Guzheng maintenance
Daily maintenance
Guzheng is a musical instrument made of wooden materials, which are easily affected by weather and environment. When exposed to high moisture, it may peel off and deform. Exposure to sunlight can cause panel cracking and affect sound quality. Therefore, storing Guzheng between 18 ℃ -26 ℃ and humidity between 40 ℃ -64 ℃ is relatively reasonable. This brings the following issues that need to be noted for the daily care of Guzheng.
1. In humid weather conditions, it is important to store the guzheng in a dry and ventilated location. When not in use for a long time, desiccants or other moisture absorbing items can be placed in the qin bag before packaging and storing the guzheng.
2. In excessively dry weather conditions, cracks may appear at the string holes and even the bottom board of the guzheng. In this case, it is important to protect it as early as possible and apply some instrument moisturizing cream evenly around the cracks to prevent them from expanding.
3. Never let the guzheng be exposed to the sun for a long time, otherwise it will cause significant damage to the soundboard.
4. Do not let the soundboard get wet, and be sure to take protective measures when moving on rainy days.
In northern regions, it is not advisable to approach radiators for heat dissipation in winter, nor to place the guzheng under the air conditioning vents. Instead, a humidifier can be placed next to the guzheng to maintain a stable moisture content on the soundboard.
Use maintenance
In addition to these weather or environments that can cause damage to musical instruments, it is also important to pay more attention to instrument maintenance during or after daily practice.
1. Ensure that your fingers are dry before touching the strings. Do not touch the strings with wet fingers, as water, sweat, oil, etc. on your hands can rust the strings. After use, dry and soft cloth can be used to wipe off sweat stains on the strings to prevent them from rusting and improve their service life.
2. Do not use a damp cloth or tissue to wipe the soundboard or bottom board. As the most important part of sound output, soaking in water can seriously affect the wood, causing a deterioration in tone and also leading to wood going mouldy or cracking of the guzheng boards.
3. Regularly clean the dust on the surface of the guzheng. If it is not cleaned for a long time, the guzheng bridges can be removed and cleaned on a large area.
4. The guzheng soundboard should be kept clean. When storing, a piece of fabric can be used to cover the strings to avoid dust, fading of the sound together with rusty guzheng strings.
5. When moving the bridges of the guzheng, the strings should be lifted upwards to minimize the wear and tear of the strings on the frame of the bridge head and the bottom of the bridge on the guzheng soundboard. If it is transported or checked for a long distance, be sure to dismantle the guzheng bridges to avoid damage.
6. The treble strings of the guzheng are relatively thin and easy to break, so you can prepare some spare strings. Try to replace the strings once a year, not more than two years, so as not to affect the sound quality.
7. Develop the habit of tuning before playing, because stable pitch also affects the stability of the guzheng.
Guqin Maintenance
The maintainance of guqin strings
A guqin normally comes with either nylon strings or silk strings, between which the nylon strings are the most commonly used. So we're going to talk about the maintanance of nylon strings mainly. The nylon strings are with steel inside and nylon covered. This treatment of stings can best stand the pressing and rubbing of nails. Good nylon strings touch smooth. Be sure to keep hard, sharp or rough things away from the strings, because once the string is broken, the threads will come out, then the whole string will be useless. You may also want to keep your children and pets away from the strings. It's normal for the first 2 strings to become reddish gradually because there're metals in the first 2 strings for producing deep sound.
The maintainance of lacquer surface
Great guqins normally apply the traditional lacquering methods, combining natural lacquer and deer horn powders when lacquering, dring different layers of lacquer step by step and letting all the layers dry for 1-2 years before panting the surface lacquer. So it's important to protect the lacquer of a guqin. You may want to keep the guqin surface from dust, sunshine, wind, rain, extreme whether and hard stuff when not playing. Some dust may hide under the strings, this way the rubbinig between the surface and the strings may lead to the abrasing of the surface. So you may want to clean the surface of the guqin with a piece of soft cloth before playing, especially under the strings. However, after years of using, there may be some marks of wear and tear under the strings where you press often, which is totally normal.
