Although the title "Nan Feng Chang" survives in a number of early qin handbooks, most of them are related to another melody first appearing in Xilutang Qintong with the title 虞舜思親 Yu Shun Si Qin. That melody is discussed below in a footnote.⁴

Characteristics of the "juezhiyu mode" are nowhere detailed. From my observation the modal characteristics, as with a number of other melodies in a yu mode, are most notable for the way they switch from being do - so to being la - mi. Thus the modal prelude is mostly do - so, goes to la - mi at the end of the main section then returns to do - so at the end of the harmonic closing.

For internal structural features on can point to mm.9-13 in my transcription of the modal prelude, repeated in Section 4 of the main melody, just before the lyrics. Also in the main melody, mm, 25-33 are repeated at mm. 54-62, but on the top half of the qin; this is reminiscent of passages in Shenren Chang.

Several other recordings are available on the internet, including one by 丁承運 Ding Chengyun.⁵

 
Original afterword⁶

 
Lyrics
The lyrics sung in Section 4 of Nan Feng Chang are as follows:

 
Music (See transcription; timings follow my recording ⁷ )
This recording combines Nan Feng Chang with its modal prelude.

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Southern Winds Rhapsody (南風暢 Nan Feng Chang)
2798.340 南風 does not mention "暢 chang", and the full title, 南風暢 Nan Feng Chang, does not have a separate entry. Nan Feng Ge
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2. 角徵羽調 Juezhiyu mode
Zha Guide 20/00/00 has this mode only here. For modes in general see Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature.

The musical mode (角徵羽調 35831.xxx) uses standard tuning and five strings. This Nan Feng Chang has seven sections, with the fourth section having lyrics ("南風之薰兮....財兮").
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3. Image: staff notation
The transcription linked at top also includes the <>Juezhiyu modal prelude.
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4. 虞舜思親 Yu Shun Si Qin (later called 南風暢 Nan Feng Chang)
The earliest surviving version of this melody is not the 1525 Nan Feng Chang discussed above but another five-string qin melody that is #152 in 1525. The fact that the Zha Guide lists Yu Shun Si Qin only in 1525 suggests that Zha Fuxi did not notice that all the later melodies called Nanfeng Chang are actually versions of this Yu Shun Si Qin.

The nine occurrences of versions of this melody are thus:

• 1525 (III/261); 9 titled sections; Yu Shun Si Qin; Si Qin lyrics in Section 5; afterword
• 1546 (I/448); 8; further details; very similar to 1525 but omits Section 5
• 1552 (IV/157); 8; preface; music again very similar
• 1557 (III/387); 8; preface and music as 1557
• 1561 (II/464); 8; same as 1546
• 1589 (VI/89); 8; preface; very similar to above
• 1590 (V/521); 8; no mention of fugu but again very similar
• 1596 (VI/286); 8; a few changes
• 1602 (VI/442); 8; identical to 1589

Yu Shun Si Qin and these later eight called Nan Feng Chang all use 復古 fugu mode, a five-string version of huangzhong (raised fifth, lowered third strings: 1 3 5 6 1). Unlike with most of the Nan Xun Ge and Nanfeng Ge above, only tje 1525 Nan Feng Chang and Yu Shun Si Qin haver lyrics, the former only in its Section 4 and the latter only in its Section 5. These latter are the same as those of the 1511 Si Qin Cao (陟彼歷山兮....), not Nanfeng Ge. Its afterword is also similar to that of Si Qin Cao; the prefaces to all the others connect more to Nan Feng Ge, though there is sometimes some ambivalence, as in 1546.

The great similarity of these nine suggests that this particular melody may have always been learned from tablature as a kind of study rather than played actively.

See also here. In fact, I have also reconstructed and recorded the earliest examples of #1 (1491) and #2 (1511), but have not done so Yu Shun Si Qin or any of its descendants.
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5. Recordings
Although I have not yet recorded my interpretation, it will probably follow fairly closely my transcription. I always do reconstructions without consulting other peoples versions, so it is always interesting afterwards to see how independently we interpreted the note values (which are not directly indicated in the tablature). Regarding this see Rhythm in Early Ming Qin Tablature.
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6. Lyrics
The original Chinese afterword is:

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7. Music
Recorded Weehawken New Jersey 30 November 2020.
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Return to the annotated handbook list or to the Guqin ToC.