Abstract
The qin (a type of seven-stringed plucked musical instrument) music plays a very important role in traditional Chinese traditional culture. The qin is the most frequently used musical instrument in classical Chinese literature and is representative of elegant music. The rich history of the qin music has engendered engendered profound traditional aesthetic thought on it, which has two important dimensions: 1) the concept of "elegance" that centers on the idea of "music as education" in Confucian ideology, and 2) the concept of "naturalness" with that has its origins in Daoist thought. These two concepts become unified in the prolonged history of the practice of traditional Chinese qin music, and have significantly influencedits creation and interpretation. The dimensions of "elegance" and "naturalness" have shaped the aesthetic character of traditional Chinese qin music, and are the ideological source of its perpetual vitality.
First Page
68
Last Page
79
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Jing, and Shuzhi Zhao. 2020. "Elegance and Naturalness: Two Aesthetic Dimensions of Traditional Chinese Thought on the Qin Music." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 40, (2): pp.68-79. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol40/iss2/6
