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Source Description
China’s most prestigious instrument, the <em>guqin</em> can be traced to the Chu culture almost 2500 years ago. By the late Ming dynasty, Jiangnan was a center of high-end guqin production. <br><br>Coated in black lacquer, this elegantly crafted instrument is inscribed on the inside, stating it was <em>made by Zhang Ruixiu</em> of Suzhou <em>for Mr. Tianchi of Haiyu</em>, also known as Yan Cheng (1547–1625). Yan was a key figure in guqin music history and founder of the Yushan school in Suzhou. Zhang Ruixiu was a guqin maker, known for achieving a supreme tone quality. Ten instruments attributed to him are known, of which this guqin has the earliest date.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
98676
label
Guqin made by Zhang Ruixiu of Suzhou
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
98676
contentType
object
title
Guqin made by Zhang Ruixiu of Suzhou
description
China’s most prestigious instrument, the <em>guqin</em> can be traced to the Chu culture almost 2500 years ago. By the late Ming dynasty, Jiangnan was a center of high-end guqin production. <br><br>Coated in black lacquer, this elegantly crafted instrument is inscribed on the inside, stating it was <em>made by Zhang Ruixiu</em> of Suzhou <em>for Mr. Tianchi of Haiyu</em>, also known as Yan Cheng (1547–1625). Yan was a key figure in guqin music history and founder of the Yushan school in Suzhou. Zhang Ruixiu was a guqin maker, known for achieving a supreme tone quality. Ten instruments attributed to him are known, of which this guqin has the earliest date.
date
1584
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79485268
genreSpecific
Musical Instrument
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 4.5 x 18.1 x 123.5 cm (1 3/4 x 7 1/8 x 48 5/8 in.)
cul
China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
accession
1918.371
Source extras
tec
Seven-string Asian long zither, chordophone, made from wood, lacquer, mother of pearl, and silk strings
tombstone
Guqin made by Zhang Ruixiu of Suzhou (古琴), 1584. China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Seven-string Asian long zither, chordophone, made from wood, lacquer, mother of pearl, and silk strings; overall: 4.5 x 18.1 x 123.5 cm (1 3/4 x 7 1/8 x 48 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Charles G. King Jr. collection; Gift of Ralph King in memory of Charles G. King Jr., 1918.371
titleInOriginalLanguage
Guqin
collection
Chinese Art
inscriptions
inscription
為海虞天池先生重斲/
萬曆甲申古吳張睿脩得古桐
inscription_translation
A two columns inscription in red paint is visible through the upper sound hole. The left column reads, “re-carved for Mr. Tianchi of Haiyu;” and the right one, “in the jiashen year of the Wanli reign (1584), Zhang Ruixiu of Suzhou acquired ancient Tong wood.”
Translation by Aidi Bao, Ph.D. candidate in Preservation Studies, Department of Art Conservation, University of Delaware
inscription_remark
Mr. Tianchi refers to Yan Tianchi (Yan Cheng 嚴澂, 1547–1625), a key figure in guqin music history and a founder of the Yushan School in Changshu (modern Suzhou). Zhang Ruixiu was a guqin-maker and Zhang-lineage instruments were praised by Yan Tianchi and contemporary Jiangnan connoisseurs as artworks with supreme tone quality. To date, ten instruments bearing the same maker’s name have been identified, of which this guqin has the earliest date.
sortorder
1
didYouKnow
The 13 studs in mother-of-pearl inlay indicate finger positions for sounding harmonics.
citations
citation
"Accessions." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 5, no. 8/9 (1918): 82–85.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 82
citation
D. S. M. "Exhibition of Musical Instruments." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 8, no. 9 (1921): 134–143.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 134-137
citation
Peng, Wei 彭薇, and Clarissa von Spee. <em>Migrations of Memory: The Poetry and Power of Music by Chinese Artist Peng Wei in Collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>= 平沙落雁—音樂的詩意與力量: 中國藝術家彭薇與克利夫蘭藝術博物館合作. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2021.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 13
citation
Griswold, William, Xiaofei Tian, Richard Von Glahn, Feng Zhao, S. J. Vainker, Masaaki Itakura, Jiang Wu, et al. <em>China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta</em>. Edited by Clarissa von Spee. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 270, no. 125
creditline
The Charles G. King Jr. collection; Gift of Ralph King in memory of Charles G. King Jr.
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:19:46.432000
sourceId
98676
dept
Chinese Art
coll
Chinese Art
med
Seven-string Asian long zither, chordophone, made from wood, lacquer, mother of pearl, and silk strings
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
12d9136ad5f44c1a