Quick Answer: What Is Flowing Water for Guqin?
Flowing Water (Liu Shui, 流水, Liúshuǐ) is a traditional piece for guqin (古琴, gǔqín). An early score survives in the 1425 Shenqi Mipu. NASA lists Guan Pinghu’s (管平湖, Guǎn Pínghú) performance on the Voyager Golden Record as Flowing Streams.[1][3]
- Sound: Some versions build a rush of sound with rapid sweeps across the strings.[4]
- Score: The familiar late Qing version has an added passage associated with Zhang Kongshan (张孔山, Zhāng Kǒngshān).[3]
- Recording: NASA lists the selected performance at 7:37.[1]
Check the performer and the title before comparing lengths across recordings.
Listen to the space between the first few sounds. When more notes gather together, the zither can suggest water changing pace. The quiet and rushing passages come from different ways of working the same strings.
The Early Score and the Listening Story
The 1425 Shenqi Mipu preserves tablature for the piece. The Central Conservatory connects its reception with the story of Boya playing and Zhong Ziqi understanding the images he had in mind. In the story, the listener recognizes images of mountains and water without being told the subject.[2][3]
High Mountains is its companion in guqin repertory. Another piece, High Mountains and Flowing Water for Guzheng, can appear under a combined title in a zheng recital.[2][6]
Hear the Rolling Water Passage
Central Conservatory notes describe a sixth section associated with Zhang Kongshan, added in the late Qing period. The label Seventy-Two Rolls refers to its gun fu (滚拂, gǔn fú) effects. As the player sweeps across the strings, closely spaced plucks build a continuous rush.[3][4][5]
The guqin can also produce a quiet, separated pluck or a sliding sound. In a recording with the rolling section, compare the close spacing of the attacks with the more open lines around it. Hear where the rush grows dense and where the next single note stands out again.
Find the Voyager Golden Record Track
NASA’s track list spells the performer’s name Kuan P’ing-hu and identifies the instrument as ch’in. It gives the duration of that selected performance as 7 minutes and 37 seconds. The title Flowing Streams is one English rendering of the work.[1]
These details identify the particular recording sent aboard Voyager. A performance labeled Flowing Water can have a different length and pacing.
Compare Another Named Performance
The Smithsonian’s Painting with Music program lists Bell Yung’s playing from 24:56 to 36:16. It notes that he learned the work from Yao Bingyan, whose realization of Drunken Ecstasy is a separate part of the repertory.[2]
Yung’s program also includes Evening Song of the Drunken Fisherman and a piece connected to the Xiao and Xiang rivers. Use the separate track timings to compare how the same player treats different landscape subjects.[2]
FAQs About Flowing Water for Guqin
Who played Flowing Water on the Golden Record?
NASA credits Guan Pinghu, using the spelling Kuan P’ing-hu.[1]
What does Seventy-Two Rolls refer to?
It names a late Qing version known for an extended rolling passage that evokes the sound of moving water.[3][5]
Is Flowing Water the same as High Mountains and Flowing Water for Guzheng?
Liu Shui is a guqin piece. The Smithsonian also catalogs a separately titled performance on zheng under the combined mountain-and-water title.[2][6]
Sumber
[1] NASA Science. Golden Record Sounds and Music
[2] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Painting with Music: Bell Yung, Qin
[3] Central Conservatory of Music. Music Program Notes: Flowing Water
[4] Southeast University. High Mountains and Flowing Water in the Guqin Repertory
[5] Sichuan Conservatory of Music. Shu School Guqin Workshop Concert
[6] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Chinese Music of the Seasons: Bing Xia, Zheng