The Pacific Gu QIn Association’s press release on San Francisco’s Gu Qin Day.
Newspaper article in San Francisco announcing the Proclamation that November 7th, 2007 as “Gu Qin Day!”
 
Newspaper Article Translation
 
A group of Gu Qin Music & Culture enthusiasts established Pacific Gu Qin Association in San Francisco earlier this year.  The association’s mission is to promote and enhance the understanding of the Gu Qin and its culture in the US.  The members come from all walks of life and they hold Yaji every other month for research studies and information exchange.  It is also the association’s future plan to organize Gu Qin concerts and workshops.
 
Gu Qin is an ancient Chinese seven-string instrument.  Other names used include Qin, Yu Qin, Gu Qin and Seven Stringed Qin.  It is an instrumental art form, which captures the true essence of China’s more than 3000 years of history, culture, and philosophy.   Nevertheless, within the modern 21st century busy human lifestyles, Gu Qin music also serves as a spiritual way to elevating one’s self-cultivation level to enhance inner virtues.
 
San Francisco’s mayor, Gavin Newsom, has proclaimed 11-7-07 as the “San Francisco Gu Qin Day”.   The Association’s members value this acknowledgment as the energizer to their mission in promoting Gu Qin and its culture.
 
Ancient Qin Harmony with New Tune 
             ----- Pacific Guqin Association
 Guqin is an ancient Chinese string instrument. Other names used include Qin, Yu Qin, and Seven Stringed Qin. It is an instrumental art form, unique and of great artistic expression, which captures the true essence of China’s more than 3000 years of history, culture, and philosophical thinking encompassing Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist ideals. Discussions on Guqin and its culture are abound throughout historical documents, as well as folktales in the far east. The story of the friendship between Bo Y and Zhong Zi Qi narrated in “吕氏春秋” is well known among the Chinese people. 
Guqin’s music style is simple and elegant, yet vigorous and unrestrained. The melody is of grace and tranquility, and its timbre quality subtle, refined, and profound. Xue Yi Chien, Tang Dynasty Poet (725-800), stated in his book “琴 訣” that “Guqin music enables the perturbation of one’s heart and soul, the parting of joy and distress, the nurturing of affection and emotion, the relaxation of anxiety, and the release of earthly bondage.” Contemporarily, while the pace of life is intense, Guqin music serves as a spiritual tool in escalating one’s self-cultivation level to enhance inner virtues. Guqin is the quintessence of Chinese culture. It represents the culmination of cultural development of this ancient civilizations throughout the millennia. On November 7, 2003, the Cultural Organization of the United Nations proclaimed Guqin as an "Human Oral and Non-Material Heritage Masterpiece." 
A group of Guqin Music & Culture enthusiasts established Pacific Guqin Association in San Francisco earlier this year. The association’s mission is to promote and enhance the understanding of the Guqin culture in the US. The members come from all walks of life and they hold “Yaji” every other month for research studies and information exchange. It is also the association’s future plan to organize Guqin concerts and workshops.    
Under a concerted effort by these enthusiasts, San Francisco’s mayor, Gavin Newson, proclaimed 11-7-07 as the “San Francisco Guqin Day”. The Association’s members value this acknowledgement as the energizer to their missions in promoting Guqin and its culture.