研古音

Qin琴(guqin/Chinese zither), qi棋(go chess), shu書(calligraphy) and hua畵(painting) are regarded as the four major traditional Chinese art forms throughout thousands years of history. Among them, Guqin(古琴) takes the premier rank as the most exclusive artistic form for ancient literates.

With a keen interest in promoting Chinese traditional music, YanGuYin(研古音) is to introduce “quality” guqins to those who have initial interest or great passions in guqin and Chinese music. Given that there are numerous choices of guqin available on the market at relatively low prices, YanGuYin excludes guqin pieces that are in poor qualities in terms of materials used and craftsmanship etc. Undoubtedly, a good bargain is what everyone wants, but the saying “You get what you pay for” always holds true when selecting musical instruments; that is why guqins at extremely low price often fail to promise durability and offer expected musical enjoyments & etc. In other words, they’re merely deemed “musical toys” by the industry.

To bring fine tunes to guqin players/enthusiasts, guqins showcased at YanGuYin include one-of-a-kind guqin collections created by versatile talented guqin artists, makers & educators in mainland China, and guqins from the guqin hub, Yangzhou, China that meet the needs of those not wishing to spend substantially for good quality ones. 

Whether made by experienced zhuo qin shi/makers or professional guqin artists, they are pieces of artworks created with sophisticated craftsmanship, natural fine woods & good quality materials, such as famous string brand, Yue Sheng(樂聖) and raw lacquer to create fine sound quality as well as durability. 

(Guqin vs guzheng)

It's easy to get confused between guqin(古琴) and guzheng(古箏) which is also called Chinese zither. In a nut shell, the latter is equally significant in traditional Chinese arts, for it'd emerged before the Qin Dynasty so they are also called Qin zheng(秦箏) and till now has been more than 2000 years. At YanGuYin, we carry the renowned Zhuque Guzheng(朱雀古箏), which is always sought-after for its traditional "single-piece wood guzheng (挖箏) making technique".

To complement the ancient artistic orchestration, traditional calligraphy, painting & etc are requisite, Not only do we carry guqin accessories & costumes but also limited edition of traditional calligraphy & painting created by visual artists from China.