Gong Yi is a renowned Guqin soloist and a first class performer with the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra. He is currently chairman of the Jinyu Qin Society, a committee member of the Chinese Traditional Orchestral Society and of the Shanghai Music Association, adviser to the Shanghai Arts Education Committee and Consultant to the North American Guqin Association.

Born in Jiangsu Province, Gong Yi first performed on stage at the age of fifteen. He had a reputation as "a young guqin performer". 1n 1957, he entered the secondary school affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to further his study of the guqin. He studied under the tutelage of masters Zhang Zhengyin, Xia Yifeng, Zhang Ziqian, Gu Meigeng, Liu Jingshao, Wu Zhenping and Xu Lisun. He studied different styles of composition and performance from different masters, thus enriching his repertoire.

Gong Yi pays great attention to change of timbre and tone quality, and is meticulous about fingering. He strives to perfect his rendition of each piece by developing his own style. Gong Yi has recorded more than ten CDs and cassettes. As part of an effort to develop and promote Guqin music, Gong Yi and Zhou Cheng Long have used ensembles, orchestras and percussion as accompaniment for the guqin. These works have been well received.

Since the late seventies, Gong Yi has been a guest lecturer at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He is skilled in teaching guqin and writing teaching materials. He has many students from overseas countries, contributing tremendously to the promotion of guqin music.

Gong Yi has performed in Australia, New Zealand, America, Canada, England, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan as well as throughout China. Besides performing, Gong Yi also has studied, researched and compiled materials on guqin music. He has written more than thirty papers and numerous books, and has reconstructed more than twenty pieces of early guqin music.

In addition to collating historical works, Gong Yi is also active as a composer. He colaborated with Xu Guo Hua to compose "Mei Yuan Yin" ("Song of the Plum Garden"). This composition won the Composing and Performing Award from the Shanghai Ministry of Culture. Another, "Chun Feng" ("Spring Breeze") has also won wide acclaim in performances both within China and overseas.

Gong Yi received the Shanghai Arts Award in 1984-1985. He has won the Shanghai Festival of Spring Performing Awards on numerous occasions; his video "Guqin Rumen" ("An Introduction to Guqin Music") won the 1995 International Broadcasting Arts Festival Golden Bell Award.