Level one. Guzheng, also known as Han Zheng and Qin Zheng, is an ancient national musical instrument of the Han nationality, which is popular all over China. Because of its wide range and beautiful timbre, it is often used for solo, ensemble, instrumental ensemble and accompaniment of song and dance, opera and Quyi.

Development history

As early as the Warring States Period, the Zheng was popular in the territory of Qin State (Shaanxi Province), and it was called "Qin Zheng" at that time. Since then, it has spread to Henan, Shandong, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Inner Mongolia. Due to historical changes and regional influences, styles and playing techniques vary from place to place, thus forming various guzheng schools today, which makes the development of guzheng increasingly prosperous.

Before the Han and Jin Dynasties, the Zheng had twelve strings (see Wei Ruanli's Zheng Fu "There are twelve strings").

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the number of zither strings increased from 12 to 13 (see Song of Qin Zheng Send Zheng Xiao to Beijing by Cen Can in Tang Dynasty).

After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it gradually increased to fifteen strings. Qing Hui Dian, published in Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty, records: "Qin Zheng has fifteen strings, which look like a harp ..."

A new sixteen-string guzheng appeared in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, which is a traditional guzheng popular in China in the past century.