can enhance people's awareness of protecting the traditional art of Guzheng and at the same time make innovations, speed up the construction of inheritors and use the Internet and other modern media for communication and learning. This paper aims to enhance people's cognition and understanding of Guzheng, a traditional musical instrument, arouse their love and attention to the art of Guzheng, and provide useful ideas and references for the inheritance and innovation of Guzheng culture.

References

Anonymous. 2008. ‘The Origins of the Guzheng’. Yellow River of the Song, no. 19, 108–9.

Cao Zheng. 1981. ‘An Exploration of the History of the Guzheng’. Chinese Music, no. 1, 44–47.

Chen Lu. 2019. ‘The Discussion of the Value and Significance of Qin Zheng in the Development of Shaanxi Zheng School’. Master, Xi’an Conservatory of Music.

Fu Liqin. 2015. ‘ZHENG MING CONTENTION NATIONAL MUSIC FRAGRANCE——RESEARCH ON THE INNOVATION OF MODERN CHINESE ZHENG MUSIC’. Northern Music 35 (7): 163–64.

Fu Wenjuan, and Liu Keli. 2011. ‘A Brief Discussion on the Origins and Development of the Guzheng’. Youth Literator, no. 5, 181.

Gaywood, Harriet Rosemary Ann. 1996. ‘Guqin and Guzheng: The Historical and Contemporary Development of Two Chinese Musical Instruments’.

Guo Meng. 2017. ‘Musicological Analysis and Interpretation of the Chaozhou Guzheng Style’. Master, Shaanxi Normal University.

Huang Mi. 2013. ‘The Historical Contribution and Representative Inheritance of Zheng Faction in Zhejiang’. Journal of Guiyang University(Social Sciences) 8 (2): 112–14. https://doi.org/10.16856/j.cnki.52-1141/c.2013.02.030.

Jin Jianmin. 1988. ‘The Mystery of the Guzheng’s Origins’. Chinese Music, no. 1, 55.

Li Manli. 2014. ‘The Origins of the Guzheng, Its Name, and the Artistic Characteristics of Its Major Schools’. Art Science and Technology 27 (10): 111–12.

Li, Nan. 2006. Essence of Chinese and Foreign Arts - Guzheng. 4th ed. Changchun: Jilin Audiovisual Publishing House, Jilin Literature and History Publishing House.

Li Ying. 2019. ‘A Comparative Study of Zheng School in Henan and Shaanxi —— Take four Zheng songs as an example’. Master, Zhengzhou University.

Li Zhihan. 2018. ‘An Overview of the Hakka School of Guzheng: One of the Five Major Guzheng Schools’. Home Drama, no. 7, 62.

Liu Xiang, and Zhou Liuyan. 2022. A Zhan Guo Ce. Yangzhou: Guangling Publishing House.

Liu Xinwei. 2019. ‘The Study of Music and Inheritance of South Fujian Zither’. Master, Xiamen University.

Liu Xueqi. 2019. ‘A Brief Discussion on the Origin and Development of the Guzheng’. Home Drama, no. 14, 83.

Lv Tingting. 2018. ‘Analysis on the origin of Chinese Guzheng’. Art Research, no. 3, 60–61. https://doi.org/10.13944/j.cnki.ysyj.2018.0302.

Peirong, Wang, Chutasiri Yodwised, and Parinya Panyanan. 2023. ‘Development of Guzheng School and Chinese Guzheng Education in China’. Journal of Modern Learning Development 8 (6): 317–25.

Qiu Dacheng. 1982. ‘The Origin of Chinese Zither’. Journal of Guangzhou Conservatory of Music, no. 3, 76–79.

Shu Shunping. 2011. ‘Discussing the Origins of the Guzheng Based on the Records in “Jian Zhu Ke Shu”’. Journal of Literature and History, no. 4, 48–51.

Sima Qian, and Han Zhaoqi. 2023. A Shi Ji Jing Xuan. Series of Books on Cultivating Reading Ability in Classic Literature. Hangzhou: Zhejiang Literature&Art Publishing House.

