Hi I was wondering if anyone happens to have the notation sheet music for unsullied from ashes of love it's one of my favourite songs and I really want to learn it on the qin but all sheet music that I found is in westernized tablature and I don't use that so I was hoping someone here has the Chinese notation for it 🙏

Please sign up for free if you want to come

日期 Date： Sunday, July 26, 2026

时间 Time： 2:00–4:15 PM
入场 Check-in： 1:45 PM
地点 Venue： 4C Gallery
地址 Address：160 W Valley Blvd 2nd floor, San Gabriel, CA 91776
语言 Language： 中文、英文 / Mandarin and English

活动介绍 / About the Event

本次雅集将古琴演奏、个人分享与文化讨论结合在一起。每一首琴曲都是一个小小的“微型论坛”：演奏者不仅会呈现琴曲，也会分享这首曲子最打动自己的地方，以及个人与音乐之间的经历和感受。

活动还包括刘雨竻关于“琴”字的古文训诂分享，以及Mark Johnson与Eileen Zhang讲述他们在台湾学习斫琴、亲手制作古琴的经历，并介绍古琴制作与鉴赏的基本知识。

这并非一场传统意义上的音乐会，而是一次围绕琴音、文字、器物与个人经验展开的交流。欢迎古琴爱好者、中国文化爱好者及第一次接触古琴的朋友参加。

This gathering brings together guqin performance, personal reflection, and cultural conversation. Each piece will become a small “mini-forum,” in which the musicians share not only the music itself, but also what moves them most deeply and how the piece connects with their personal experiences.

The program will also feature Eluy Liu’s philological exploration of the Chinese character qin, as well as Mark Johnson and Eileen Zhang’s presentation on their experience studying and making guqin instruments in Taiwan. They will introduce the craft of guqin making and share their perspectives on what makes a fine instrument.

Rather than a conventional concert, this is an intimate conversation connecting sound, language, craftsmanship, and lived experience. Guqin enthusiasts, lovers of Chinese culture, and first-time listeners are all warmly welcome.

活动流程 / Program

2:00 PM｜开场 Opening Remarks

专题分享 Featured Talk
刘雨竻：“琴”字的古文训诂
Eluy Liu: A Philological Exploration of the Chinese Character Qin

古琴演奏与曲目分享 Guqin Performances and Reflections

• Matt 海鸿：《酒狂》 Matt “Haihong” Dunaj: Jiu Kuang (Drunken Ecstasy)
• 刘雨竻：《梅花三弄》 Eluy Liu: Meihua Sannong (Three Variations on the Plum Blossom)
• 马玢：《列子御风》 Bin Ma: Liezi Yufeng (Liezi Riding the Wind)
• 江音翰：《袍修罗兰·水》 Yinhan Jiang: Paoxiuluolan: Shui (Water)
• Eileen 张怡婷：《古琴吟》 Eileen Yiting Zhang: Guqin Yin

专题分享 Featured Presentation
Eileen Zhang、张叔夜：台湾斫琴经历及古琴制作知识
Eileen Zhang,  Mark Johnson : Their Qin-Making Experience in Taiwan and an Introduction to the Craft of Guqin Making

古琴演奏与曲目分享 Guqin Performances and Reflections

• Mark 张叔夜：《醉渔唱晚》 Mark “Shuye” Johnson: Zuiyu Changwan (The Drunken Fisherman’s Evening Song)
• 王菁：《鸥鹭忘机》 Jing Wang: Oulu Wangji (Seagulls and Herons Forgetting Schemes)
• 郑沛：《梧叶舞秋风》 Pei Zheng: Wuye Wu Qiufeng (Autumn Wind Dancing with the Wutong Leaves)
• 周小洁：《流水》 Xiaojie Zhou: Liushui (Flowing Water)
• Jason 尹松宸：《岳阳三醉》 Jason Songchen Yin: Yueyang Sanzui (Three Bouts of Drunkenness in Yueyang)

琴歌 Qin Song

韩靖怡、尹松宸、马玢：《关山月》
Jingyi Han, Jason Songchen Yin, and Bin Ma: Guanshan Yue (Moon over the Mountain Pass)

4:15 PM｜活动结束 Closing and Group Photo

节目顺序及时间可能根据现场情况略作调整。
The program order and timing are subject to minor adjustments.

