On the evening of 21 April 2016, a lecture titled “Running Water to Jiangnan” on Guqin (Chinese zither) culture is held at the Art Class of Jiangnan University. Mr. Liu Shanjiao, national inheritor of Mei’an Style Guqin music art and vice president of Chinese Association of Guqin gives a lecture on Guqin music to hundreds of Jiangnan University students.

At the beginning of the lecture, Liu Shanjiao elicits the theme of the lecture “running water to Jiangnan” with a well-knows piece of Guqin music “Running Water”, tactfully explaining the Jiangnan (regions south of the Yangtze River) cultural origin of the Guqin music art. Then he introduces the development history, performance appreciation, and inheritance protection of Guqin as well as the development history of one of its important styles, i.e. the Mei’an Style from four aspects: “What is Guqin?”, “How to appreciate Guqin music?”, “How to play Guqin well?” and Mei’an Style. He emphasizes more than once that Guqin is a culture instead of just a musical instrument, believing that playing Guqin well calls for good cultural cultivation and profound cultural foundation of the player, besides adept playing skills, as the cultural content of Guqin is more than its music content, and only in this way can the player conquers the audience by manifesting the stories, sentiments and the artistic conception behind the Guqin music.

Following the usual practice of other lectures in the Art Class consisting of “expert lecturing plus artistic manifestation”, Liu Shanjiao together with two council members of Chinese Association of Guqin and inheritors of the Mei’an Style, i.e. Cao Xilan and Liu Yunyang plays in turn famous pieces of Guqin music including “Wild Geese on the Beach”，”Dialog between Fisherman and Woodcutter” and “Running Water” after a fascinating introduction. Their live performances give the audience a full appreciation of the charm of Guqin Music, invigorating their enthusiasm for protecting the traditional Chinese culture and inheriting the Guqin art. In response to the audience’s requirement for enjoying the most original and purest Quqin music sound at the end of the lecture, Liu Shanjiao turns off the audio equipment and improvises a piece named “Tune for a Peaceful Night”, giving the audience a personal experience about the tranquil atmosphere depicted in classical Chinese poetry.

This Art Class lecture gives the audience a clear understanding about Guqin as a traditional Chinese musical instrument. The audience understand the cultural spirit of traditional art through the inheritors’ fascinating lecture and performance.

Lecture Venue

National Inheritor of Mei’an Style Liu Shanjiao Giving the Lecture

Liu Shanjiao Giving a Demonstration Performance

Inheritor of Mei'an Style Cao Xilan Giving a Demonstration Performance