How freely should guqin music be played?
Some people argue that guqin music should be played accurately according to the tablature; others say it should be played freely. Some argue for improvisation, and there is even a movement suggesting that at best guqin music should be recreated during each performance through free improvisation. More generally speaking, there is a long tradition of saying that the guqin and or guqin music “should be this” or “should be that”, or even that the guqin is this or the guqin is that.2 Unfortunately, all such claims are usually applied using selective reasoning: history and experience show that the guqin tradition is very broad. It has been described as an instrument for scholars and recluses but clearly it has long been played in society. It is generally considered to be largely as a non-professional tradition but it has always included professionals (teachers, in particular). It may be said that the ideal is to play only for oneself, as a form of self-cultivation, but many of the best known
