The seven strings of Yangzhou

Xu valued original music and devoted most of his life to compiling the tablature of classic guqin pieces, which was later collated and published as Qin Tablature of the Clear Mirror Hall (Chengjian Tang Qinpu) by his three sons, all of whom were accomplished guqin players.

In modern China, Yangzhou musicians led by Sun Shaotao established the Guangling Qin Society in 1912, the activities of which were suspended in 1937 due to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), and resumed in 1984.

Yangzhou continues to be home to China's most well-known guqin masters, one being Ma Weiheng, regarded by many as an unofficial ambassador of the Yangzhou region.

"The Guangling School of guqin is closely related to Yangzhou's culture, from food and garden, to language and literature," Ma says.

Following the tradition of the Guangling School, he founded the Nanfeng Qin Society in 2008 and the Hanfeng Guqin Construction Technique Research Institute in 2012, aiming to ensure that the legacy of the Guangling School is passed on and that research into the culture and construction of the instrument would continue.