芬蘭於晚近1917年獨立，獨立前經歷了八百年的異國統治，分別被鄰國瑞典及俄國占領。俄國統治時期的1830年代，芬蘭醫生隆諾(Elias Lönnrot)藉行醫之便開始致力於芬蘭語言學的研究與民謠的收集，出版了史詩《卡勒瓦拉》(Kalevala)，作曲家西貝流士的交響曲《庫列佛交響詩》靈感來自於此。在《卡勒瓦拉》中，岡德雷琴是英雄萬奈摩能(Väinämöinen)擁有的樂器，它有著神話般的傳說，其歷史推測可能有千年之久，在波羅的海附近的國家皆可找到外型類似的樂器，岡德雷琴在《卡勒瓦拉》中被型塑為一種國家樂器的象徵，它喚醒了長期民族失根的芬蘭人覺察國家主體與身分認同問題。本文分為兩大部分：一、旨在探討芬蘭國族主義萌發的歷史軌跡，以及史詩出版後所引起的國族主義效應；二、國家樂器岡德雷琴的基本介紹、其被塑造的國家象徵進而到目前的發展。

Finland has experienced eight hundred years of foreign rule by Sweden and Russia, before its independence in 1917. In 1830s of the Russian government period, Finnish doctor Elias Lönnrot dedicated in both linguistic and folk research and collection while treating the illnesses, then published his achievement as the Finnish epic the Kalevala, which inspired the composition of ‘Kullervo Symphonic Poem’ by the famous Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius. In the Kalevala, the kantele was possessed by the hero Väinämöinen. It has a mythical legend and its history might be thousands of years, the similar types of the instrument can be found in nearby countries around Baltic sea. It is shaped as a symbol of nationalism in the Kalevala and awaken the consciousness of nationalism and identity of Finns who encountered long-term rootless situation. This article is in two parts, first, aiming on the historic trajectory of the effect of Finnish nationalism after the publication of the Kalevala. Second, the brief introduction of the kantele and its image as a national symbol, and furthermore, the current development of the kantele.