When listening toFlowing Water, people will think of Mr. Guan Pinghu, the famous ChineseGuqinplayer that has passed away. The piece has been included in thegold-painted bronze record carried by the spacecraft America sent out to the space on August 20 in 1977.
GuanPinghuwas born into an artist family in Beijing in 1895 and died in 1967. His training to be an artist began at an early stage when his father Guan Nianci, a famous painter, taught him skills aboutQin,calligraphy and drawing. Later, he successively studied under Yang Zongji, Monk Wucheng in Suzhou of Jiangsu Province and Qin Heming in Shandong Province, three great players with distinct characteristics. Also influenced by folk music, he created his own strong style tainted with primitive simplicity.
In the early 1950s, he was employed as vice-researcher with China Institute for Folk Music. Perhaps, he is most remembered for retrieving a number of pieces which had fallen into a measure of desuetude (in particularGuangling Verse), for his performance ofFlowing Waterand for his work on ancient tablature symbols.
Classic works reconstructed by him includeFlowing Water,Guangling Verse,Lisao,The Grand Hujia,White Snow, and Orchid in Seclusion.
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