Sounds of guzheng resonate at Lincoln Center

Yuan Sha (center) plays A Moonlit Night on the Spring River with other musicians at Lincoln Center in New York on Oct 11. HONG XIAO / CHINA DAILY

Music fans in the Big Apple got a chance to appreciate the beauty of guzheng, also known as the "Chinese zither," a stringed instrument with more than 2,500 years of history.

Yuan Sha, an acclaimed guzheng soloist, along with a delegation of top Chinese musicians, presented a performance-based lecture on Chinese musical culture titled Zheng & Poem - A Tour of Chinese Music Culture at Lincoln Center in New York on Oct 11.

The event, which was organized by the Bureau for External Relations of the Ministry of Culture of China and presented by the China Arts and Entertainment Group, began with a lecture by Yuan.

She not only explained the origins, basic structure, genres and techniques of playing the guzheng, but also the stories and the cultural spirit behind the music, strung together by a series of Chinese musical stories, including High Mountain and Running Water, A Moonlit Night on the Spring River, Peacocks Flying Southeast, March in the Desert, Red All Over the River and Lotus Emerging out of Water.

Besides a solo performance by Yuan, the event also featured a variety of arrangements of guzheng with piano, cello, violin, flute, harp, guitar and percussion, which showcased the unique charm of Chinese music.

After the performance, the audience was invited to try to play simple American songs on the guzheng. Yuan said music is a language without borders.

Yuan hopes that Zheng & Poem can play a positive role in drawing Chinese and American people closer spiritually, fostering understanding of how emotional expression differs between the cultures, and ultimately strengthening friendship by advancing a deeper understanding of each other.

The delegation also toured San Francisco and Boston.

Founded in 2015, the Chinese Culture Talk has visited more than 30 countries and held more than 80 events.

Complemented by performances of famous Chinese traditional and contemporary music, the goal of the talk is to facilitate ideological and cultural exchange between China and America, with a focus on explaining key cultural differences that influence how people communicate through their hearts and minds.