Oxford
Oxfordshire OX1 4AR
UK
OXCSSA is glad to have JiaoYue Lyu with us for a lecture and recital on traditional Chinese musical instrument Guqin. The event will start with a structured performance where JiaoYue will play a series of selected songs themed the love in Qin song and Chinese poetry. Background knowledge about Guqin will be taught to the audience at the same time. Following the performance is an interactive session where audience has a chance to feel Guqin by themselves under the instruction of JiaoYue.
Time: 21/2/2016 13.30 – 15.00 pm
Venue: Doctorow Hall, St Edmund Hall, Oxford
Sign-up Link: http://goo.gl/forms/uXU6UKWJAf
[About JiaoYue Lyu]
Accomplished pianist, guqin performer, calligrapher. Specialties are guqin and Chinese calligraphy, two art forms that are included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Highlights of 2014-2015 season included performances and lecture-recital as a guqin soloist at Headquarters of the United Nations, Carnegie Recital Hall, Lincoln Center, University of Cambridge, and University of London, London Confucius Institute, and so on. Strong background and experience in music education; currently a Teaching Artist for New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, IMPACT Program (Interactive Multimedia Performing Arts Collaborative Technology) and NYU Children’s Chorus. Bilingual with fluency in Mandarin Chinese and English. Calligraphy selected by 2014 New York International Chinese Calligraphy Exhibition and included in permanent collection of the Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Institute in Beijing, China. Jiaoyue received New York University Outstanding Graduate Award with original topic thesis “The Impact of Guqin on Children With Special Needs” under the supervision of Professor Dr. Elise S. Sobol, the Chair of NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) in Music Education for Special Learners.
Jiaoyue is noted for her exceptional ability to combine traditional Chinese culture and music with Western learning and promote Chinese traditional music and culture. Highlights of the 2015-2016 include the distinctive invitation by the London Confucius Institute to return to the United Kingdom for a lecture-recital engagement tour of the 25 Confucius Institutes throughout England and Scotland.
[About Guqin]
Musical instrument, chess, calligraphy and painting are the four embodiments of traditional Chinese culture. Musical Instrument, namely “Guqin”, ranking first among the four, has had a history of nearly 3000 years. Guqin is shrouded in mysteriousness, containing many symbolic values. It is 3 chi, 6 cun, and 5 fen, representing the 365 days of a year, The surface board of the Guqin takes the form of an arc, symbolizing the roundness of heaven. The bottom board of theGuqin is flat, symbolizing the squareness of earth. The Guqin has 13 huis, dots on the surface of the Guqin used to denote the position of. They represent the 13 months of the year, with the extra 13th being the leap month in the Chinese lunar calendar. The Guqin originally had 5 strings, representing the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. But about 1000 years ago, King Wen of Zhou added a sixth string in remembrance of his dead son. His successor King Wu of Zhou added the seventh and final string to increase the morale of his troops in battle with their enemies. Therefore, the Guqin is also known as the seven-stringed Qin.
As the old saying goes, Guqin is a way of expressing feelings. It conveys one’s ideas and implies one’s nature. Since ancient times, Guqin has been one of the best ways for people to express feelings, moderate mindsets and seek inner-peace.
In 1977, a recording of “Flowing Water” was chosen to be included as part of the Voyager Golden Record and was sent into space by NASA. On November 7th, 2003, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) announced at its headquarter in Paris the second list of “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”, among which was the Chinese Guqin art. Guqin, as the oldest Chinese stringed instrument, was recognized to be vividly reflecting the essence of the heritage of Chinese culture. It has become representative of the deep, restrained and far-reaching charm of the East Asian culture.