Nowadays, Zheng (Chinese Zither) music composition had become a tendency for composers.He Zhan-Hao and Wang Jian-Ming were composers with representative Eastern and Western music pieces. This article had chosen He Zhan-Hao’s Zheng concerto “The Overlord of Western Chu” and Wang Jian-Ming’s Zheng solo piece “Song of Elegance” as the research objects. Both were music pieces focusing on character’s narrative. The Overlord of Western Chu was composed in the year 1999. It was a music describing the character Xiang-Yu; Song of Elegance was composed in the year 2000. The music portrayed the character Diao-Chan. This article analyzes the structure and performing techniques on two compositions. Through cross-referencing the historical narrative and the musical structure, this article aims to provide a new perspective for performers by showing the context.

The result shows that The Overlord of Western Chu has close relationship with the context of The Biography of Xiang-Yu – The Records of the Grand Historian. Analepsis and linear narrative were found through the research. Song of Elegance showed the spirit of the character instead of substantial application, as a result, the narrative could also be classified as narrative embedding. The music presented the scenery of war and the scenery of musical dance. By using techniques such Yao-Zhi, Lun-Zuo and Lun-Mo to enhance the intensity of the music, the melody of The Overlord of Western Chu was strong as to present the ambience of a war; Song of Elegance was somehow more pleasant and elegant with rhythms such as dotted minim. The music also included short Yao-Zhi, lighting fast and overlapping techniques, giving more auditory and visually movements.

Through the core of the music, the intention of the character should be interpret. With the exchange of the angle of view, performers should first fully understand the character before playing the music. As tangible music notes and intangible history formed the music, all factors should be concerned.