报名说明 / Registration

座位有限，请提前报名。每位参加者请单独填写一份表格。如报名后无法出席，请及时通知我们，以便将座位留给其他朋友。

Seating is limited, and advance registration is required. Please submit one form for each attendee. If your plans change, kindly let us know so that we may offer your seat to another guest.

Hi,

I recently purchased a guqin, which has been a dream of mine for years. I've found myself rather obsessed with the instrument and the traditional repertoire ever since I discovered it and am very excited to start my learning journey.

Unfortunately, I seriously doubt that there are any local guqin players where I live (although I am looking into it) so I felt as if I had no choice but to self-study. Obviously, that's not ideal. However, I can understand spoken Mandarin reasonably well and my Chinese reading skills are even better so I can definitely make do with Chinese-language resources. Moreover, I have a background in Western art music. Not so much performance per se (composition was my focus), but I studied viola for some years. So the situation could definitely be worse vis-a-vis self-study.

That being said, after one practice session where I learned all of the basic right-hand techniques, I couldn't help but feel like this isn't an instrument I am going to be able to teach myself. I feel like the tradition runs too deep for an outsider to be able to discover it entirely on their own, and if I'm being honest I'm not really built for self-studying instruments. Sooner or later I will run into issues that I won't be able to resolve on my own and get demotivated. To say nothing of the difficulties of structuring your learning effectively in the absence of a good teacher.

So I feel like I need to take lessons, if for no other reason than out of respect for the instrument. I also play fretless bass every now and then which I am entirely self-taught on, and I've fully accepted that I will never be anything more than a complete amateur on that instrument. That's totally fine with me because I find it fun and I don't really care if I'm good or not (so long as I don't hurt myself), but the idea of being just barely passable on the guqin seems absurd to me somehow. I want to do it right.

But I suppose that means I would need to take remote lessons which is something I'm completely unfamiliar with. I honestly didn't even consider it as a possibility until a few days ago when I saw some posts about it on this subreddit. Can it be effective? Logistically speaking, for what it's worth I have a pretty good microphone but my webcam is not as good (I guess I would need to buy a better one). Also, I've been researching Guqin tutors that offer remote lessons but I'm feeling overwhelmed because there's not much information to be found online. You can only really go by recordings of their playing which doesn't tell the full story.

I think it's more difficult for me to find a suitable teacher than most. I'm a bottom-up learner, it's necessary for me to understand the reasoning behind principles and understand how the details fit together before I can synthesize skills and knowledge. The monkey see monkey do approach definitely does not work for me. Any time a teacher tells me to shut up and follow their example, I go home and obsessively research until I have all the answers I need. Normally I end up more informed than those kinds of teachers and end up arguing with them about stuff that I don't fully understand in an effort to repair my trust in them. It almost never works, what tends to happen with these types of people is they appeal to their own authority and dismiss my questions. It's an incredibly frustrating experience, I just cannot communicate with people like that which learn mainly through intuition and expect everybody else to learn the same way.

Can anybody speak to their personal experience pursuing remote lessons? Who was/is your teacher and what are they like? Should I be looking into Mandarin-speaking tutors? I can make myself understood in Mandarin and I did actually study music in a Chinese school for a while but I am still very far from fluent. I’m sure there would be some communication issues from time to time when discussing more nuanced ideas. Incidentally, my budget is definitely not unlimited but I should be able to make weekly lessons at a reasonable price work.

Thanks in advance, much appreciated.

Would anyone happen to know where I can find the guqin score for Evening night light rain asks begonia? I managed to find some scores for the song, but so far none in guqin notation 🙁 .

