When Peng Jingxuan started playing the
guzheng
, a Chinese plucked zither, on the streets of France in 2018, she had no idea that her traditional instrument would change her life.
The 28-year-old has become a social media sensation thanks to her online video performances in French cities.
She has shared more than 200 original videos on YouTube tagged
"@jingxuanGuzheng"
, with the most popular clip having been viewed 17 million times.
The square in front of the Grand-Théâtre de Bordeaux is one of the places where Peng Jingxuan performs.
The captivating melodies that emerge from his zither always earn him loud applause from listeners.
Peng Jingxuan performing on stage in October 2019. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
“I love how she represents her culture in a setting where people aren't insiders. You can see that she is proud of her community and her music
,” says a YouTube user about her video.
The
guzheng
is a major ancient musical instrument dating back over 2,500 years.
The modern
guzheng
has between 21 and 26 strings.
The traditional Chinese
guzheng
is 1.63 meters long and is usually played by a woman sitting on a chair in front of her instrument.
Musicians, who most often perform solo, always have plastic, resin or tortoiseshell picks on their fingers on one or both hands.
The modern version of the instrument is often played by plucking the strings to produce heptatonic notes and chords.
Peng Jingxuan began studying
guzheng
at the age of 7.
Graduated in 2017 from the Wuhan Conservatory of Music in Hubei province, she enrolled at Bordeaux-Montaigne University where she obtained a master's degree in musicology.
In 2017, her first year in France, she was deeply attracted by the romantic and free artistic atmosphere in the city streets, enjoying the diverse productions of musicians playing the piano, violin, saxophone or harp.
But rarely from a Chinese instrument.
So, in 2018, coming out
“armed”
with her
guzheng
, she began performing in the street.
She was surprised that few people in France had heard of the Chinese zither, although her teachers and fellow students at the conservatory had known about it.
“I wanted to introduce this instrument to more people
,” she says.
It was in the street that she honed her talent, choosing traditional pieces for
guzheng
and several pop tunes each time marked by strong Chinese influences.
His ingenious adaptations earned him positive reactions from his audience.
She also performed Western pop songs that spoke to the local population.
Peng Jingxuan speaking with a professor at his French university about
guzheng.
PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
The pieces were pleasantly performed in a more Chinese style thanks to the addition of some exceptional techniques compared to guzheng
practice
, such as strumming.
Comment from a YouTube user:
“Never in my life would I have thought that Smooth Criminal (a song by the late American pop star Michael Jackson) could be played on a traditional Chinese instrument, but she did it cleverly and magnificently
. ”
Peng Jingxuan always prepared brochures in French explaining
guzheng
and its history to his audience.
After each aubade, people were always amazed at the beauty of the instrument and the music, she said.
They would come to her and ask her the name of the instrument and the country it came from.
His audience was also grateful to him for introducing them to such beautiful Chinese music, especially since they rarely had access to it, notes Peng Jingxuan.
One day, an elderly man sitting next to her said to her after her performance,
"You should take your
g
uzheng to other cities and share the beauty of Chinese music with more people
. "
This is exactly one of her big projects, the musician replied: taking her
guzheng
on a
“world trip”
.
To this end, she has visited four countries so far – Italy, Switzerland, Spain and France.
She says she hopes to perform in more cities in Europe so that more Westerners have the chance to discover the charm of
guzheng
and Chinese music.
Peng Jingxuan teaching a little girl to play the
guzheng
in a French town.
PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
To improve his interpretation and make it more understandable, Peng Jingxuan would also like to try more often to merge Chinese and Western music.
In addition to some improvised collaborative productions with local street artists, she strives to combine traditional
guzheng
music with avant-garde electronic music born in France.
With optimism:
“The guzheng is today the subject of a number of innovative techniques and we also see many contemporary compositions making great advances”
.
Article produced with the collaboration of Cao Chenyuan and Yan Yuqing.