| Sumario: | This study explores the concept of nature in the musical aesthetics of the Chinese guqin (zither) from a material perspective (i.e., through the materials, musical tablatures, melodic phrases, and suitable environments used in playing the guqin), and from a spiritual perspective through an analysis of Kang Hsi's "Qin Fu" ("Rhapsody on the Zither," or "Poetic Essay on the Lute") and Hong Hsu's "Xi Shan Qin Kuang" ("Xishan Treatise on the Aesthetics of Qin Music," or "Hsi-Shan's Epithets on Qin Music"). Guqin aesthetics developed under the influence of the Taoist theory regarding cultivation reflecting the highest level of unity among humans, nature, and the universe. The concept of nature is at the core of guqin music, and harmonious unity with nature is the main pursuit of guqin players.
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