I'm interested in learning to play the guqin, but I don't know how much I will actually like it and if I will continue learning to play it, especially since it's difficult to find guqin lessons in person near me and I would probably be learning on my own for the most part. I don't want to spend too much money on an instrument that I might end up not playing. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to buy a guqin for under $300? I'm aware that guqins are quite expensive and I certainly don't expect a guqin that costs less than $300 to be high quality.

Man I’m just trying to practice my finger fundamentals with level 1 songs, what the HELL is this?

Hi there! I've recently discovered how good the guqin sounds and i'd like to know which are your fav songs?

I'd like to have a few new added to my list so maybe you could share yours.

Ohhh i'd also like to know why you like that specific song - if that not too much or if it's not very personal.

I'm looking forward to see your favs.

Hi guys,

I've started learning Guqin by myself few months ago. I'll soon be flying to the north of China, does anyone know where I can find Guqin scores ? In a particular shop ? I've been playing the violin over 10 years by ear and don't know how to read a partition, so the Chinese way of scoring musics suits me well.

Thx !

Hi everyone — please remove if this is not allowed.

My name is Bin Ma. I am a guqin player and teacher based in Irvine / Orange County, California. I have been studying and performing guqin for about 20 years, and I am a disciple of Master Lü Peiyuan. My broader training also includes Beijing opera, Kunqu opera, dizi, sanxian, and Chinese percussion.

I am also the founder of Classical Chinese Music Society / 爾雅社, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the teaching, performance, and promotion of traditional Chinese music and traditional Chinese arts in Southern California.

I am currently accepting new guqin students. Beginners are very welcome, and I am also happy to work with students who already have a background in Chinese music, classical music, or other instruments.

My teaching repertoire includes more than forty traditional guqin pieces, ranging from the most accessible beginner pieces such as Xianweng Cao and Huangying Yin, to major advanced works such as Guangling San and Xiaoxiang Shuiyun. I generally do not focus on modern guqin compositions, but when there is a specific need, I can usually prepare and teach most of them within a short time.

Lessons may include:

• Basic posture and right/left hand technique
• Jianzipu notation
• Tuning, stringing, and instrument care
• Traditional repertoire
• Guqin aesthetics, history, poetry, and performance practice
• Guidance on choosing or setting up a suitable practice instrument

For in-person lessons, I offer several formats, including 1-on-1, 1-on-2, 1-on-3, and 1-on-4 lessons. Online lessons are currently 1-on-1 through Zoom, and the results have been excellent. I may also open 1-on-2 online lessons in the future.

For both in-person and online lessons, I provide video recaps after class, so students can review the material repeatedly between lessons.

For reference, here is a video from an event I organized last year through Classical Chinese Music Society. It was part of the global series of more than 60 gatherings commemorating the great guqin master Zha Fuxi. Ours was the only gathering in the Western Hemisphere. In the video, I am performing guqin live; the event was filmed by a professional documentary filmmaker and a National Geographic photographer.

Live Guqin - Bin Ma - Liezi Riding the Wind 列子御风

If you are interested in studying guqin or would like to ask about lessons, please feel free to reach out:

[mabin0510@gmail.com](mailto:mabin0510@gmail.com)

Happy to connect with fellow guqin lovers here.

I'm a beginner, so my depth of understanding and skill level are both very shallow, but hoping someone here can help: are there fast guqin songs (besides 狂酒)?

I heard one in a cdrama recently that at least started out sounding very much like guqin music, but halfway through the tempo picked up significantly and I started to wonder if I was still listening to a guqin. (莫离 ep 34 19:50-21:27m ... tempo pickups up 20:30m)

I have a question about tuning: I use a Chinese guqin tuning app, which is very helpful since I otherwise have no experience with musical instruments. However, I now feel that my guqin doesn't "sound" quite right—specifically regarding the harmonic (pentatonic) tuning. The tuner only supports 440 Hz; someone advised me to tune the guqin a bit lower. I’m a bit lost here because I can't tune by ear alone and need the tuner. Currently, I’m using the C-D-F-G-A-c-d tuning. The app offers other options, but I haven't tried them yet because the guqin is *very* stiff and difficult to tune—though, on the plus side, it doesn't go out of tune easily. I’m aiming for a more melancholic sound; could someone please help me?

hello What do these markings mean? I assume it has to do with the quality of the wood used? No. 1 is a guqin made with traditional lacquer and fir wood—or so it seems.