琴弦的护理，是指在琴弦生涩时，涂抹适量的护弦膏，以达到减少琴弦和手指间的摩擦力，使琴弦更加润滑流畅。
在做护理前，我们需要准备两块柔软的擦琴布以及琴弦膏，如果没有也可用医用的白凡士林代替。
首先取出其中一块干净的布，把琴弦和琴面都擦拭干净后，打开琴弦膏，注意不要直接用手指取出，这样的操作不但涂抹不均而且可能会有损琴弦。然后再用细绒布蘸取一点琴弦膏，均匀的搓开放在琴弦上来回移动，把琴弦的表面都先上一层。接着是一根一根的来回擦拭，直到擦完七弦，静放半个小时至一个小时，让琴弦的上下面都能够充分的吸收。
在这过程中，你会发现涂抹过凡士林的琴弦，其中三根也许会变成了砖红色，不要惊慌，这属于正常现象哦。等静置完后再拿另一块干净的布，把涂抹过的琴弦一根一根清理干净，这样琴弦的护理就完成了。
平常练琴时，还可以使用少量的凡士林润滑琴弦与琴面，有效降低手指与琴弦、琴弦与琴面的磨损。需注意凡士林一定要抹匀，涂太多会影响弦的正常振动与音高。
除了以上情况，琴弦的磨损共分为两类：一是自然因素、二是人为因素。自然因素就是日积月累中弹奏造成的磨损，这类磨损在古琴中很常见，也无可避免。人为因素却是使用不当或是外在原因所致的。这两种都可采用一些保养方法来尽量避免，做到下面几点：
1、使用一段时间后，发现弹奏时琴弦生涩，就使用专用护弦膏、养弦蜡等保养。如发现起毛、脱丝要及早处理修补。
2、琴弦最怕油污，被油烟污染后，它的音色就会发生改变。
3、落上灰尘后会影响它的灵敏度，所以弹琴前一定要保持手指干燥洁净。
4、避免硬物、尖锐、粗糙的物体刮到琴弦，一旦刮伤可能会脱丝。
5、家里有小孩或宠物的，要多加注意，不要让他（它）们把古琴当玩具，随意的拉动琴弦，这样可能直接造成损伤。
在日常弹奏中，我们每次使用古琴前后，都需保持清洁到位，定期护理，养成良好的习惯是很有必要的。
漆面养护
大多数古琴由于琴面经常来回弹奏按音，磨损是很常见的，尤其是琴弦底下的部分，甚至有的琴经过无数次修补，整个琴体的颜色都已改变。
可见漆面对于古琴的保养也十分重要，其护理一共分为两种情况：一种是经常弹奏的，还有一种是很少使用的，不管是哪一种，护理都可达到漆面一直温润的状态且不易磨损。
经常弹奏的保养期限为两个月一次，不用太过频繁。在做养护时可选择擦一些核桃油或是橄榄油，但一定要记得少量倒油。护理前需准备的物品有：两块薄软布、一瓶核桃油（橄榄油）。操作步骤如下：
我们先倒一些核桃油在擦琴布上，注意不要倒太多，黄豆大小的量就可以；然后擦琴布对折，让核桃油充分稀释后，把蘸有核桃油的布面朝下；依次先擦琴头和琴弦两侧的漆面位置；擦完后再把擦琴布从琴弦与漆面之间的空隙里穿进来，抓住布的两侧边角来回移动进行擦拭，直至最后擦拭完成；接着用另一块干净的布以同样的方式（无需橄榄油）将漆面擦拭干净。
以上方法可以在养护漆面的同时还不伤琴弦，这里值得注意的是，擦拭漆面过程中，不要直接用布在琴弦上下面擦拭，因为此时布上已经沾有油和灰，接触琴弦后会影响它的灵敏度。
虽然在弹奏中可能会遇到，按音处漆面些许磨损，不用担心属于正常现象，但若影响到手指滑动，就需及时修补。
对于经常弹奏的琴友来说，除了定期保养还需做好日常护理，防止弹琴时，有极小却坚硬的颗粒夹在弦与面板间产生摩擦，从而导致漆面的磨损。
日常护理指的是，每次弹奏前后用松软的布将琴面的灰尘或杂质清理干净。在做琴面清理时，注意不要使用带有活性溶剂的去污、增光等产品，如洗洁精。
除以上，还有一种是平常很少弹奏的护理方法，因为长期的不弹奏不使用，有可能会造成下次弹奏时漆面干涩，没有润度。所以，我们在每次弹奏前先对琴面进行整体的一次护理，用白凡士林（医用）进行均匀得擦拭，以达到漆面的光润度。
当然，如无特殊情况，经常使用就是对古琴最好的保养。琴乃良师益友，可达修身养性之用，琴音愈弹愈妙之感。