Quick Answer: What Is High Mountains for Guqin?
High Mountains (Gao Shan, 高山, Gāoshān) is a traditional piece for guqin (古琴, gǔqín). The 1425 Shenqi Mipu preserves a score. Flowing Water is a companion title in the same repertory.[1][6]
- Story: In the Liezi, Boya (伯牙, Bóyá) plays and Zhong Ziqi (钟子期, Zhōng Zǐqī) recognizes the image of a mountain.[2]
- Recording: Tsinghua University catalogs Yao Bingyan’s rendition at 7:57.[3]
- Identification: The combined mountain-and-water title also appears in zheng music.[5]
Look for the individual title Gao Shan and the instrument in the recording credits.
The title asks the listener to imagine scale and stillness. Start by listening to how a single plucked sound rings or changes after the pluck. The silence between notes can make a phrase feel as broad as a stretch of landscape.
The 1425 Score and the Two Titles
The Chinese Music Archive identifies Gao Shan in Zhu Quan’s 1425 Shenqi Mipu, an early Ming dynasty score collection. Its note says the mountain and water music had once been combined and attributes their separation to the Tang period. A later postscript cited in a Hong Kong program instead names the Yuan period.[1][4]
Both accounts describe a relationship between the titles, with different dates for the separation. For listening purposes, the Hong Kong recital lists Gunung Tinggi and Flowing Water as distinct entries with different source credits.[4]
What Boya’s Listener Hears
In the Liezi, Zhong Ziqi understands when Boya has a high mountain in mind. He also recognizes the change when Boya turns his thoughts to flowing water. The story is about how a listener can grasp an image and an intention through sound.[2]
The guqin offers several kinds of plucked and sliding sounds. The story offers a way to understand why the two images became associated with close listening. It does not identify the exact music that Boya would have played.
Read the Yao Bingyan Credits
Tsinghua University lists Gao Shan as track 5 on the second disc of a compilation titled High Mountains and Flowing Water. The catalog names Yao Bingyan as performer and Qinxue Rumen as the source. The next track is his separate performance of Drunken Ecstasy.[3]
A Hong Kong recital lists Gunung Tinggi in the same source collection and identifies Yao Bingyan as the transmitting teacher. The recital performer is Yao Gongbai. The same program gives Dialogue Between Fisherman and Woodcutter its own realization credit.[4]
Compare the Shape of a Phrase
On a recording of Gao Shan, notice whether the player lets the final note of a phrase ring or shifts its pitch before it fades. Listen again for the way the next phrase begins. Compare those two details in another rendition before trying to compare their overall speed.
If the sound or credit points to zheng, check the guide to High Mountains and Flowing Water for Guzheng for the regional works that use the combined title.[5]
FAQs About High Mountains for Guqin
Does High Mountains mean the same thing as Flowing Water?
They are companion works in the guqin repertory and can be listed as separate pieces in one recital.[4][6]
How long is Yao Bingyan’s cataloged recording?
The Tsinghua track listing gives 7 minutes and 57 seconds for his rendition.[3]
Is High Mountains played on guzheng?
This page covers the guqin piece Gao Shan. Regional zheng repertories include distinct works under the combined title High Mountains and Flowing Water.[5]
Sumber
[1] Chinese Music Archive. Guqin Program Notes: High Mountains
[2] Chinese Text Project. Liezi: Questions of Tang
[3] Tsinghua University Library. High Mountains and Flowing Water, Disc 2
[4] Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Resonance of Strings and Harmonics: Guqin Recital
[5] Chinese Music Archive. Zheng Notes: High Mountains and Flowing Water
[6] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Painting with Music: Bell Yung, Qin