Gu Zheng

Guzheng is musical instrument originating in China approximately 2,000 years ago. It can be said that it is China's national treasure. Guzheng belongs to the family of fretless plucked zithers. It is the predecessor of the Japanese Koto, Korean Kayagum and Vietnamese Dan Tranh. Guzheng is not the same as Guqin.




The guzheng is the ancestor of several Asian zither instrument



Most commonly, modern guzheng (after 1961) has 21 strings, tuned pentatonically (do, re, mi, so, la; D major) over 4 octaves. Very rarely guzhengs with lesser or greater number of strings are available: advanced players may use guzhengs with 23 or 26 strings. The strings are strung across the full length of the soundboard, over moveable bridges which transfer vibrations from strings to the soundboard and keep the strings from touching the soundboard. Their position, along with string tension, determines the pitch of each string. Guzheng is placed horizontally on a special stand. Smaller guzhengs can be played on the musician's lap. In its early history it was played while placed on the floor.

Strings are plucked by fingers of the right hand using 4 plecta (picks) attached to tips of fingers. Left hand is used to create half tones (as well as fa, ti) and tremolos (pitch bending), and sometimes also plucks the strings to compliment the melody. Some musicians use plectra on both hands, which is beneficial not only for plucking but also for protecting fingers of left hand from pain.

Guzheng has a very large sound producing cavity, which is necessary for proper bass resonance. The top of the sound cavity (soundboard) is usually made from single piece of wutong wood (Paulownia tomentosa). Higher quality guzhengs also use wutong for the bottom soundboard. The wood must be well aged, in order to minimize deformation and shape changes over time, weather and humidity. In many cases wutong wood aged for 1 year is quite adequate for crafting an instrument, however, patience can add a great deal to quality of sound (and price). Some large volume instrument makers use ovens to accelerate the ageing process of the wutong in an attempt to increase profits. High-end luthiers consider this to be a deplorable practice, detrimental to the structure of the wooden grain.


Extremely critical in guzheng construction are bridges. Their design, shape, material selection and manufacturing quality are crucial for producing most desirable sound. Ancient guzheng bridges were made from ivory (as were other parts of guzheng). Today, bridges are usually made from rosewood or zitan wood.Other parts of the guzheng are less sensitive to wood selection, but mostly for appearance reasons, zitan, rosewood, sandal wood and other rare tropical woods are used most often.