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Post by Si on Nov 14, 2006 14:18:37 GMT
Yes I have found a great new place (open 3 months) that is 1 min walk from Xin Tian Di.
The very friendly lady owner (Miss Gao) is a guqin enthusiast who has a nice little shop with teaching space above. Lessons are available and one can just sit around chatting "Guqin" with the customers.
This evening i met a student of the Shanghai conservatory who can play Mist and cloud on the Xiao-Xiang rivers and he has only been studying for 1 year!
I regaled them with a mangled guan shan yue and an OK qiu feng ci.
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Post by Si on May 21, 2007 16:17:10 GMT
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Post by guzhenglover on May 22, 2007 2:36:11 GMT
The lady in the photo, is she your teacher? Her costume looks Japanese to me (though I realise that the Japanese got their kimono from China, but anyway...). I'll have a better read of the article. Looks interesting.
Weren't you going to ask your teacher to recommend some interesting guqin places in Beijing for me?
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Post by Si on May 22, 2007 6:08:27 GMT
oh yeah - ill ask on wednesday.
No she is the organiser. I was thinking about these hanfu's but they look like a lot of trouble and dont realy look erm......well it looks like fancy dress not really cool or stylish.
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Post by Charlie Huang on May 22, 2007 8:40:00 GMT
She is wearing Hanfu, however, I noticed the edging is the same colour as the main body of fabric (which is a distinctly Japanese style; Hanfu almost always is trimmed with a contrasting fabric and colour expect in certain cases).
Style is in the eye of the beholder. If you say Hanfu is unstylish, then that applies to kimono, hanbok, sari, et al. national costumes past and present.
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Post by Charlie Huang on May 22, 2007 9:20:23 GMT
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Post by Si on May 22, 2007 9:46:56 GMT
I prefer those simple ming style tops. can be all in one colour like black and the style is more under-stated. can even wear in everyday. they often wear something similar on the fron of cds.
my colleague just told me they are called zhong shan zhuang.
suppose i cant imagine messing about with a hanfu every time i practice.
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Post by Charlie Huang on May 22, 2007 14:41:56 GMT
I think you mean a cheongsam. That is not Hanfu but Manchu dress or Tangzhuang (so is Qing rather than Ming). Zhongshan zhuang is the Mao suit which I find inappropriate for qin!
I find that Hanfu is more easy to put on than, say, a full evening suit plus academic dress which I usually wear for qin in proper performance. You don't need to put on the zhongyi (i.e. inner white garment; you can put on a fake white collar called a yiling instead), just the shenyi which takes but minutes.
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Post by tod on May 22, 2007 16:37:49 GMT
"Among all the instruments, whether Chinese or Western, the guqin might be the easiest to learn. A learner can surely play a piece of music on it after only three months' practice," said Yang Zhijian, a guqin professional and also one of the club owners.
This is rather contrary to what I've generally read and heard from others about the qin.... what do you think about this statement? - Tod
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Post by Si on May 22, 2007 16:54:57 GMT
well i was first told it was the most difficult of instruments to learn.
but
since i have started learning i would say thats total rubbish. i think it is quite easy to play a tune after a few months!
but
you will not play it so well, then as you continue learning more, you will find that this beginners piece is quite easy, and you are more confident with fingerings.
but
as you keep learning new tunes i find it a struggle to keep up with the old tunes, because the newer tunes are longer and take up a lot of time to learn
thats my experience anyway. but i do think qin is easier to learn that erhu which i tried a new years back. most of the fingerings seen not so hard, but i still have a long way to improve............
(this should be a fresh post!)
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Post by Si on May 22, 2007 16:59:02 GMT
tod - your distracted me!
CCC - my colleague said its the uniform from just before the commys took over. Its a Sun Yet San costume is what she means i think. I could not get the documentary to load - is it in english?
well anyway i want something simple like that of a maybe Ching thing! I should pay a visit to "Shanghai Tang" boutique maybe.
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Post by guzhenglover on May 23, 2007 2:20:34 GMT
I find that Hanfu is more easy to put on than, say, a full evening suit plus academic dress which I usually wear for qin in proper performance. I don't know how it'd go down with the audience in our part of town (world) if I wore my academic dress for a qin concert. The only occasions where I've ever needed to wear my academic gown are my own graduation (i.e. the first time I got to wear the gown) and my students' graduation ceremonies. For formal events and/or concerts, I've decided that (at least for the time being, before getting a Han costume) western attires is the way to go. My favourite Chinese costume is from the Song Dynasty, though it looks like not many people (designers, tailors etc.) have looked into costumes from this period. I've always felt a strong affinity with everything from this dynasty (though I am sure I am not the only one!). Any idea how I could get a Song costume? In fact, does anyone have any reccomendation as to where I might go in Beijing so as to shop for a Han costume (Song style or not)? I'll only have about 7 days there this time, so there won't be time for a lot of revisits e.g. for measurements, etc. The main things I'd be demanding are the quality, the pricing and, above all, the design of the costume (it's got to be tasteful, though I realise that this too is a highly subjective matter...).
