TITLE:
Research on the Chinese Ten-Stringed Guqin of Marquis Yi: Design Ideas and Origin of Its Shape
AUTHORS:
Kenan Yao
KEYWORDS:
Ten-Stringed Guqin, Origin of Shape and Construction, Worship for Shamanism and Loong (or Chinese Dragon, a Miraculous Animal in Chinese Legends), Yin-Yang and Five Elements Theory
JOURNAL NAME:
Art and Design Review,
Vol.7 No.1,
December
27,
2018
ABSTRACT: As the earliest Guqin unearthed in China by now, the
ten-stringed Guqin of Marquis Yi offers a view of the early appearance of its
kind. Its shape and embellishments embody the belief, totem worship, ruling
ideology, moral criteria and universe philosophy of the Chu people during the Warring
States Period, as well as their attitudes towards this ritual vessel, which dates back to the time immemorial, and its cultural
identity. Through induction and analysis of documents and interviews with the
restorer of the unearthed Guqin, this paper probes into the origin and design ideas
of the shape and the strings of this ten-stringed Guqin so as to uncover its
cultural connotation and functional reference.