Makers › Master Craftsmen
Lei Wei
Tang zither maker of the Lei family of Sichuan, whose name is inscribed inside the Caifeng Mingqi qin in the Zhejiang Provincial Museum
Mural of the cultural record “The Art of the Guqin”, which this person is tied to.
Also known as Lei Wei of Shu
- Roles
- Master Craftsmen
Lei Wei was a Tang maker of qin zithers from Sichuan and a member of the Lei family of instrument makers, named with his kinsmen Lei Xiao and Lei Jue; Lei qins were the most prized of the Tang. Later tradition says that in heavy snow he would go into Mount Emei to listen to the pines and firs in the wind and choose his wood. The Caifeng Mingqi qin in the Zhejiang Provincial Museum has the inscription 'made by Lei Wei in the second year of Kaiyuan of the Great Tang' (714) inside its dragon pool; it was a favourite of the modern qin master Yang Zongji and is recorded in his Qinxue congshu.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; Tang; the Caifeng Mingqi qin is inscribed 714