A Study On The Art Of Southern Zither

Southern Chinese zither has a long history and it is rich in cultural heritage. After thousands of years' proliferation, based on a mass popularity, the heritage of Chinese zither shows a large diversity while holding its own characteristic. Southern Chinese zither is popular with overseas Chinese abroad and it shows an international effect. All of these contribute a lot to the development of Chinese traditional culture.The development of zither is closely related to lots of facts like geography, folk music and local dialect. Different locations create different artistic styles. Location can affect a person's idea, personality and emotion, and it can also affect the zither composer and performer. They will unconsciously add the local environment into the style of zither making different regions show distinct features. From the aspect of folk music, the art style of zither is inseparable from the folk music where they share the same region. Zither, as an instrument long-attached to folk music, is directly affected by the characteristics of the local music. To some degree, one kind of folk music style can lead to one kind of zither style. From the language point of view, China has a vast land with residents coming from many communities, and each community has its own language. This is the so-called "different sounds in ten li, and different languages in hundred li". Language and music are closely inter-connected. All the different local languages make the music rich in geographical features. For example, sweet and smooth language makes sweet and smooth zither music; while loud and bold language leads to loud and bold imaginative artistic style. All in all, zither and Language are inextricably linked.The characteristics of southern zither lie in playing techniques, pitch feature, and the appearance and shape of zither. First, playing techniques is a distinctive sign of southern zither. Meanwhile, different schools of southern zither show different playing techniques, which leads to a different playing style. Excellent technique can make a melody live. Thus, in order to achieve an ideal effect, mastering playing technique is of highly necessity. Second, pitch feature are the essentials of a musical school. Each school of southern zither has its own pitch feature. Diversity in pitch feature shows diversity in the pursuing of aesthetic. Third, zither develops from the earliest five strings to the widespread use of today's system of 21 strings. Zithers, in different region and different musical school, show different shape and appearance. The shape of zither embodies the style characteristics of a school. Southern zither is often composed of sixteen strings and is relatively small in appearance. While playing it, the player often wears a fake nail. It uses silk strings to meet the noble, elegant and refined quality of southern zither.Southern zither and northern zither shows different artistic characteristics. Southern zither generally shows more reserved style. It is beautiful and elegant, and it is very calm and steady, focusing on the expression of inner feelings, while the effect of expression is still relatively small. The performers are generally gentle, quiet and peaceful, and this can represent the in southern style ultimately. On the contrary, northern zither is bolder, more passionate, and it focuses on outer expression and with lots of effects.The reason why southern zither can develop smooth is that every school of famous zither works hard to create a large number of excellent melodies. They learn from each other. So southern zither can gain the great performance at present. Some of them are founder of a school while others are inheritors of a school. All of them contribute a lot to the development and prosperous of zither.Today's society is a diversified information age. Southern zither is also developing with the era, trying to achieve its own blossom and fruitful achievements. Zither also spread its effect overseas, making zither a member of the world artistic scene. Zither is well-received overseas and people speak highly of zither. The twenty first century is a challenging era which provides a positive aspect for the further development of zither. In order to become a "musical instrument of the world", zither should grab this opportunity to combine itself with modernization, nationalization and globalization.