Melody of Chinese instrument flows on American campus

A culture talk, Gu Zheng and Poem, was held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, Oct 13, 2017. [Photo/Chinaculture.org]

Chinese guzheng (a Chinese plucked zither) performer Yuan Sha gave a talk and performance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US on Oct 13.

Titled Gu Zheng and Poem, the talk was part of the Chinese Culture Talk series, supported by the Ministry of Culture of China.

Along with five other young artists, Yuan introduced the instrument's history, basic structure, different schools and performing skills during the lecture.

She also highlighted the relationship between Chinese poems and songs, as well as their historical backgrounds.

The six people performed a series of traditional Chinese classics with cellists from the school, including High Mountains and Running Water (Gao Shan Liu Shui) and The Whole River Red (Man Jiang Hong).

Officials from the Consulate General of China in New York and about 100 students attended the event.

Launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Culture, Chinese Culture Talk is a series of lectures on Chinese philosophy, religion, literature, cuisine, medicine and traditional culture-related subjects. It is sponsored by the Bureau for External Cultural Relations of the Chinese Ministry of Culture.

By the mid-October this year, 100 talks in 32 series had been held in more than 30 countries around the world.