Wang Yongchang plays the guqin with a flute player. [Photo/WeChat account: ntwgx6]

Wang Yongchang, aged 82, is a national-level inheritor of the Mei'an school of guqin (a seven-stringed plucked lute), a national intangible cultural heritage item, in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province.

Wang was deeply influenced by traditional Chinese culture when he was a child, and in 1961 he started learning how to play the pipa (a four-stringed plucked lute) and guqin from the then-renowned artist Xu Lisun.

After finishing his studies with Xu, Wang visited senior guqin players in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou, and his skill was highly praised.

Wang Yongchang plays the guqin at a state event. [Photo/WeChat account: ntwgx6]

The art of guqin is extensive and profound and theoretical research related to it is extremely difficult for most guqin players. Wang not only excels at playing guqin, but is also an outstanding theoretical researcher.

Over the past several decades, he has published numerous papers and titles with a combined 600,000 words, and his research on the Mei'an school of guqin art has been a major influence on guqin circles.

In 2003, China's guqin art was listed as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, and in 2008 the Mei'an school of guqin art was added to the list of national intangible cultural heritage items.

To further promote the Mei'an school, Wang established the Nantong Guqin Society and organized guqin concerts at the Gengsu Theater in Nantong in 2008.

Wang is also the only artist in China to master all 45 songs of the Yingzhou ancient-style pipa, which is also a national intangible cultural heritage item.