Performers › Musicians
Dong Tinglan
Celebrated High Tang zither master, known as Dong Da, for whom Gao Shi wrote his poem Farewell to Dong Da.
Mural of the cultural record “The Art of the Guqin”, which this person is tied to.
Also known as Dong Da · Dong Tinglan (variant writing)
- Roles
- Musicians
Dong Tinglan, known as Dong Da (the eldest), was a Longxi native and the most famous zither player of the High Tang. A pupil of Chen Huaigu, he excelled at the Hujia (Nomad Flute) pieces, and Li Qi praised his playing in verse. Poor all his life, he later became a retainer of the chief minister Fang Guan; according to the Old Book of Tang, charges that he took bribes during the Zhide era helped bring Fang down. Gao Shi's Farewell to Dong Da, with its line that no one under heaven fails to know him, was written for him.
Life and times
Dates Dates uncertain; lived c. 695–765