Guqin Workshop

A Musical Experience of the Traditional Chinese Literati

Lian-Hee Wee

Abstract:   We shall have no powerpoint, but the view of the windows. We will need to be very quiet, because the strings are made of silk. Qin, the erstwhile musical instrument of the traditional literati is an instrument of personal cultivation and of civility, hence has a relatively small resonance chamber to give it more colour, but also a gentler presence. It is regarded as an instrument of the sages and accorded great respect. For this workshop, we experience what the sounds are like when played on traditional silk strings and on modern synthetic strings. We will also hear a music that is ametrical, and I suggest that the ametricality mirrors the prosody of classical essay recitation. Please bring yourselves some tea (not coffee since the ancients do not have that) so that you can be comfortable.

About the speaker: Lian-Hee Wee is guqin player and maker. He is a council member and instructor of the Choi Chang Sau Qin Making Society which is listed as a national-level protection institution on The National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage unit under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, China. He is also a researcher at the Guqin Centre, New Asia Institute of Advanced Chinese Studies, and at the Centre for Chinese Cultural Heritage, Hong Kong Baptist University. He is chief editor for Artistic Heritage of the Choi Chang Sau Qin Making Society, expected to appear early 2026.