Wang Xun. 2009. ‘The Causes of Guzheng Schools from the Perspective of Regional Culture’. Chinese Music, no. 4, 147–52.

Wang Yingrui. 2016. ‘A Glimpse into the Contemporary Development of the Qin Zheng’. Journal of Tianjin Conservatory of Music, no. 4, 10–18. https://doi.org/10.16274/j.cnki.cn12-1280/j.2016.04.002.

———. 2022a. ‘An Overview of Contemporary Chinese Guzheng Schools (Part IV): The Hakka School’. Musical Instrument Magazine, no. 1, 57–59.

———. 2022b. ‘Contemporary Chinese Guzheng Schools VI: The Fujian School’. Musical Instrument Magazine, no. 3, 68–70.

———. 2022c. ‘Contemporary Chinese Guzheng Schools VIII: The Zhejiang School’. Musical Instrument Magazine, no. 5, 64–66.

Wang Yu. 2017. ‘The north school in Mongolia Zheng and other aestheticstyle of comparative study’. Master, Inner Mongolia University.

Xiao Ning. 2023. ‘Exploration on the Artistic Style and Inheritance and Development of Henan Zheng School’. Master, Nanchang University. https://doi.org/10.27232/d.cnki.gnchu.2023.004733.

Xu Shu. 2019. ‘On the inheritance and development of chaozhou zheng school by taking “ pink lotus ” as an example’. Master, Yunnan Normal University.

Yang Fan. 2017. ‘From the Perspective of Cultural Consciousness in the Inheritance and Development of Minnan Zheng Cultural’. Doctor, Fujian Normal University.

Yang Zhang Hanhua. 2024. ‘Qin Zither of Shanxi School Aesthetic Research’. Doctor, Shandong University. https://doi.org/10.27272/d.cnki.gshdu.2023.000597.

Yu Miao. 2023. ‘The Establishment and Development of Traditional Guzheng Schools and University Guzheng Programs’. Master,

Qingdao University. https://doi.org/10.27262/d.cnki.gqdau.2022.000736.

Yuan Jingfang. 2004. A Min Zu Qi Yue. Revised Edition. Beijing: Higher Education Press.

Zhang, Jing. 2018. ‘Influence of Guzheng Music Art, Music Theory thoughts of Han and Wei Dynasty on Later Generations’. In Proceedings of 2018 2nd International Conference on Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities (SSAH 2018), 5. Research Institute of Management Science and Industrial Engineering.

Zhang Yueqi. 2016. ‘A Brief Discussion on the Characteristics of the Yatoga (Mongolian Guzheng’. China National Exhibition, no. 2, 147–49.

Zhao Manqin. 1981. ‘A Brief Analysis of Guzheng History’. Music Research, no. 4, 66-69+115.

Zhao Mingming. 2018. ‘The Inheritance and Development of the Shandong Guzheng School in Northeast China (1949-1999)’. Master, Jilin University of Arts.

Zhou Yi. 2020. ‘The Development and Creation of Guzheng’s Northern and Southern Genres’. Master, Northwest Minzu University. https://doi.org/10.27408/d.cnki.gxmzc.2019.000378.

Zhou Yunjian. 2012. ‘A Review of Research on the Origins of the Guzheng’. National Music, no. 2, 16–17.

Downloads

Published

24-06-2025

How to Cite

Li, Y., Hamzah, S. A., & Abdullah, N. A. T. (2025). Exploration of the Origin and Development of the Guzheng. Journal of Ethnic and Diversity Studies (JOEDS), 3(1). Retrieved from https://joeds.com.my/index.php/home/article/view/57

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2025): Journal of Ethnic and Diversity Studies (JOEDS): Volume 3, Issue 1

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Yanjun Li, Shazlin Amir Hamzah, Nur Atiqah Tang Abdullah

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

CC Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0): This license allows for non-commercial use, sharing, and distribution of the work, but prohibits modification, adaptation, and derivative works.