Why doesn't the guzheng have an ancient score?

The guzheng is a traditional Chinese plucked instrument. There are several reasons why the guzheng does not have a unified standard notation such as guzheng:

1. The guzheng has a long history of development: as one of the traditional Chinese musical instruments, the history of the guzheng's development can be traced back to thousands of years ago. During the long history of development, the guzheng has been played with various techniques and styles, and different schools and local characteristics have been formed. Due to regional differences and inheritance characteristics, the guzheng was initially played mainly through oral transmission, without a unified standard notation.

2. The Guzheng has a rich sound range: the Guzheng has thirty-six strings, a wide sound range, and good expressiveness from the bass to the treble. Due to the wide range, the traditional guzheng repertoire has a large number of notes, which is difficult to be accurately expressed by traditional notation methods such as five-line notation. Therefore, in guzheng performance, it is often necessary to combine pitch and fingering, fingering notation or verbal transmission.

3. Guzheng focuses on improvisation: Guzheng pursues a flexible and free way of expression and pays more attention to improvisation. Players can improvise and play according to their personal feelings and emotional changes to express their own musical emotions. Therefore, guzheng performance focuses more on the mastery of playing skills and the development of personal style rather than fixed notation.

While there is no traditional ancient notation for the guzheng, in recent years, some guzheng players and music educators have begun to use adapted notation, such as simplified notation and digital notation, to facilitate learning and transmission. This approach has solved the problem of guzheng inheritance to a certain extent, making it possible for more people to learn and play the guzheng.