NAGA Presents a Special Event

The Chinese Guqin and Its Culture

by guqin master Professor Li Xiangting

Last November, the guqin was included in UNESCO's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. This event will be a part of the North American Guqin Association’s program of events to promote the guqin.

About Professor Li Xiangting

Professor Li Xiangting is a Grand Master of the qin – a typical traditional scholar skilled not only in qin and xiao playing, but also in calligraphy, ink-painting and poetry. He is highly acclaimed both in China and overseas.

Besides performing in China, Li Xiangting has also staged over fifty recitals in many countries including the USA, England, Germany, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Last year he was the only Chinese musician at the prestigious Edinburgh Festival. He has lectured at numerous universities both in China and abroad.

Professor Li’s guqin compositions include “Boat Song of the Three Gorges” and “Building a Road in the Wind and Snow”. He has recorded more than ten albums including a number of CDs, cassettes and video tapes published in China and overseas. He has written numerous monographs and published a two volume academic book entitled “Aesthetics and Musical Ideology in Guqin Performance during the Tang Dynasty” which is the only book published on the aesthetics of guqin music.

Currently, he is a Professor at the Central Conservatory of Music, Vice-President of the Beijing Guqin Research Association, a committee member of the China Musicians’ Association, executive member of the International Cultural Exchange Center of China and senior advisor to the North America Guqin Association and the London Youlan Qin Society.

please visit his web site at http://www.chineseculture.net/lixiangting