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Post by Charlie Huang on May 23, 2007 9:34:54 GMT
tod: Well, I managed. I think it is more accurate to say that that is true provided you are serious about learning qin rather than not being bothered. I saw some who can play a full piece rather well in three months. Syburn: Yes, the Zhongshan zhuang is the Sun Yat Sen suit; same thing, different names. It is associated with the commies and all that stuff, so hardly appropriate for the 'feudal' qin!!! lol. Manchu dress is appropriate for qin playing. The videos are in Chinese. The site is either temporarily offline or your internet speed is too slow. GZL: In Britain, academic dress has a long tradition and a more important role than in China or the rest of the world. Because I'm a member of the Burgon Society, I have an interest in AD and like to wear them as well as make some of my own. I, of course, wouldn't wear full dress in China, since AD there is nothing but a 'fancy dress' costume to the Chinese! People won't understand or be able to appreciate it. There are some Hanfu shops in Beijing. You should ask here: groups.yahoo.com/group/hanfutor/ .
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Post by Si on May 23, 2007 15:49:48 GMT
today my teacher told me that a reporter wants to do an article on, well, i dont know! but he wants to intrview a foreigner that is interested in guqin and studies at my guqin school.
so i my be in the newspapers next week!
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Post by guzhenglover on May 24, 2007 2:33:43 GMT
Well syburn did you remember to ask your teacher about interesting qin places to visit in Beijing e.g. shops, studios, qin tea houses, etc.?
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Post by Si on May 24, 2007 7:05:09 GMT
she did not reply to my sms. When are you going?
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Post by guzhenglover on May 24, 2007 7:16:19 GMT
I'll be going in mid June for about a week or 7 days at most. Maybe you could ask her when you see her in person next time during the lesson etc.? Tks.
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Post by laoqinyou on May 24, 2007 22:14:17 GMT
For Beijing qin/tea places. See if the yichengchashe is still there, near the Yonghegong. yichengtea.com. Julian Joseph and I visited it at different times last summer. A SF area friend stumbled over a place that was in the vicinity of the Gugong, name something like:
that the name of the teahouse you visited it: QingFengGuan, and that it's address is more or less corner of Nan chang jie and Chang An jie.
I haven't been there though.
jim
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Post by guzhenglover on May 25, 2007 4:07:42 GMT
Well all those place names sound really foreign to me at the moment - though I speak Chinese - but I guess it'll all make sense when I get there. Thanks a lot Laoqinyou! Anything else to add, syburn? What about interesting hanfu places (so I can try wearing hanfu myself - Song style even?)
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Post by Si on May 25, 2007 4:14:19 GMT
i went to shanghai tang shop last night - they have lots of the suitable tops for qin playing but its the last dynasty (forgot what its called) - i think i prefer this cos its stylish and can be used day to day
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Post by guzhenglover on May 25, 2007 4:21:24 GMT
Well syburn I am only going to Beijing! And re hanfu I do prefer Song style, though Han style is also nice and very Han. And I'd be looking for something that I can't find in Singapore (there's plenty of Manchu-inspired costumes and dresses here, but little if any from other dynasties).
BTW, I think your qin studio comes under the umbrella of a Beijing shop by the same name (which is Jun Tian Qin Fang). If I remember correctly, this studio was set up by Wang Peng, and it's his qin that I've got at the moment.
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Post by Si on May 25, 2007 17:00:13 GMT
oh well i dont even know its name, haha
they do sell lots of wang pengs - they have a lot for good ones around the 7000rmb mark - that will be my new one me thinks.
Are you looking for anything in perticular at the BJ guqin shop? Dont forget to get a gu qin notation table runner for your qin table!!!!!!
Hmm - i think its the manchu style that i might want - but i dont want any embroidery!!
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Post by guzhenglover on May 28, 2007 3:21:06 GMT
So can you ask your teacher in person when you see her in your next lesson? Tks. By many accounts I think Wang Peng qins have begun to generate a good reputation. I've been quite happy with my WP qin but I think I paid a couple of times more than the price you quoted? Ah well I seem to remember my teacher saying that my is a prof qin, and maybe that's the reason.
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Post by Si on May 30, 2007 18:11:43 GMT
GZL - was this the post were you asked about beijing shops. Im too tired to look....
teacher says TT Arts on Bao Jia Jie (street) is very good.
also there are a few shops on the street outside the central conservatory of music - i think that will be easy for you to find.
happy holidays!
(so is this guqin collector, your teacher?)
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Post by Si on Jun 26, 2007 4:22:40 GMT
GZL - how was beijing (apart from the smog and dust and traffic)
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