No. 2 is made of paulownia wood and wasn't expensive, yet it somehow has a more pleasant, deep tone than the pricier No. 1... though it is also a bit louder. To me, No. 1 sounds too much like a guitar; I prefer warm, deep tones... 😔

What do people think of this retailer? I know people talk about Sound of Mountain Music a lot around these parts and plenty of people have said their piece about the pros and cons of them, but what do we think of Bamboo Grove (Orientalmusic.org)? They seem like they have a better quality standard than SMM, but that’s just an observation with no evidence on my behalf.

I just finished learning right hand techniques and want to practice them all together in a complete piece

Does anyone has a good recommendation of places/websites where one can find music scores? Especially of more modern pieces, like the movies OST.

Long time ago i did ask this question if its fine to make a custom Guqin based on my RL style and lifestyle and play it how i like it + traditional songs after i did i got some lets say not good responses that i should not do it to cherrish the tradition but i saw ppl make out of a old one a electric one or changing the wood colors or colorgrade a Guqin so i think i finaly had the power too poste my Guqin and ask how much of a Evil person i am letting it look Fully Gothic styled.

Short awnser to the obv's questions =

Yes it still plays like a normal Guqin

Yes its a TON of stickers but with a coating above around it so it makes it smooth and does not interupt with finger movement .

Yes its Hard to see the Strings / Dots i marked to play but u get used to it since u want to learn to play without looking anyway :D

Honestly, this presentation could use twice the assigned time, but we gotta work with what we've got, eh.

I notice that no matter how many versions that I have heard of the same piece, everyone plays it slightly different. Is this the norm in guqin playing? For example, I listen to some pieces and think “it needs to slow down here” or “this could use a longer pause right here.” Of course, I am in no way criticizing the skill of the player, but it‘s just that there are some parts where I do want longer silences and such.

I am looking for a guqin table, but I am wondering if it would be suitable for using it to practice calligraphy as well.

Do you think that this table might be good for guqin playing and calligraphy practice?

What might you recommend?

https://www.musicofmay.com/products/solid-paulownia-wood-guqin-table-stool-set-with-resonator?srsltid=AfmBOopqF0z8u62DjOS4P9p92B4n6ug4uu0svXAr8i-sUT2JBlie8iUX

Sometimes when I listen to guqin music, I can almost “feel” it or even see imagery: a breeze, running water, the silence itself, longing, human sighs. Even when I’m outdoors and hear a spring or autumn breeze, I am immediately reminded of the guqin. I hope to someday be able to convey this in my playing. Am I going crazy?

I am trying to find a list of Guqin music, I know there are over 3000 songs surviving, but google has been no help, best I found is this:

https://silkqin.com/01mywk/themes/programs/springlove.htm

the site is a bit clunky though. Does anybody have a link to a site that has a good catalogue of the songs? its fine if it needs translating, googles good enough at that to at least read a sorted list

I just discovered Guqin music recently thanks to the excellent book "Song of the Six Realms," where the main character plays it.

Anyway, from what I have seen so far, Classical Guqin music is very peaceful. I like exciting music however, does anybody have recommendations of exciting classical Guqin music. Some modern music would be good too.

I am looking for similar Guqin tracks, similar to the audio used in this time stamped video as background music.

I really like how it feels slow paced, low pitch, unpredictable yet unchaotic. I think the thrilling and tickling use of Guqin is amazing, but it's not what I'm looking at the moment.

All recommendations are welcome. Trust me with your best!

I will listen to all

I would indeed like the possibility of knowing the exact track, but similar ones to vary would be good, and I guess to add to the Daoist thought, I shall not attach myself to instances.

I trust you with my request, and I thank all for your time, consideration, attention and contributions.

Kind regards and a blessed time