Guqin
Guqin is a seven-stringed zither without bridges, the most classical Chinese instrument with over 3000 years of history. It is literally called qin yet commonly known as guqin (ancient qin). Confucius (around 600 BC) was a master of this instrument. To learn to play qin was believed an important element for education. In imperial China, scholars and ladies of the high society were expected to master the four arts -- the qin, qi (weiqi or Go), shu (Calligraphy), and hua (painting). The guqin has historically been regarded as the symbol of Chinese high culture. Unfortunately only small number of people could play the instrument, because classical musical education of this kind has never reached the general public. Due to this reason, a great number of ancient repertoires were lost with the pass-away of masters or the written scores were burned or destroyed in war or turmoil. However, the guqin repertoire has been better preserved than all other instruments.
