Qin Zither Of Shanxi School Aesthetic Research

Qin Zither of Shanxi School is one of the "nine Chinese Zither schools" of the Chinese Zither art,which is attached to the folk music and various operas of Shanxi.In the pre-Qin period,the zither music was already widespread in present-day Shanxi and Gansu,where it was also known as the Qin Zither,as the area was part of the Qin state during the Zhou Dynasty.The Qin Zither was first used as a singing accompaniment,but it gradually changed its shape and developed into an independent musical instrument.The Qin Zither reached a high level in the Qin,Han,Sui and Tang Dynasties,where it flourished for more than a thousand years;but the southward shift of the economic centre after the Song Dynasty and the concept of "music as elegant and vulgar" led to the gradual disappearance of the Zither art in the north-west.In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic,the instrument was on the verge of extinction,and only survived in the memory of old folk artists or buried in ancient music societies in the form of surviving scores.In the 1950s,Xi’an Music College began to build up the Chinese Zither discipline,and Zhou Yanjia’s idea of "Returning the Chinese Zither to the Qin Region" was the first step towards reviving the Zither art.Since then,the Qin Zither of Shanxi School has gone through five stages of development and nearly seventy years of seeking,and has gradually become the most active school in the Chinese Zither world,with the largest number of works and the richest variety of performances.Such a situation is not only due to the efforts of generations of Qin Zither practitioners,but also to the rich aesthetic connotations of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School.This paper is an in-depth study of the musical practices of the Chinese Zither of Qin Zither of Shanxi School,exploring the aesthetic thinking,behaviour and psychology underlying its composition,performance and appreciation,and the reasons for the formation of this aesthetic style.The introduction sorting the current research content and status of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School,and explains the reasons for the selection of the topic,the significance of the study and the research methods used.The first chapter traces the rise and fall of the Zither art in the Qin region,discusses the debate on whether the Qin Zither of Shanxi School became a school,summaries the five stages of development of the idea "Returning the Chinese Zither to the Qin Region",and attempts to collate the genealogy of the inheritance of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School.The aim is to establish an overall understanding of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School and to lay the foundation for the following aesthetic study.The second chapter begins with the compilation and composition of works of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School,which is the starting point for musical practice and the basis for subsequent activities in Zither performance and appreciation.The works of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School can be divided into traditional compositions and modern compositions in traditional music style,and the composers of these two genres have different identities and therefore present different aesthetic tendencies.The traditional compositions compiled and revised by contemporary Chinese Zither performers are either natural,simple and plain,or refined with a deep aesthetic.The modern compositions in the traditional music style composed by Chinese Zither performers has an aesthetic tendency to be elegant,diversified,or sincere,while the other compositions composed by professional composers has an aesthetic tendency to be elegant,simple,or contain "traditional" in the East and "technical" in the West.Many composers of contemporary pieces in the Qin Zither of Shanxi School style through their generalisation and refinement of realistic situations,borrowed from Shanxi folk music or local operas to suit conditional culture,chosen the appropriate musical organization and acoustic dynamic structure to form the piece,and incorporated their own aesthetic thinking into the compositions.The composers’ style and the emotional direction of their compositions are therefore important guidelines for the performance of the Qin Zither.The third chapter focuses on the musical performance of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School,which is an intermediate part of the practical activities of Chinese Zither and an important reference for the study of musical aesthetics.It begins with an analysis of the two-handed technique associated with the characteristic scale modulation and melodic flavour of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School,exploring how the performer uses the left hand’s press and quiver variations and the right hand’s elaborate techniques to convey the aesthetic connotations of rhythm,meaning and emotion of Qin Zither of Shanxi School music.The analysis of the performer’s behaviour and technique explores the aesthetics of physical performance in addition to hand technique.The way in which the performer’s breath drives the body and the hearing drives the feeling is a reflection of the relationship between technique and art,definite method and indefinite method in Qin Zither of Shanxi School music performance.The final aesthetic analysis of the various performance forms,including solo,accompaniment,concerto and repertoire,reveals the richness of the moods conveyed in the performance of Qin Zither of Shanxi School.The performer expresses the emotions and moods in the score through a dynamic performance narrative,which serves as a link between the creator and the appreciator of the musical practice of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School.The fourth chapter is a study of the Shanxi Zither music ontology,starting with a rational and emotional analysis of the melodic features and the aesthetics of the musical context,followed by an interpretation of the tendency towards sorrow embodied in the musical context of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School,tracing the development and changes of the long-standing and layered sorrowful themes in the culture of the Qin Zither and the various emotional motifs derived from them.The richly layered sorrowful emotions of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School differ slightly from the neutral aesthetic tendencies of traditional Chinese music,seemingly breaking through the aesthetic psychology of "mourning without sadness and resentment without dislike",but in fact the abstract narrative mode that release the aesthetic psychology and aesthetic emotions of the admirer,the performer and even the creator.Finally,analysed the reasons for the multiple emotional themes and the aesthetic style of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School in depth.Under the influence of the musical character of the Qin region,which was created by its natural geography and historical culture,the indirect influence of the dialect on the melody of the Qin Zither and the direct influence of the diverse musical cultures on the melody of the Qin Zither,finally lead to the hot and sour,generous and sorrowful music and the lyrical narrative style of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School.The fifth chapter is devoted to the contemporary musical practices of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School,and it’s transmission,development and promotion.This chapter beginning with a research and analysis of the teaching of the different echelons of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School,as well as the communication and promotion paths of the theoretical research of the school.Then discuss the current situation and difficulties faced by the Qin Zither of Shanxi School,and a reflection on the corresponding situation.Finally,the ways to disseminate and promote the musical culture and artistic values of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School are sorted out,which can be a positive contribution to the construction of the contemporary Qin Zither cultural system and the establishment of the cultural confidence of the school,and can be a reference and model for other schools.In conclusion,the aesthetic study of the musical practice of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School is a study of the "heart",the "mind",the "source" and "action".It explores the inner aesthetic meaning of the Qin Zither of Shanxi School under the surface of the compositions and melodies,and considerate the folk customs,folk music culture and people’s character of Qin region carried by them.