Interviews

After thirty years of making violins, I dare not claim to truly understand them. Yang Jinlong: One of the few Chinese luthiers to win consecutive VSA international competitions.

Yang Jinlong entered the craft in 1996, making it exactly thirty years now. He is one of the few Chinese luthiers to have consecutively won awards at the VSA International Violin Making Competition in the United States—silver medal for violin in 2016, cello tone award + viola workmanship award + quartet workmanship award in 2018, and silver medal for viola workmanship + quartet workmanship award in 2024. With over thirty international and domestic awards to his name, he instead says he is "especially lacking in confidence."

从绥芬河小山村到VSA国际领奖台 对话当代中国实力派提琴制作师杨金龙

从黑龙江绥芬河的小山村到美国VSA国际提琴制作比赛的领奖台，杨金龙走了近三十年。

Dialogue with Jinmali: Forced by Chinese Teachers to Become a High-End Brand Guest: Xia Changlin, Head of the Jinmali Carbon Fiber Violin Case Brand

A Lesson from a Chinese Teacher: When First Entering the Domestic Market, Many Detail Issues Were Pointed Out, Making Me Realize That International Brands Position Their OEM Factories at the Mid-to-Low End

The Case Is Not an Accessory: A Conversation with Xia Changlin, Head of the Jinmali Carbon Fiber Violin Case Brand

Xia Changlin, head of the Jinmali carbon fiber violin case brand, thoroughly deconstructed this issue in an entire conversation: a violin case is not an accessory—it is the first line of protection for the instrument.

Violin Temple · Violin Temple Treasure Hall First Interview: This episode features Master Liang Zhiling and his son, from a four-generation luthier family.

I dream of these violins even in my sleep.

VSA Tone Award winner Liang Zhiling is the first Chinese luthier to receive this honor in the quartet category. He advocates a "free love" wood selection philosophy—arguing that the pairing of the back plate and top plate is more important than the grain pattern, inspired by repeated observations of master violins in Italian museums. His family began repairing violins in Xiguan, Guangzhou in 1935, and the craft has been passed down through four generations—an extremely rare lineage in China's lutherie industry. After his father's health was compromised by long-term inhalation of toxic varnish, he developed an eco-friendly varnish that has passed EU SGS certification, allowing the wood to breathe and enhance sound projection. He confronts a key industry issue: a Chinese-made violin of the same quality sells for 100,000 yuan, while a high-imitation Italian violin sells for 400,000 to 500,000 yuan—China does not lack craftsmanship, but lacks pricing power and a brand system. Violin Temple is establishing circulation records and soundprint archives for resident luthiers, gradually building a valuation system for Chinese makers. His lutherie creed: "To make a great violin, you need to understand sound—but you don't necessarily have to know how to play."