The modern guzheng has 21 strings tuned to a pentatonic scale and spans more than four octaves. The instrument is made up of the soundboard, backboard, frame, strings and bridges; the way the soundboard vibrates largely determines the character of the tone.
Pentatonic tuning is one of the guzheng’s defining features. The intervals between adjacent strings shape its harmonic colour and give many traditional pieces their characteristic, convenient fingering patterns.
Over centuries of transmission, distinct regional styles emerged. Shandong repertoire tends to be vigorous, with wide press-and-slide ornamentation; Henan playing emphasises the thumb’s outward and inward strokes; Chaozhou and Hakka styles are known for delicate stopped notes and ornamental inflection; the Zhejiang school has been widely influential in modern composition.
The differences show up both in fingering habits and in how slides and vibrato are handled. Knowing the regional background of a piece before you learn it helps you capture its style.
Teaching today tends to draw on several schools at once, but understanding the differences remains one of the best clues to why a piece is played the way it is.