{"id":8641,"date":"2026-05-13T19:16:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T11:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mr-shan.com\/?p=8641"},"modified":"2026-05-13T19:16:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T11:16:55","slug":"%e3%80%8cthe-art-of-collecting%e3%80%8dthe-rare-song-dynasty-guqinnanfeng-makes-its-appearanceat-the-spring-auction-of-china-guardian-auctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mr-shan.com\/?p=8641","title":{"rendered":"\u300cThe Art of Collecting\u300dThe rare Song Dynasty guqin”Nanfeng” makes its appearanceat the Spring Auction of China Guardian Auctions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Among the four traditional Chinese arts of guqin, weiqicalligraphy and painting, guqintakes the lead. Since ancient times, it has been an important tool for scholars to cultivate their character and mind, and to understand the rites and the way. The word “qin” (Seven-string Chinese Zither) means “restraint”. Playing the qin restrains the mind and music nurtures virtue. It is the most elegant instrument that embodies the spirit of Chinese rites and music and connects the human heart with the universe.<\/p>\n

Surviving court guqin from the Song Dynasty are already rare, and this imperial lacquered guqinwith “Nanfeng”inscriptions during the Southern Song Dynasty is a standard masterpiece among them, a rare treasure in the world of guqin. I have listened to this guqin before. Its sound is clear, solemn, ancient, and mellow, with a full range of the nine virtues of a guqin. It brings a sense of peace and tranquility as soon as it is heard, fully demonstrating the elegant and refined charm of Song Dynasty guqin. This is an court guqin from the early Southern Song dynasty. It features a unique variant of the Lianzhu (String of Pearls) form, with four consecutive arcs on both the neck and waist, and three consecutive arcs on the sound pools (Longchi and Fengzhao). With an overall length of 126 cm, the instrument is grand and substantial in build, representing an exceptionally rare large-sized court guqin among surviving Song dynasty guqins. The body of the guqin is made of Chinese fir as its base wood, with a ground layer composed of deer horn powder mixed with raw lacquer. It employs the classic Song Dynasty red lacquer coating technique. After nearly a millennium of weathering, various crack patterns such as snake belly, flowing water, and tortoise shell intertwine across the surface. The lacquer color is ancient, mellow, and lustrous, embodying the pinnacle of Song Dynasty guqin-making and lacquering craftsmanship.<\/p>\n

The inscriptions on the back of the guqin fully display the imperial regulations: the cursive script “Nanfeng” was written by the emperor of the Song Dynasty, and the clerical script inscription “The sky is round and the earth is square, dragons and phoenixes soar. One melody of Nanxun brings prosperity and peace to the people” demonstrates the ideal of the Song Dynasty emperors to govern the world with music and ensure national peace and people’s well-being. Below the sound hole, there is a wide seal of nine-fold seal script “Imperial Seal of the Emperor’s Handwriting”, which was the imperial collection seal used in the Southern Song court. The original engraving and inscription are clear and distinguishable. The sound cavity of the guqin follows the Tang Dynasty Lei family’s “lining with paulownia” technique, with the soundboard made of paulownia wood, optimizing the vibration and sound absorption, making the sound lingering and long-lasting.<\/p>\n

This guqin was originally a collection of Senator Li Zifang during the Republic of China period. It was secretly kept in a watchtower in Guangdong for nearly a hundred years. After its discovery, it was authenticated by experts in guqin appraisal such as Zheng Minzhong and Wang Feng. It was confirmed to be a standard instrument of the Southern Song Dynasty’s court guqin, sharing the same origin and craftsmanship as the “Nanfeng” in the Shandong Museum and the “Mingfeng” in the Chinese National Academy of Arts. It is a model work of the guqin from the Southern Song imperial court.<\/p>\n

After nearly a thousand years of refinement, the “Nanfeng”guqin embodies the imperial regulations, exquisite craftsmanship and the cultural heritage of ritual music of the Song Dynasty. It is an unparalleled relic of the ritual music civilization of the Song Dynasty and an invaluable treasure of the Chinese guqin tradition. This guqin is set to make a grand appearance at the 2026 Spring Auction of China Guardian. The opportunity to have such a high-grade court guqin from the Song Dynasty come up for auction is a once-in-a-millennium event, and it is an extraordinary piece that collectors and culture enthusiasts must not miss.<\/p>\n

Collecting holds a world of secrets. That’s all for today. We’ll continue next time.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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