Zha Fuxi

Zha Fuxi (Yongshun, Hunan, 1895 – 1976) was a Chinese performer and researcher of the qin, the plucked seven-string zither. His work combined performance of the tradition, philological study of ancient scores and documentation of regional styles, and he is a key figure for understanding how the instrument is preserved today.

Raised in Hunan, he began studying the qin and qin songs in 1908. After moving to Shanghai, he helped found the renowned Jin Yu qinshe society in 1936, without abandoning the amateur character of the tradition. In 1945 he toured the United States giving lectures. After taking part in a revolt against the Nationalist airline for which he worked, he settled in Beijing after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

In Beijing he founded the Qin Research Association and joined the Chinese Institute of Music Research, where he flourished in the 1950s alongside leading musician-researchers such as Yang Yinliu and Guan Pinghu. In 1956 he directed a broad project to document qin performers across China; his recordings and transcriptions remain the basis of current knowledge of the styles. He also undertook painstaking historical work on the scores, promoting the facsimile edition Qinqu jicheng and a series of historical biographies of performers, as well as numerous articles.

His legacy lies in this twofold contribution: the documentary preservation of the repertoire and the historical reconstruction of its sources.