Real silk strings for guqin by Lawrence Kaster

Silk strings for guqin, sold directly by the silk string maker, Mr. Lawrence Kaster, available for purchase at his Etsy online store https://www.etsy.com/sg-en/listing/231573417/silk-strings-for-guqin-order-separately

According to Mr Kaster (posted in Facebook on the Guqin forum), "I am the only Silk string maker who welcomes Custom orders. I can do this because I work in small batches and have enough experience to suggest options for many other instruments."

(Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Mr. Lawrence Kaster or his online store. Neither have I purchased or used his silk strings.)

QinZhiJie.com - Great resource for guqin players (sorry in Mandarin only)

https://www.qinzhijie.com has a great repository of some popular Qin music scores. It even has a (virtual) tuner. Sorry, it is in Mandarin only. Special thanks to Mr. Charles Tsua for sharing this valuable information at https://www.facebook.com/groups/guqinguqin/

A quiet evening listening to my daughter play the piano

A quiet evening at home, listening to my 12 year old daughter playing 'Mirror On The Wall' a grade 5 piece, on the piano next to the kitchen, amidst a rattling kettle boiling on the stove, and her granny guiding her younger 8 year old sister to study Mandarin. Circa 22nd Feb 2017 in Singapore.

Portable WeiQi chess set

The best thing ever... portable 圍棋 WeiQi chess set, available from TokyuHands store (in Singapore) for Sgd$10. With this, I can play wei-qi with my children wherever we are outside our home, such as when we are taking a break in a cafe. WeiQi is also known as GO. *smile* No PokemonGO allowed for my children. They are only allowed to play GO, not PokemonGO.

Zhao Jiazhen(赵家珍) full concert at O'Shaughnessy Auditorium in Saint Paul, Minnesota USA

Zhao Jiazhen(赵家珍) full concert at O'Shaughnessy Auditorium in Saint Paul, Minnesota USA. Special thanks to Boon Avista for sharing the link to this video in the Facebook Guqin forum

Online Repository of GuQin notations (in Mandarin only)

(Special thanks to 刘晓锐 for sharing this valuable information in the Guqin - 古琴 discussion group in Facebook!)

Online Repository of GuQin 7-string zither notations (sorry, in Mandarin language only)

Link: http://www.qinzhijie.com/notations

Wanderlust of a literati scholar with a guqin on his back riding on his BMW

Gifted this picture (Scholar with a GuQin on his back riding a horse) which I anyhow doodled, to a Singaporean Professor who was one of my lecturers when I was studying for my PhD in Monash University. He has migrated to Australia and now teaches in University of Melbourne. It takes courage to venture overseas, and I admire that daring spirit. *smile*
This picture symbolizes the 'wanderlust of a literati.' My daughter asked me, 'Why is the horse so fat?' to which I wryly quipped, 'It is a 飽馬 bao ma (meaning 'full-stomached horse' which also sounds like 寶馬 bao ma 'treasure horse' which is what BMW is called in the Chinese-speaking world).' hahahaha *smile* (sorry, bad pun! hehe)

Singapore guqin performance by Maestro Gong Yi from PRC

Gong Yi Guqin Recital

25 Sep 2015 : 7.30pm 

26 Sep 2015 : 3pm

Venue: Esplanade Recital Studio

Tickets can be purchased at https://www.esplanade.com/festivals-and-series/moonfest-a-mid-autumn-celebration/2015/gong-yi-guqin-recital?FestivalNames=moonfest-a-mid-autumn-celebration&Start=20150703

Well, I don't know yet if I'd be going to his recitals, as I am not sure if I can make it at those two time slots due to work commitments. If you happen to see a wild-eyed crazy guy wearing a bowtie in the audience, that's most probably me. Please say hi to me! I promise to look around me in bewilderment, gesture "Who me?!" and then wave back at you. *smile*

Strengthening my guqin playing fingers using pull-ups

I used to have urges to seek out the loudest guqin silk strings or the loudest, best sounding guqin. Now I have flipped that the other way round. Instead of being a bad workman who blames his tools, I should just strengthen my fingers. That's right. I should tune up myself for the guqin instead. One of the ways of strengthening my fingers is to do pull-ups. Rock climbers also do that to strengthen their fingers. But there was a problem. One year ago in the previous Chinese New Year 2014, I was morbidly obese. I could do zero pull-ups. Now, one year later, I can finally do some pull-ups. My only regret was not starting to lose weight earlier. What a difference a year makes! Feeling tired? Instead of reaching for that starchy/oily food, or alcoholic beverage, or cigarette, do some exercises like push-ups, squats, or pull-ups. Exercising is fun! hahaha I also figured that if I want to use guqin playing for so-called "self-development," it would be downright ironic and hypocritical of me if I continue to neglect my health and indulge in sugary/starchy/oily unhealthy foods. hahaha (laughing at my silly self)

