In China, the qin is the most respectful of all Chinese musical instruments, and it has a history of about 5,000 years. A legend states that the legendary figures of China’s pre-history, Fuxi, Shennong and Huang Di (Yellow Emperor), were involved in the invention of this instrument. Although it’s presently viewed as a mythology, many history books or musical instrument books state this as the factual origin of qin. Guqin was mentioned in Chinese literature of nearly 3,000 years ago. The exact origin of the qin is still a mystery for people to explore.
As early as the age of Confucius in the Warring States Period (475-221BC), the guqin has already been the must-play musical instrument for scholars. Guqin is closely associated with life of scholars for thousands of years. They played this instrument to express their emotions and dreams. Guqin has already surpassed the scope of music, and become the symbol of good personality. From the Tang Dynasty (618-907), guxin has already had its own tablature. A large number of masterpieces were left, which has form the huge and valuable music collection of Chinese music.
In 1977, “Flowing Water”, a record performed by Guan Pinghu (one of the best guqin players in the 20th Century) was chosen to be included in the Voyager Golden Record, a gold-plated LP recording containing music from around the world. It was sent into outer space by NASA on the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecrafts. It is the longest excerpt included on the disc. In 2003, guqin music was proclaimed as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
