This is a list of currently existing qin

Guqin

The guqin is the modern name for a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family...

 societies, of which some are learned societies.

There is a difference between qin schools and qin societies. The former concerns itself with transmission of a style, the latter concerns itself with performance. The qin society will encourage meetings with fellow qin players in order to play music and maybe discuss the nature of the qin. Gatherings like this is called yaji

Yaji

A yaji is a special term meaning "elegant gathering". It describes a meeting of like-minded individuals and is mostly associated with the literati or intellectuals of Chinese artistic and cultural society...

s, or "elegant gatherings", which take place once every month or two. Sometimes, societies may go on excursions to places of natural beauty to play qin, or attend conferences. They may also participate in competitions or research

Research

Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

. Of course, societies do not have to have a strict structure to adhere to; it could mostly be on a leisurely basis. The main purpose of qin societies is to promote and play qin music. It is often a good opportunity to network

Social network

A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...

 and learn to play the instrument, to ask questions and to receive answers.

Most qin schools and societies are based in China, but during the twentieth century many overseas societies began to form. Although qin study was initially confined to China in ancient times, countries like Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 also have their own qin traditions via import

Import

The term import is derived from the conceptual meaning as to bring in the goods and services into the port of a country. The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an "importer" who is based in the country of import whereas the overseas based seller is referred to as an "exporter". Thus...

 from China, but are extremely small in scale. The Tokyo Qin Society was recently founded, opening up more opportunities for qin study in Japan. Japan has published a qinpu (qin tablature collection) in the past, known as Toukou Kinpu or Donggao Qinpu 【東臯琴譜】. Other qin societies exist in North America and Europe, which are less formal than their counterparts in mainland China, such as the North American Guqin Association

North American Guqin Association

The North American Guqin Association is a guqin society based in the State of California, in the United States, which serves guqin players on the West Coast of the United States...

 and the London Youlan Qin Society

London Youlan Qin Society

The London Youlan Qin Society is a London based qin society serving guqin players in the UK. Of the three major qin societies of the West , this society is the most informal and the most active in terms of regular events and yajis.The Society began to adopt a constitution in 2011 and has begun to...

.

China and Asia

Society Name (English)	Society Name (Chinese)	Location or base	Date of founding	Website	Remarks
Northern China
Beijing Guqin Yanjiu Hui	北京古琴研究會	Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...	November 1947
University of Peking Guqin Association	北京大學古琴社	Beijing	September 2001
Shandong Deyin Qinshe	山東德音琴社	Jinan Jinan Jinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub...	6 November 2003
Shandong Guqin Yianjiu Hui	山東古琴研究會	Shandong Shandong ' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
Yuanyin Qinshe	元音琴社	Taiyuan Taiyuan Taiyuan is the capital and largest city of Shanxi province in North China. At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 4,201,591 inhabitants on 6959 km² whom 3,212,500 are urban on 1,460 km². The name of the city literally means "Great Plains", referring to the location where the Fen River...	1921
Songfeng Qinshe	松風琴社	Dalian Dalian Dalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning province, Northeast China. It faces Shandong to the south, the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Dalian is the southernmost city of Northeast China and China's...	July 2000
Shenyang Guqin Yianjiuhui	沈陽古琴研究會	Shenyang Shenyang Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...	March 1980
Jinjiang Qinshe	錦江琴社	Chengdu Chengdu Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...	1979
Bohai Qinshe	渤海琴社	Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang is the capital and largest city of North China's Hebei province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about south of Beijing...
Tongshan-Xian Guqin Xuehui	銅山縣古琴學會	Cuizhou	1987
Southern China
Jinyu Qinshe	今虞琴社	Shanghai Shanghai Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...	1934
Mei'an Qinshe	梅庵琴社	Nantong Nantong Nantong is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth, Nantong is a vital river port bordering Yancheng to the north, Taizhou to the west, Suzhou and Shanghai to the south across the river, and...	1929	Website
Xiaoyiao Qinshe	逍遥琴社	Hefei Hefei Hefei is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province in Eastern China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural centre of Anhui...	1999
Xihu Qinshe	西湖琴社	Hangzhou Hangzhou Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...	1987
Wumen Qinshe	蘇州吳門琴社	Suzhou Suzhou Suzhou , previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part...	November 1986
Guangling Qinshe	廣陵琴社	Yangzhou Yangzhou Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across...	1915
Mengqi Qinshe	夢溪琴社	Zhenjiang Zhenjiang Zhenjiang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Jiangsu province in the eastern People's Republic of China . Sitting on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Changzhou to the east, and Yangzhou across the river to the north.Once...
Yushan Qinshe	虞山琴社	Changshu Changshu Changshu is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, and is located in the south-eastern part of eastern-China’s Jiangsu Province as well as the Yangtze River Delta...	Revived 1984
Jinling Qinshe	金陵琴社	Nanjing Nanjing ' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...	1934
Bozhou Guqin Yianjiuhui	播洲古琴研究會	Guizhou Guizhou ' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...	1986
Guangdong Guqin Yianjiuhui	廣東古琴研究會	Canton Guangzhou Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...	October 1980
Foshan Guqin Society	佛山古琴研究會	Canton Foshan Foshan is a city in central Guangdong province in southern China. The prefectural area under the city's jurisdiction over an area of about 3,840 km² and a population of 5.4 million of which 1.1 million reside in the city proper ....	December 2006	Website
Other Chinese locations and to-be-classified
Deyin Qinshe	德愔琴社	Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...	1998
Tianting Qinshe	天聽琴社	Hong Kong	July 1959
Tang Yishe	唐藝社	Hong Kong
Haitian Qinshe	海天琴社	Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
Hezhen Qinshe	和真琴社	Taiwan
Yingzhou Qinshe	瀛洲琴社	Taiwan	1999?	Website
Tianmu Ge Sixian Qinshe	天穆閣絲弦琴社	Taiwan
Youtong Qinshe	友桶琴社
Wuxing Qinshe	吳興琴社
Japan
Tokyo Qin Society	東京琴社	Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...		Website
Kamakura Qin Society	鎌倉琴社	Kanagawa Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...		Website

