In 1995, Mei Yueqiang sat down for an interview in Nanjing.
He was seventy-six years old. He had been playing the guqin for over sixty years. He was the tenth-generation master of the Jinling lineage and the eleventh of the Guangling school — one of the great classical traditions of Chinese music, founded in the Kangxi era of the Qing dynasty by Xu Changyü, a native of Yangzhou.
In this interview, he spoke about the Guangling school: its history, its revival, and his life’s work — preserving its music, training students, carrying something forward that might otherwise have been lost.
He passed away in 2003. This footage is thirty years old.
English subtitles have been added so that this voice can be heard beyond the language it was spoken in.
The Guangling School
The Guangling school of guqin was founded during the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty by Xu Changyü (徐常遇), a native of Yangzhou. It is named after Guangling — the ancient name for Yangzhou — and is distinguished by its lyrical, flowing style, its attention to the inner singing quality of each note, and its deep roots in the literati tradition of the instrument.
Mei Yueqiang was its last great master of the twentieth century. His teacher was Liu Shaochun. They lived together for years. That is how this music was passed down — not through textbooks, but through proximity, devotion, and time.
A Note on This Recording
This interview was recorded in 1995. Mei Yueqiang speaks in Mandarin. The English subtitles have been prepared to make his words accessible to listeners outside China — because what he says about lineage, preservation, and the meaning of transmission belongs to anyone willing to listen.
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