Taken from "Records of the Grand Historian. Zhao Family": "Zhao Jianzi was ill and did not recognize anyone for five days... After two and a half days, Jianzi awoke. He said to the ministers: 'I was with the emperor, enjoying great happiness, and wandering among the gods in the music of the heavens, with grand performances and dances, unlike the music of the Three Dynasties. Its sound moves the heart.
"Jun Tian" refers to the centre of the upper heavens;
"Guang Yue" refers to elegant and magnificent music;
Thus, Juntian Guangyue refers to heavenly music, celestial music.
The new product, "Jun Tian Guang Yue", is named to express the beauty and rarity of its sound, as well as the characteristic of the guzheng's traditional folk music which touches the heart."
The first guzheng of the Xuan Guang Musician Series, "Jun Tian Guang Yue," showcases Xuan Guang's breakthroughs in innovative craftsmanship and redefines stage-use guzhengs. This guzheng is not only a work of art but also resonates with the performer during play, allowing one to understand their own nature through the melody. During stage performances, one can not only appreciate the instrument's timbre but also, while reflecting the emotions of the piece, touch the depths of the soul.
Mr. Mok Wai Leung, founder and artistic director of the Xuanguang brand, aimed to create a guzheng with an instrumental feel in his design of "Jun Tian Guang Yue." His initial intention was to present the natural beauty of the guzheng, ensuring that it not only meets high standards in sound quality but also aligns with the essence of an instrument in terms of shape, appearance, and design. "Jun Tian Guang Yue" thus embodies Simplicity, Elegance, and Nobility.
In order to express the three elements of Simplicity, Elegance, and Nobility in the "Jun Tian Guang Yue", Mr. Mok Wai Leung adopted the Japanese aesthetic concept of "wabi-sabi" as the design style during the design process. This style incorporates irregularity, lack of decoration, and natural variations into the design of the "Jun Tian Guang Yue".
"Wabi-sabi" originates from Chinese Zen culture, with its aesthetic philosophy inspired by Taoism and Zen Buddhism, particularly the concept of impermanence. The mental state associated with it is derived from the desolate, minimalist atmosphere of Tang and Song dynasty poetry and water ink paintings. The term "wabi-sabi" consists of "wabi" and "sabi." In Chinese, "wabi" is used to describe a state of dejection, as in "Li Sao," which mentions, "In gloom and sadness, I am dejected, alone and in distress at this time." When introduced to Japan, "wabi" also came to mean melancholy but simultaneously implied leisure and tranquillity. "Sabi" not only expresses loneliness but also connotes gracefulness and unadorned beauty.
"Jun Yian Guang Yue" uses original Japanese cold-region paulownia wood as the body of the qin. The latitude and climate of Japan result in a slower growth rate compared to Chinese paulownia wood. Only Japanese paulownia wood that has grown for over forty years can meet the basic dimensions required for the Chinese guzheng. Its material is also denser than Chinese paulownia wood, which, when used to make the guzheng, produces a sound that is distinct, simple, and smooth. This is a unique advantage of every Xuanguang guzheng. The grain of the paulownia wood adds a soul to each Xuanguang guzheng. The annual rings witness the growth of the tree year after year, and the grain becomes more unique with age, giving each Xuanguang guzheng a unique life.
"Jun Tian Guang Yue" also breaks the traditional idea of using a floral panel as the front of the guzheng by focusing on the side. It uses a whole piece of naturally air-dried cedarwood, joined and inlaid. In the treatment of the cedarwood, we also use delicate curved lines to ensure the streamlined finish perfectly matches the natural grain of the instrument’s panel, achieving a three-dimensional and spatially aesthetic effect.
The finishing material of "Jun Tian Guang Yue" is selected from wild Japanese cedar over 450 years old. The Japanese cedar has fine grain, with annual growth rings maintaining a constant width of 0.1 to 3 millimetres each year. Not only does it have antibacterial and anti-mite properties, but it also performs exceptionally well as an acoustic material. Due to the excellent acoustic properties and lightweight features of cedar, it is often used in the making of musical instruments, such as pianos and violins.
On the other hand, while cedar wood is easy to process, it also has the drawback of being brittle. To resolve this issue and enable the guzheng to use such excellent and rare material, Xuanguang spent more than four years innovating and developing the "High-Pressure Glass Fibre Reinforcement Technology" to treat cedar wood.
The zheng head cover continues to use the unique suspended design of Xuanguang, with new modifications made to the original design. By increasing the angle of suspension for the qin cover, the resonance of the qin body and the opening of the cover have been improved, resulting in significant advancements in both sound and usability for the guzheng.
The creation of "Jun Tian Guang Yue" is not only attributed to Xuanguang's transformation of the interior of the cedar wood; the external performance of Yamabu cedar also benefits from Xuanguang's expertise in Japanese lacquer processing techniques.
The front bridge is carved out of an integral piece of Indian red sandalwood. Its flawless arc is the result of numerous adjustments by the craftsman such that the tenon fits perfectly on the zheng body to facilitate optimal sound projection.
The zheng head interior features the art of yosegi-zaiku, a type of traditional marquetry originated in Hakone, Japan. Natural timbers of different colors and textures are cut into thin plates of wood, and then inlaid into the inner surface of the zheng head to create mosaics of geometrical design patterns. Yosegi-zaiku gained popularity in Hakone during the culturally rich Edo era, and has been designated as the official traditional Japanese woodcraft by the authorities since 1984. Regrettably, there are only a handful of yosegi-zaiku masters nowadays, which has led to artpieces of the craft becoming ever more precious.
The XuanGuang bridge is made of old material big red acid branch, and the zither maker crafts it by hand according to the body of the instrument. The zither made of old material big red acid branch is carefully crafted by hand, following the wood grain to create each piece, greatly improving the stability and uniformity of the zither, making the sound smooth and progressing layer by layer. The zither of Glowing Pillar is highly durable and does not easily wear out during repeated playing, enhancing the stability of the sound and preventing misalignment while playing. Such meticulous selection and intricate production process mean that the production cost of Glowing Pillar zither is several times higher than that of ordinary zithers, but in order to elevate the sound of the zither, we spare no expense.
Made of 18K yellow gold, durable and not easily faded.
The interior of the body is carved in a triangular pattern, a design meticulously calculated and crafted. It is important to note that the interior of the body is not flat, but rather curved. In this case, handling the triangle carving not only takes into account the resonance of the body, but also considers the transmission of sound during playing, striving to give the sound more depth. The lingering resonance of the guzheng with the triangle carving structure is longer and more delicate compared to the pure straight grain design, encompassing its surroundings.
