Author(s)

Kenan Yao

Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.

As the earliest Guqin unearthed in China by now, the ten-stringed Guqin of Marquis Yi offers a view of the early appearance of its kind. Its shape and embellishments embody the belief, totem worship, ruling ideology, moral criteria and universe philosophy of the Chu people during the Warring States Period, as well as their attitudes towards this ritual vessel, which dates back to the time immemorial, and its cultural identity. Through induction and analysis of documents and interviews with the restorer of the unearthed Guqin, this paper probes into the origin and design ideas of the shape and the strings of this ten-stringed Guqin so as to uncover its cultural connotation and functional reference.

Ten-Stringed Guqin, Origin of Shape and Construction, Worship for Shamanism and Loong (or Chinese Dragon, a Miraculous Animal in Chinese Legends), Yin-Yang and Five Elements Theory

Yao, K. (2019) Research on the Chinese Ten-Stringed Guqin of Marquis Yi: Design Ideas and Origin of Its Shape. Art and Design Review, 7, 10-21. doi: 10.4236/adr.2019.71002.