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

Literati

Literati may refer to:*Intellectuals or those who read and comment on literature*The scholar-bureaucrats or literati of imperial China**Literati painting, also known as the Southern School of painting, developed by Chinese literati...

 or intellectuals of Chinese art

Chinese art

Chinese art is visual art that, whether ancient or modern, originated in or is practiced in China or by Chinese artists or performers. Early so-called "stone age art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly consisting of simple pottery and sculptures. This early period was followed by a series of art...

istic and cultural society. Although yaji can be composed of any people from an array of artistic backgrounds, it now exclusively means the gathering of players of the guqin

Guqin

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

 (an ancient Chinese zither

Zither

The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...

 with seven strings), where the purpose is to not only play music, but to discuss it.

Normally, yajis are composed of only a few people; friends or colleagues that understand the art. Nowadays, yajis can be composed of over 30 people and can incorporate food and other artistic aspects.

Many guqin societies

Guqin societies

This is a list of currently existing qin 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...

hold regular yajis, often bi-monthly. Generally, yajis are informal affairs.