The Guangling Suite
The Mysterious and Fantastic Handbook (1425) 　
Reconstructed by Wu Jinglue

The piece can be dated back to the late Han Dynasty. Ji Kang, a famous literatus of the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280), was well-known for playing this piece. It is about the story of “The Assassination of Emperor Han by Nie Zheng”. The music demonstrates a dramatic interplay between the tragic and intense, and the soft and moving, exemplifying the emotions and grandeur of a complex guqin composition. The piece was reconstructed by famous guqin player Wu Jinglue in 1954. It is originally well over 10 minutes long. This demonstration is an abridged version.

Guqin (metal strings): Wang Youdi

Capriccio on the Town of Wei
Wang Youdi (2019)

This composition is based on the poem Bidding Farewell to My Friend Travelling Westward by Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei. Utilising the special characteristics of the guqin and dizi, the piece fuses the musical features of the Western Regions with those of the guqin piece Farewell at Yangguan, painting an endless and fascinating view of the western terrain.

Guqin (metal strings): Wang Youdi
Dizi: Jiang Ning