周龙为西方乐器而创作的三部室内乐作品《幽兰》《溯》《鼓韵》,不仅体现着作曲家在留美前、中、后期发生的创作手法转变,还体现出其对中国传统音乐、古曲素材逐渐纯熟的现代化处理手法。文章由此视角出发,以三部作品的创作时间为线索,取“转换、转译、转化”三个词语,概括作品中古曲元素从“显”至“隐”的处理方式之演进,以“转换”说明古曲在西方乐器中的原貌移植,以“转译”解析西方乐器对琴曲及古琴音色的拟声手法,以“转化”揭示作品将古曲素材及唐朝音乐文化内化后衍生出的新结构审美与写作方式,从而归纳作品中古曲素材使用的发展脉络与周龙创作风格的转变过程。

ZHOU Long's three chamber works for Western instruments—Secluded Orchid, Su (Tracing Back) and Taigu Rhyme —reflect not only the evolution of his compositional techniques before, during, and after his studies in the United States, but also his increasingly sophisticated approach to modernizing materials from Chinese traditional and ancient music. Following the chronology of these three works, this study adopts the three concepts of “transplantation, translation, and transformation” to describe the progression in his treatment of ancient musical materials from “explicit” to “implicit”. “Transplantation” refers to the direct transfer of ancient music in its original form onto Western instruments; “translation” examines the specific performance techniques that enable Western instruments to sonically imitating the music and timbres of the guqin; “transformation” reveals how the works internalize both ancient musical materials and the broader musical culture of the Tang Dynasty, thereby generating new structural aesthetics and compositional methods. In this way, this article outlines the development trajectory in ZHOU Long's applications of ancient Chinese musical materials and the corresponding shifts in his compositional style.