Zheyin Shizi Qinpu

At the beginning of the second folio of the only surviving copy of this very significant handbook is the statement "edited and interpreted by Antiquarian Gong Jing of Nanchang";³ the tablature itself is thought to have come from the collection of Ming prince Zhu Dianpei, grandson of the compiler of Shen Qi Mi Pu, Zhu Quan.⁴ This surviving copy, originally preserved in the Tianyi Ge book collection in Ningbo,⁵ was missing some pages including at least four at the front (see footnote with the image at right). The 42 remaining pieces include 28 with tablature identical to that of pieces of the same titles in Shen Qi Mi Pu. The other 14 are in a similar style, but all 42 have had lyrics added.⁶ My CD Music Beyond Sound consists of the 12 complete pieces which are new or different, plus one of the two fragmentary pieces. My transcriptions of these 13 pieces have also been published.

General information concerning the book and the music.

Complete Table of Contents of Zheyin Shizi Qinpu (plus missing melodies?)
Table of Contents for Music Beyond Sound, with timings.
Introduction to Zheyin Shizi Qinpu
Original preface by Zha Fuxi
Chinese lyrics from Zheyin Shizi Qinpu that can be applied to Shen Qi Mi Pu melodies
CDs with melodies from Zheyin Shizi Qinpu;

Zheyin Shizi Qinpu melodies not in, or different from those in, Shen Qi Mi Pu
All but Qiao Ge are recorded in my CD Music Beyond Sound; the number in brackets refers to its number in Zheyin Shizi Qinpu.⁷

(#5) Cry of the Ospreys (關雎 Guan Ju)
(#6) Song of Southern Breezes (南薰歌 Nanxun Ge)
(#7) Mount Tiantai Prelude (天台引 Tiantai Yin; Sections 1-2 only)
(#8) Woodcutter's Song (樵歌 Qiao Ge; sections 1 to 5 are missing)
(#9) Emperor Yu's Meeting at Mount Tu (禹會塗山 Yu Hui Tushan)
(#10) Thinking of [Emperor] Shun (思舜 Si Shun)
(#11) Respect the Virtuous (師賢 Shi Xian)
(#12) Living in the Mountains (山居吟 Shanju Yin)
(#14) Melody of the Fisherman's Song (漁歌調 Yuge Diao)
(#15) Fisherman's Song (漁歌 Yu Ge)
(#23) Evening Call of the Raven (烏夜啼 Wu Ye Ti)
(#24) (Paired) Pheasants Fly in the Morning (雉朝飛 Zhi Zhao Fei)
(#41) Qu Yuan Asks for Advice (屈原問渡 Qu Yuan Wen Du)
(#42) Thrice (Parting for) Yangguan (陽關三疊 Yangguan Sandie)

Yangguan Sandie is the last piece in the existing copy of the handbook.

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Qin Handbook of Music from the Zhejiang [School] Elucidated through Lyrics
This handbook apparently survived only as an incomplete handcopy in the 天一閣 Tianyi Ge (further below), an ancient book collection in Ningbo, but it is no longer there. Its title may suggest that the lyrics were not necessarily intended for singing, but to help heighten appreciation of the music. The pairing of lyrics and music follows what appears to have been the standard pairing method (with variations) of one character for each right hand stroke. In some cases this works quite well, but here it often leads to passages that are not singable in any recogizably aesthetic manner (further comment).
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2. Opening page of the surviving Zheyin Shizi Qinpu (Complete surviving copy (pdf))
Copied from Qin Qu Ji Cheng, Volume 1, p.203, where the copy indicates it is from page 5 of the handbook. See also speculation on the missing pages.
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3. Gong Jing of Nanchang
The full attribution is "南昌板澤稽古生龔經效孔編釋 Edited and interpreted by Nanchang Banze Antiquarian Gong Jing, a Confucian devotee." (See Zha Fuxi's Preface.)
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4. Zhu Dianpei
Claims have also been made that Zhu Dianpei compiled Wusheng Qinpu.
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5. 天一閣 Tian Yi Ge (Wikipedia)
5961.9/10 Tian Yi Ge (Heaven First Pavilion) of the Fan family in Ningbo was a famous book collection started by the scholar 范欽 Fan Qin during the Ming dynasty Jiaqing era (1522/67). Ningbo is in Zhejiang province, about 100 km east of Hangzhou. The library still stands, about half a block northwest of Moon Lake, but with no books. I read that at one time the books had been transferred to the main library in Shanghai, but I believe Wu Zhao says the original from which the available Zheyin Shizi Qinpu was reprinted is now lost.

As yet I have not seen a study of how the book came to be here. It is interesting to speculate whether there is any connection between this fact and the fact the several important qin players connected to the "Xu tradition of the Zhe School" lived at 四明 Siming, which was near Ningbo.
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6. Lyrics in Zheyin Shizi Qinpu
Perhaps because the lyrics here are generally attributed to Zhu Dianpei, he has been said to have been an accomplished poet. In this regard it is not clear whether he ever published any poems or lyrics himself, but is it significant that a collection of poems has been attributed to his daughter, Anfu?
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7. Original Chinese titles
These are as follows:

(#5) 關雎
(#6) 南薰歌
(#7) 天台引（只有第一、第二段）
(#8) 樵歌（第一至第五段缺失）
(#9) 禹會塗山
(#10) 思舜
(#11) 師賢
(#12) 山居吟
(#14) 漁歌調
(#15) 漁歌
(#23) 烏夜啼
(#24) 雉朝飛
(#41) 屈原問渡
(#42) 陽關三疊
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Return to the annotated handbook list or to the Guqin ToC.