🌟 Jun Tian Fang "Floating Fragrance Amidst Plum Shadows" Series: The Poetic Gateway to Elegant Music
The "Floating Fragrance Amidst Plum Shadows" (梅影浮香) series is the premier choice for beginners entering the world of refined music, distinguished by its exceptional value and poetic aesthetic. Even as an entry-level instrument, it inherits the consistent brand lineage and the commitment to the balanced and harmonious tone (zhōngzhèng pínghé) characteristic of Jun Tian Fang, ensuring quality superior to its peers.
The soundboard is crafted from superior, carefully selected Paulownia wood—a traditional and revered material—which guarantees a clear, resonant tone and a mellow, lingering aftertaste (yùnwèi). Its pure resonance embodies the very essence of the series name, evoking the feeling of "Plum Shadows" that are untainted by the mundane world.
This instrument is the perfect first Guqin to both support your study and to initiate your path toward appreciating the pure and reverent sound (qīng mù zhī yīn) and cultivating the self-refinement associated with the art form.
Mei Ying Fu Xiang (Floating Fragrance Amidst Plum Shadows)
Product Name: Mei Ying Fu Xiang (Floating Fragrance Amidst Plum Shadows) -- Zhongni (Confucius) Style
Brand: Juntian Fang
Sires: Mei Ying Fu Xiang (Floating Fragrance Amidst Plum Shadows)
Category: Guqin
Material: Paulownia wood
Style:
- The Song Dynasty Guqin "Song Shi Wen Yi" (松石问意, Pine and Rock Seeking Meaning) was originally a part of the Qing Imperial Palace Collection and was the favorite instrument of Emperor Qianlong. Its unique form is described as: "Both the neck and the waist feature a concave crescent-moon shape, and where they intersect, a convex crescent-moon shape appears. The entire body is exceptionally long, and both the Dragon Pond and Phoenix Pool are rectangular." (Excerpt from Essentials of Qin Study). This Guqin was sold at the Poly Auction Beijing Autumn Sale in 2010 for RMB 138.84 million (approx. $20.8 million USD at the time), setting a world auction record for Guqins and a world auction record for any musical instrument at that time. The Jun Tian Fang replica of "Song Shi Wen Yi" faithfully reproduces the original form. Crafted as an elite replica, the black lacquer faintly reveals an underlying red glow, complemented by a subtle, fine pattern of "cow's hair crackles" (niu mao duan wen). The instrument inherits the aesthetic ideal of the ancient qín: "Its sound is pure and reverent, its virtue is rich and profound." The sound is described, echoing Emperor Qianlong’s own poetry about the original: "The ancient model holds the posture of the Dragon Gate, coming to emulate the long song and profound tone of the central chamber. The sound is like the Great Antiquity yet does not lose harmony and purity."
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The "Shennong Style" (神农式) Guqin is traditionally believed to have been created by Shennong (神农氏). Shennong, also known as Emperor Yan (炎帝), is revered in ancient Chinese mythology as the inventor of agriculture, medicine, and various other trades, and is widely credited in historical records with originating the qín. The Tang Dynasty Book of Sui (Suí Shū) records this tradition: "Among the four categories of silk-string instruments, the first is the qín... Shennong created it with five strings; King Wen of Zhou later added two strings, making it seven." This suggests the "five-string qín" was the first musical instrument personally crafted by Emperor Yan, Shennong. The "Shennong Style" qín features a form that is ancient, simple, and unadorned. The proportional relationships between all its parts are compact and rational, reflecting the primal spirit of returning to simplicity and the unembellished virtue of antiquity.