North America

Society Name (English)	Society Name (Chinese)	Location or base	Date of founding	Website	Remarks
United States of America
North American Guqin Association North American Guqin Association The North American Guqin Association is a guqin society based in the State of California, in the United States, which serves guqin players on the West Coast of the United States...	北美琴社	San Francisco San Francisco, California San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...	1997	Website	One of the earliest qin societies in the West headed by Wang Fei Wang Fei Wang Fei is a musician of Chinese descent. She specialises in traditional Chinese musical instruments such as the guqin and the guzheng. Her teacher of the guqin is mainly Li Xiangting of the Central Conservatory of Music since 1981... . Activities are wide ranging.
New York Qin Society	紐約琴社	New York New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...	2000	Website	A more formal qin society based in New York.
Canada
Jiuyi Qinshe	九嶷琴社	Vancouver Vancouver Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...	2005	Website
University of Toronto Guqin Association	多倫多大學古琴社	Toronto Toronto Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...	2005	http://guqin.sa.utoronto.ca (defunct)	Restructured into the "University of Toronto Chinese Cultural Aesthetic Society (UTCCAS)" since August 2007, guqin aspects again restructured in August 2008.
Toronto Guqin Society (TQS)	多倫多古琴社	Toronto Toronto Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...	2005	Website	Restructured from UTCCAS' guqin operations in August 2008, with this group oriented toward the Toronto community.
Northern Crane Qin Club	北鶴琴社	Toronto Toronto Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...	2006	Website

Europe

Society Name (English)	Society Name (Chinese)	Location or base	Date of founding	Website	Remarks
United Kingdom
London Youlan Qin Society London Youlan Qin Society The London Youlan Qin Society is a London based qin society serving guqin players in the UK. Of the three major qin societies of the West , this society is the most informal and the most active in terms of regular events and yajis.The Society began to adopt a constitution in 2011 and has begun to...	倫敦幽蘭琴社	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , UK	July 2003	Website	A formal and very active qin society catering for UK qin players. Organises a guqin summer school each year.

Others

Society Name (English)	Society Name (Chinese)	Location or base	Date of founding	Website	Remarks
Friends of Guqin : Amics del Guqin	古琴之友	Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... ; internet-based	September 2004	Website	Though not a society per se, their activities are mostly internet-based.
Guqin - 古琴 (a.k.a. International Guqin Society)	國際琴社	International; internet-based	22nd October 2006	Website	The largest online Facebook Facebook Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as... group.
Xi Kang Qin Society	嵇康琴社	International; internet-based	November 2007		A learned qin society that awards Fellowships. Disbanded in 2011.