Happy 2015

Here's wishing you a very Happy 2015, and a Superb Lunar Chinese New Year! Keep Calm and sip hot chocolate in hipster cafes! I was in this particular nostalgia-themed cafe in Singapore's Lorong Kilat called Carpenter and Cook. Typewriters are sold there! I feel that hipster cafes might be best enjoyed being immersed in the ambience with the smartphone switched off, just like when I play the guqin. Smartphone switched off. Ironic, I doth concede, since my smartphone was used to take these pictures. hahaha

Mei Shao Yue 梅梢月 - Token of appreciation to my supervisor

My lowly, worthless token of appreciation to my dissertation supervisor, a professor from Australia who is visiting me in Singapore. No, it's not a bribe(!) as what I drew is just lousy trash and it's worth nothing. Lol! Hahaha! The picture of plum blossoms symbolizes 'strength in adversity' because plum blossoms (the national flower of Republic of China) tend to blossom in harsh cold of winter, just before the beginning of spring (symbolized by the bird returning from the warmer south).

Mei Shao Yue 梅梢月 is the name of a guqin tune that Mr. Thompson (www.SilkQin.com) had taught me. haha

Sound Of Mountain - guqin online store

Thanks to James He in Facebook's forum https://www.facebook.com/groups/guqinguqin/ I now know that there is another online store called Sound of Mountain that sells guqin and is willing to ship it to anywhere in the world, besides Sound of Asia and ChineseCulture.net.

Happy Double 10 National Day to Republic of China

今年的十月十日、是中華民國慶祝建國一百零三年的大好日子。中華民國萬歲！祝您雙十節快樂！Happy 10th October National Day to Republic of China. Long live freedom and democracy.

Guqin Playing in UniSIM Wed 8th Oct 2014

Video of me playing guqin in an undergraduate class which I have been teaching part-time on Wednesday nights since 2008. It was just an informal sharing session about the use of "ethnic" musical instruments in music composition in multi-cultural Singapore. hahaha... Please pardon my horrid playing... The mic was the built-in mic on my Sony Handycam which was mounted on a tripod. I had moved the video camera closer to me just before I started playing this piece on the guqin. Video footages of me playing other pieces could not be used as the video camera was too far away to capture the sounds from the guqin. hahaha




Pictures of silly old me at my part-time teaching gig informally sharing about the 古琴 Gu Qin with my undergraduate students in Singapore. As you can see, there are students of different ethnicities in multi-cultural Singapore together in harmony. That's what I like about Singapore. haha...

I shared with the students about my teacher's teacher, 孙毓芹 Sun Yu-Chin, who was the National Living Treasure of ROC (Republic of China on Taiwan).

I also shared with the students about my guqin teacher Mr. John Thompson. For more info about the guqin, please visit his website at www.SilkQin.com

New URL of Jun Tian Fang's taobao online store is zhenglindian.taobao.com

New URL of Jun Tian Fang's taobao online store has been changed to http://zhenglindian.taobao.com

The old URL at juntianfang.taobao.com is now defunct.

Replica of Ming Dynasty bronze guqin for aficionados of jade bridge, jade pegs, jade "dragon gum bumpers," and jade goose feet

Alert to aficionados of all things related to Ming Dynasty: this seems to be a replica of a famous Ming Dynasty metal guqin called the "龙音渊邈." This bronze guqin is ideal for people who also love jade bridge, jade pegs, jade "dragon gum bumpers," and jade goose feet. You know you want it. It might be useful for playing outdoors during winter without fear of wood cracking because no wood was used in this bronze guqin. Yours starting from RMB30,000. 

Interesting. I wonder if a CNC (computer numerical control) machine was used to cut the bronze pieces to make the guqin, or was it 'handmade' throughout the entire process? Available at this taobao store at http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=40812756056&ali_refid=a3_420434_1006:1104141246:6:%B9%C5%C7%D9%C7%D9%D7%C0:16e3ad890a14e0cf6ddfd0a5b19d23d6&ali_trackid=1_16e3ad890a14e0cf6ddfd0a5b19d23d6&spm=a230r.1.17.25.2UawNe

There's more than one available at this taobao store at http://shop60721900.taobao.com

For people outside PRC, you may consider using a Taobao agent such as http://www.taobaoring.com or http://www.sgshop.com.sg
(No, I am not affiliated to any of the Taobao merchants or Taobao agents.)

灵韵 Ling Yun brand guqin silk strings RMB298

Ling Yun 灵韵 brand guqin silk strings. RMB298. Available from this shop on Taobao at http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.5.w4002-1137096523.10.7CIpnd&id=18507555374

For people outside PRC, you may consider using a Taobao agent such as http://www.taobaoring.com or http://www.sgshop.com.sg

(No, I am not affiliated to any of the Taobao merchants or Taobao agents.)