The Lore of the Chinese Lute: An Essay in the Ideology of the Ch'in

R.H. Van Gulik, "The Lore of the Chinese Lute: An Essay in the Ideology of the Ch'in"
Publisher: C. E. Tuttle Co | 1969 | ISBN 0804808694 | PDF | 291 pages | 16.3 MB

Originally published 1941 by Robert Hans van Gulik (1910 - 1967), the Dutch diplomat, sinologist and author of the still-popular “Judge Dee” mysteries, The Lore of the Chinese Lute has yet to be surpassed for its comprehensive history of the Chinese lute. It is still (via the revised edition of 1969) the primary published English language source for guqin history and ideology.
Van Gulik studied the lute from all angles, seeking references to it in the classics and literature, learning its scores, and playing the instrument under the guidance of a Chinese teacher, one of the most famous lute masters of his age. The Lore of the Chinese Lute: An Essay in the Ideology of the Ch'in is an authoritative work which has no parallel even in Oriental literature.
The lute, ch’in or guqin is one of China’s oldest and most revered musical instruments. Records indicate that it has been a favourite of the literary classes for more than 2,500 years; Confucius himself was a great lover of the instrument. Over the centuries, it became representative of the life, taste and pastimes of the Chinese literati.
In addition to its contributions to solo and orchestral musical arrangements, a wealth of symbolic meaning accrued to the lute, over time. Not only was knowledge of the instrument reserved for the literati, its study was believed to be conducive to meditation and to facilitate intellectual enlightenment.
Throughout his life van Gulik took delight in writing on the hobbies and pursuits of the traditional Chinese scholar, subjects up to his time as a rule neglected by academic sinologists. The subjects he dealt with include Chinese antiques and connoisseurship, the Chinese lute, and the gibbon. All of his publications were not only informed by an extensive knowledge of Chinese sources and secondary materials in a wide variety of languages, but also by personal experience.

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