The guzheng, also called “zheng,” is a horizontally-played harp (or a plucked “half tube zither”) with a sound box. It looks similar to the Japanese koto, with an arched sound board of soft wutong wood, approximately six feet long and less than one foot wide. The sides and the bottom of the sound box are made of red sandal wood. The strings are traditionally silk but since the 1960s steel or nylon strings have been in use. They run across individually moveable bridges. The guzheng was popular as early as 475 BC, especially in the state of Qin in western China- hence the old name “qin zheng.” The strings are tuned to give three complete octaves of a pentatonic scale. CPP Music Productions is the only professional music recording and production studio in the UK dedicated to Chinese musicians and Chinese music. Founded in the 1990s the studio produced many recordings and compositions ranging from traditional Chinese to “East-Meets-West” style music, as well as contemporary music compositions.
