Zhang Ziqian

Who is Zhang Ziqian?

Zhang Ziqian, a famous seven-string zither qin players, was born in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, The People's Republic of China. He studied the guqin with a guqin master Suo Shaotao at the age of thirteenth. In the 1930s, Zhang moved to Shanghai and worked as an accountant at a salt factory. In Shanghai, he met Zha Fuxi and Peng Zhiqing who were active qin players then. They frequently played the guqin together and Zhang’s playing skills were greatly influenced by them. In 1936, Zhang, Zha, Peng and other masters founded Jin Yu Qin She, a qin society. In 1956, Zhang became a guqin performer by being appointed as a member of the state-run Shanghai Minzu Yuetuan; and a guqin teacher at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1960.

As a professional guqin performer of the Guanling School, one of the qin schools, Zhang skillfully transcribed guqin pieces from ancient manuscripts with the Guanling style and his distinctive interpretations, e.g. rhythmic variations. His famous pieces includes Longxiang Cao, Pingsha Luoyan, and Meihua Sannong. His rendition of Longxiang Cao is considered one of his best interpretations and thus he is also known as Zhang Longxiang.