Guqin – The Ancient Zither, was the musical instrument of the scholarly class before the times of Confucius. His requirements for being a gentlemen was to know the arts of Qin (Guqin or music), Qi (Chess), Shu (Reading, Literature and Calligraphy) and Hua (Paintings). Thus, the Guqin can said to be one of the most representative of Chinese aristocratic music.

At the Bamboo Grove, we believe in the same principals as our forefathers, that the Qin is to be respected and that the ancient arts of Qin performance, Qin-making and Qin appraisal be kept in its most traditional form. We are proud to carry the Guqins of famed makers, but with the mission of spreading the art of Qin to as many people as possible, we are most honored to work with luthiers who make every guqin by hand. .

Our Luthiers  believe in creating Guqins using the ancient methods. They select materials which are recovered from century old buildings slated for refurbishing, to ensure that the Guqins they make stay stable from unnatural warpage and crack. Woods such as Chinese Fir were used to make columns and beams since 3000 years ago, and having aged this long, under pressure, the woods become extremely stable. The resins have naturally dried out, with mineral deposits staying in the wood, making the resonance even throughout.

To keep costs as low as possible and still create Qins which are lasting, the cheaper models are made with woods recovered from government reclamations, while the higher graded ones are individually sourced. It does not necessarily equate quality with age of materials. every board is still individually checked for structural soundness, tone evenness and moisture content in the wood before the luthier begins his work.

We also ensures that all lacquer used are of natural ingredients.
Sap of the Chinese Lacquer Tree (Rhus verniciflua) and strengthened with ground dear antler, the 2 components for traditional Guqin Lacquer are produced by Song Yang themselves. This mixture not only protects the instrument from wear, it also ensures that the lacquer is “breathable” for the Guqin, enhancing the tone of the Guqin. After the lacquering, the lacquer will be wrapped in wet hemp for up to 2 months for it to dry as the slowest possible pace. The lacquer will slowly infused through the pores of the wood, following the grain pattern and the wood structure. This often creates a mirage-like hollow-graphic effect, resembling Chinese Ink Paintings on the instrument, making every instrument unique.

Workmanship-wise, we insist strict specifications to the requirements of a basic Guqin. Guqins are tuned many times during the making process. They check the gradient of the Qin ensure all notes across the sound board can be played efficiently. The specific numbers given are: Distance from String to soundboard at 7th harmonic position (Hui) for 1st String to be not more than 7millimeters, 7th harmonic position (Hui) for 4th String to be not more than 6 millimeters, 7th harmonic position (Hui) for 7st String to be not more than 5.5 millimeters. The slopes of all angles are checked throughout to ensure smooth playing for all notes.

An average guqin takes about 360 days to construct, and much of the time is spent in waiting: For the traditional adhesive to set takes 30 days, for lacquer to dry-reapply-dry-repeat (75-90days) and checking takes months for every Guqin.

With that, we leave you to enjoy viewing the Guqins in our collection, and listen to the recordings provided. The sound clips and videos are representative of the type/model described, but every Guqin is unqiue, and though largely similar, every Guqin will have very slight differences in the timbre. That being said, it has been remarked that the Guqin will sound according to the temperament, character and mood of the player, so we urge you to practice regularly, and craft the sound in your guqin for yourself.