The Difference Between "Guzheng" and "Guqin"

Recently, I encountered many people asking me what's the difference between a guzheng and a guqin? In Malaysia, mostly the Chinese have seen guzheng in their life and recognised its tune which is the pitch is higher than the guqin. In fact, many guzheng music cds can be found in most bookstores or DVD/music stores. If you ever visit a music school in Malaysia, mostly you will find guzheng courses being offered and it is not difficult to purchase a guzheng at all. Guzheng is quite well-known in Malaysia. It is with my intention to share and break the barrier between these instruments. I believe that due to the rarity of guqin, general public assumes that the guzheng and the guqin are the same.

One of the biggest differences is that guqin has 7 strings whereas guzheng has 21 strings. Guqin its size is shorter than guzheng. In terms of techniques, guqin concentrates the techniques more on the left hand as opposed to guzheng which focuses heavily on the right hand. All in all, these two instruments require syncronisation on both hands when you play a particular song. Guqin has the longest history which is about 3000 years and we regard it as ancient instrument. Normally, guqin is often depicted as sages' instrument in ancient China and played by Confucious, Zhuge Liang and the like. 

It is interesting to note that Confucius in ancient times, he played guqin when he conducts lecture or lesson to his students. It is a way of delivering its teaching to his students. Guqin is often played by scholars or royal families because in order to play this instrument, you have to be able to recognise Chinese characters. One of the beauties in playing the guqin is that you have the opportunity to learn its music in terms of the histories and the intrinsic value in a particular song. Until today, the music scripts or notes are in Chinese because there is no way the notes can be translated into other languages. 

Some of the benefits of playing the guqin can be derived from its music. For instance, due to its low pitch, it actually gives a sense of relaxation to both the player and the listener. Playing the guqin will promote self-discipline and patience as you need to memorise and lots of practise to play a particular song! The photos above were taken from the blockbuster movie "Red Cliff" and here can be seen Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu playing the guqin. If you have not watched the movies yet, I highly recommend invest your time in the movies and you will not be disappointed! You will discover the brilliant mind of Zhuge Liang in defeating his enemies. There is a movie called "Confucius" and in this particular movie, you will have the chance to see Mr Chow Yun Fatt (Confucius) plays the guqin. Confucius is also known as the greatest guqin player in history! 

ALSH