Sentinels of tradition

With Han, Sui learned that the simple-looking guqin is regarded as the "father of Chinese music" and favored by famous Chinese scholars such as Confucius and renowned poets such as Li Bai.

"Guqin is not just a musical instrument," Sui says. "It's full of history and knowledge. There are 3,360 pieces of music for guqin, and when you look into the background of how each piece was composed, such as the politics and popular culture of the dynasty of the time, you are learning Chinese history."

Sui says he made a guqin to mark Han's birthday last year, which Han says he will keep as a "family treasure".

Sui, born in Chengde, Hebei province, learned guitar, drum and bass as a teenager, and it was a trip to Inner Mongolia autonomous region with his father about 12 years ago that introduced him to guqin.

Sui recalls that before the seven-hour drive from Beijing to Inner Mongolia, he bought a collection of CDs of traditional Chinese musical instruments, hoping to add a bit of light relief to what was shaping up as a tedious trek.

The first recording he played was of a guqin, and for Sui, who was unfamiliar with its rich history, the seven-stringed plucked instrument stroked a responsive chord immediately.

"The sound of the guqin is so elegant, and it's totally different from the Western musical instruments I learned from childhood, such as guitar and keyboard," Sui says. "When I was a teenager my biggest dream was to play guitar like those rock bands from the West. But then I started questioning that dream because I wanted to be original and to play Chinese music.

"Guqin is the right musical instrument for me; I feel connected to it."