The zheng, a 21-stringed or 25-stringed plucked instrument, is sometimes known as the Chinese zither.

Born with a uniquely subtle and lyrical temperament, the zheng has been a key instrument in Chinese music for thousands of years.

Ma Li plays the 21-stringed plucked instrument known as the Chinese zither. [China Daily]

"The Rhythm of the Fall," a recent CD album by young zheng soloist Ma Li, can be taken as an example of the instrument's expressive nature.

The album mainly contains classical works of the zheng repertory, such as "Spring Morning On the Snowcapped Mountains," "Ducks Playing in Cold Water," "Evening Songs from Fishing Boats" and "Autumn Moon over the Han Palace." There are also a few pieces adopted from folk songs like "Golden Embroidered Panel" and "Shandandan Flowers Blooming Bright Red."

Throughout the CD, Ma has also tried to display the charm of the zheng in a natural way.

Now a member of the Chinese Musicians' Association and the Chinese Folk Wind and String Instrument Association, Ma was born in Xi'an, capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

She began her professional musical training at the age of 8. In 1990, she was enrolled in the Middle School attached to the Xi'an Conservatory of Music, becoming a professional musician.

In 2000 she graduated from the China Conservatory in Beijing, where she studied with the zheng masters Lin Ling, Qiu Dacheng and Zhou Wang.

Following a long road of professional development in both performance and instruction on the zheng, Ma received praise for her talent from the highest circles of China's musical establishment.

In 1995, she won the Excellent Performance Award in the "Oriental Cup of the National Juvenile (Youth Group) Competition for Zheng Performance." In 1999, she held her first solo concert in Beijing. In 2000, she was invited to perform in Sweden with the Chinese Young Artists' Group.

After graduation, Ma was a zheng teacher at the Beijing Contemporary Music Institute for a year. She then made a choice that was somewhat different to most zheng players: She went to the United States to pursue a master's degree in music education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

That was not to say that Ma had given up her zheng. In 2001, she took part in the recording of the "Collection of Zheng Music." In October 2003, she took part in the Plain Song Festival (A Celebration of Multicultural Folk Arts) at Southeast College, Lincoln, Nebraska. In January 2003, she performed at the "Chinese New Year Concert" in Cincinnati.

On May 26, 2003, Ma held a concert at world-famous Carnegie Hall in New York. Besides solo works like "The Night Escape of Lin Chong" and "Caprice on Yellow Emperor's Tomb," both of which are on Ma's new CD, she also played duets on the guanzi (Chinese wind instrument) in "Time beyond the Great Wall at Autumn" and on the piano in "A Hero's Regret."

World Journal, the biggest Chinese newspaper in North America, commented that Ma's concert "leads the audience into the remote and profound world of the old Chang'an (ancient name of Xi'an)."

Ma continues to perform as well as trying to promote the zheng in the United States, where it is unfamiliar to most people. She has had some classes and tried to show zheng music to some elementary school students.

She said the children showed great interest in it.

"I wish to master the Western education theory and method, and become a music teacher in America to cultivate the zheng's audience," said Ma.

"I am trying to find a way to help American people enjoy it, understand it, accept it and then love it."

To do that, Ma plans to play some traditional American folk songs with the zheng. She tried once, and it was positively received by American audiences.

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