Yuan Sha: Make Guzheng a National Instrument
2005-8-15
Walking into Yuan Sha’s room, you face two guzhengs. She has just finished practicing with her sister. The 27-year-old guzheng performer Yuan Sha has a classic style beauty. During the whole interview she keeps her guzheng picks on. This, she explains, is because she arrived late from Changchun and therefore needs to practice some more.
The Culture Department of Jilin Province, the Guzheng College of Beijing Xinghua University, and Guanming Art School together host this “Yuan Sha Guzheng Solo Concert” which starts at 19:00 tonight at the Province Culture Center. Yuan Sha hopes that the “Butterfly Lovers”, the song she worked on with famous composer He Zhanha, will lead the guzheng in a new direction.
A Tough Learning Experience
Yuan Sha first came across the guzheng when she was six years old. “It was a very tough experience; I had to travel 14 hours by bus from my hometown Tiantai, Zhejiang, to take lesson with my guzheng teacher in Shanghai every week. I then had to take the bus back home at night. When I was seven, I started living with my relatives in Shanghai and took guzheng lesson every week.” Yuan Sha didn’t disappoint her parents. At age nine she received first place in the entrance examinations to both the Central Music Conservatory in Beijing and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. She tossed a coin and chose the Central Music Conservatory.
The Guzheng doesn’t Have Enough International Influence
Learning guzheng gave Yuan Sha the chance to explore the international music scene. When a reporter asked her about the guzheng's standing in the international music stage, she responded: “It’s not in the mainstream. I think this is because of the country’s economy and politics. Our guzheng repertoire is actually far richer than that of the Japanese Koto, yet the Koto has established a standing for itself in the international field. Most people’s knowledge about the guzheng is only limited to their curiosity; they assume this instrument is something new.” Yuan Sha also showed her optimism: “I’m working on making the guzheng a national instrument. After I reach this goal, it won’t be long for the guzheng to establish its standing in the international music scene.”
Make Guzheng Teaching Lively
Already well established and famous, Yuan Sha has a bigger dream: “The current guzheng teaching is too inflexible,” she claims. “I’m going to make it lively. For example, writing easy songs for children to attract their interest; rearranging popular songs into easy pieces in order to target adults who only learn the instrument as a habit.” Receiving international success at a young age, Yuan Sha believes it has to do with talent: “Musicians have to have at least 50% talent; other than that, there is effort and determination.”
It Only Takes an Afternoon to Learn a Guzheng Song
Elegant music can keep people at a distance, but Yuan Sha believes the guzheng is the only exception: “When my Dad took me to the instrument store, when I heard its sound I decided to learn guzheng immediately. That’s the fascination of this instrument.” While saying this, she took the reporter’s hand and glided through the strings. “The guzheng is a very easy instrument to learn to play; I can make you learn a song in just one afternoon. Can you believe that?” She directed the reporter’s fingers on the strings and the melody of “Chang Hai Yi Sheng Xiao” magically emerged. Yuan laughed: “Isn’t it easy? You can learn it in a very short time. So don’t think it’s a distant instrument; the guzheng is an instrument that offers a lot of fun.”