Meeting 7 November 2015

Introduction

This, the 78th meeting of the London Youlan Qin Society, was held at the home of the Society's President, Dr Cheng Yu. We were delighted to have three distinguished guests from Shanghai: qin maker Hong Chingyan, and qin players Chen Cheng and Xu Hanzhi. They were in London to play qin at the opening of the Olympia Art and Antiques Fair. They brought with them three fine qins: one made by Mr Hong, one made approximately 500 years ago during the Ming Dynasty, and one Jiaoye ("plantain leaf") qin made from a single piece of wood. Despite having no sound cavity, the Jiaoye qin had a good sound.

We had a pot luck lunch, for which Cheng Yu and many of the participants provided delicious food. Fine Chinese tea was provided by Wang Yuran. Chen Cheng gave a short talk on tuning, and Hong Chingyan gave a short talk on the 110 steps involved in the traditional method of making qins.

Music

The following music was played:

Ping Sha Luo Yan 平沙落雁 (Wild Geese Descending on the Level Sand), played by Julian Joseph
Pei Lan 佩兰 (Admiring the Orchid), played by Charles Tsua
Yu Qiao Wen Da 渔樵问答 (Dialogue of the Fisherman and the Woodcutter), played by Di Zheng'ao
Bi Jian Liu Quan 碧涧流泉 (A Stream Flowing through a Green Valley), played by Ashley Guan
Liu Shui 流水 (Flowing Water), played by Cheng Yu
Puan Zhou 普庵咒 (The Mantra of Puan), played by Marnix Wells
Dongting Qiu Si 洞庭秋思 (Autumn Thoughts at Lake Dongting), played by Xu Hanzhi
Liu Shui 流水 (Flowing Water), played by Chen Cheng
Liu Shui 流水 (Flowing Water), played by Charles Tsua
You Lan 幽兰The Solitary Orchid), played by Chen Cheng
Jiu Kuang 酒狂 (Drunken Ecstasy), played by Chen Cheng
Guanshan Yue 关山月 (Moon over the Mountain Pass), played by Cheng Yu
Qiu Shui 秋水 (Autumn Water), played by Charles Tsua
Lu Ming 碧涧流泉 (鹿鸣) played by Ashley Guan
He Ming Jiu Gao 鹤鸣九皋 (Cranes Calling in the Nine Marshes), played by Xu Hanzhi
Ping Sha Luo Yan 平沙落雁 (Wild Geese Descending on the Level Sand), played by Di Zheng'ao
Liang Xiao Yin 良宵吟 (Tune for a Pleasant Evening), played by Ashley Guan
He Ming Jiu Gao 鹤鸣九皋 (Cranes Calling in the Nine Marshes), played by Charles Tsua (own dapu)
Meihua San Nong 梅花三弄 (Three variations on the Plum Blossom), played by Di Zheng'ao
Ge Xi Mei Ling 鬲溪梅令 (a poem by Jiang Kui, set to music), played by Xu Hanzhi (qin) and Chen Cheng (xiao)
Yangguan San Die 阳关三叠 (Three variations on the Yang Pass Theme), played by Xu Hanzhi(qin) and Chen Cheng (xiao)
Meihua San Nong 梅花三弄 (Three variations on the Plum Blossom), played by Chen Cheng
Meihua San Nong 梅花三弄 (Three variations on the Plum Blossom), played by Cheng Yu