© The London Youlan Qin Society 2003-2010



Guqin Summer School, 21-24 June, 2012



Introduction

The London Youlan Qin Society, in collaboration with the Prince’s Charities Foundation and SOAS held a four day course on the qin.

Classes

On the first morning, Professor Zeng Chengwei went through some basic right hand techniques. He pointed out that this was useful revision even for advanced players, to ensure that they play correctly. As there were 19 participants, of whom several were complete beginners, participants were, after the first morning, divided into two groups. The beginners were taught by Dr Cheng Yu; the rest, who ranged from those with several months to more than 20 years experience, were taught by Professor Zeng Chengwei. The beginners class concentrated on learning the basic techniques, and one short and simple piece (Kanding Qing Ge 康定情歌).

The advanced class consisted of a mixture of group sessions and 1:1 sessions. As a group exercise, the advanced class was taught Zui Yu Chang Wan 醉渔唱晚. Zeng He co-taught the advanced class. Most participants concentrated on learning the set piece, but several people asked questions about other pieces during the 1:1 sessions.

The course included two illustrated lectures, which were attended by all participants in both the beginner and advanced classes. The first was on the selection and collection of wood and lacquer for making qins. This is a complicated business, and despite the size of the pawlonia tree, there may be very little usable wood. Lacquer is still collected in the traditional way from the lacquer tree; each tree yield a very small quantity of raw lacquer. The second lecture was on qin maintenance, covering minor repairs and the procedure for mounting strings. There was also a very short talk on the Shu style of qin playing. Grateful thanks to Jiang Conglin for doing all the interpreting.

On the last afternoon, informal student performances were held. All members of the beginners' class performed a group piece (Kanding Qingge); each participant of the advanced class then performed a solo piece. By popular request, after all participants had played a piece, Zeng He played Guangling San.

Concert

On the evening of the first day a concert entitled "The Sound of the Shu Qin" was held. It featured Zeng Chengwei, Zeng He and Cheng Yu, as well as pieces played by members of the LYQS. For details see Concert – The Sound of the Shu Qin.

Yaji

On the evening of the second day a yaji meeting was held. For details, see Yaji 22nd June, 2012.

Conclusion

The classes were very well attended, and included participants with a wide range of experience, from complete beginners to people who had studied the qin for many years. All felt they had benefitted from the four days.

Acknowledgements

The London Youlan Qin Society would like to express their gratitude to the Prince’s Charities Foundation for funding this series of events, and to SOAS for hosting them. The society would also like to thank all the members and non-members who gave their time and worked hard to make the events a success.