The Yangqin solo, “Ink Print”, premiered in 2017, was composed by Lu Yun, as commissioned by Taiwan Yangqin Development Association (TYDA). The composition is the composer’s first piece of solo series, inspired by the ink intensity and smudging of Chinese calligraphy and painting. This thesis analyzes the structure and content of the composition by the interview between the composer and the premier performer, and inquiries into the ideas of composition and views of performance.

In “Ink Print”, the musical element such as sound, is linked to ink in Chinese calligraphy and painting, on the basis of the heterogeneous isomorphism. Therefore, timbre in music, can relate to dot, line, surface and color in Chinese calligraphy and painting, to convey musical imagery and artistic value, through such unique attributes as spirit, rhyme and meaning in traditional Chinese aesthetics.

The study displays the delicate design of microtone in “Ink Print” which represents imagery specific in Chinese calligraphy and painting, as well as music. In the light of the phonemic arrangement and timbre characteristic of Yangqin, the composer uses cent adjustment to transform timbre into “ink sound”. He reshapes sound into ink color, through intensity variation, smudging effect and particular treatment of dot, line and surface, for multi-dimentional artistic effects.