Qin Shi Chubian 6a3: Song and Yuan dynasty Qin players  
 T of C 
Home
My
Work
Hand-
books
Qin as
Object
Qin in
Art
Poetry
/ Song
Hear,
Watch
Play
Qin
Analysis History Ideo-
logy
Miscel-
lanea
More
Info
Personal email me search me
QSCB : Song/Yuan     /     previous   next 中文   /   首頁
Chapter Six: Song and Yuan dynasties (cont.) 1
Xu Jian, Introductory History of the Qin, p. 88-92
第六章(繼)﹕宋,元
許健,琴史初編,第88-92頁

6.A. Qin Specialists (cont.) 2

3. The Zhe(jiang) School of the Southern Song (1127-1280) 3

琴人 

南宋的浙派   

The Southern Song established its capital in Linan (today's Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province), and Linan became the political and cultural capital of those days. Famous qin masters mostly came from this area; they came to be known as the Zhejiang school, and the written music they passed down came to be called Zhejiang Tablature.4 Greatest of the Zhejiang school was the qin master of Zhang Yan, Guo Chuwang (see below). Guo inherited and developed traditional qin tunes; several were qin creations with a special color. These qin pieces passed through his student Liu Zhifang to Xu Tianmin and Mao Minzhong, who were house guests5 of Yang Zuan (see below). From this the art of qin pieces of the Zhejiang school directly influenced every period of the Yuan and Ming dynasties.

Zhang Yan6 came from Hezhou.7 In 1169 he attained the Jinshi degree, and rose in rank to be Grand Master of Splendid Happiness.8 He vigorously supported the opinions of Han Tuozhou [or Han Chazhou; 1157-1206]9, advocating resistance to aggression and recovery of lost territory, and opposing the "Lixue" ("idealist neo-Confucian thought") of Zheng [Hao] and [his student] Zhu [Xi]. After the party favoring peace had carried out a plot to kill Han Tuozhou, Zhang Yan was also dismissed from office. He took the old handbooks which were heirlooms of the family of Han Tuozhou, as well as their market-bought handbooks, edited them together into a qin handbook of 15 folios, and prepared this for publication.10 Later, because the political situation had undergone change, he was unable to complete it.11 These handbooks he passed on to his house guest Guo Chuwang, who was [already] directly involved in these matters.

Guo Chuwang is the literary name of Guo Mian,12 but he is better known by his literary name. From Yongjia in Zhejiang province (the modern Lishui13), during his time he was famous for his qin skills. With Han Tuozhou's execution and Zhang Yan's dismissal from office, the political situation quickly worsened. Guo Chuwang, as house guest of Zhang Yan, deeply felt the pressure. His representative work Xiao Xiang Shui Yun (Clouds over the Xiao and Xiang Rivers) is what expressed these emotions. Other pieces of his, such as Bu Yue (Walking on the Moon14) and Qiu Yu (Autumn Rain15), were similar creations.

Yuan Jue16, in his "Describing Walking on the Moon (Bu Yue) and Autumn Rain (Qiu Yu), Two Qin Melodies of Guo Chuwang"17, wrote this about the piece Bu Yue,

The bright moon in the clear sky
  Its brightness flowing, filling the western courtyard.
Shaking out my clothing and slowly walking alone,
  I faithfully follow the flow.
My heart is like the moon,
  Forever without change.
Occasionally I chase after fame here,
  And am bullied by the polluted world...

Concerning the piece Qiu Yu he wrote,

Reclining on my pillow my sad dream is broken,
  Lying down I hear the sound of the autumn rain.
Cold leaves cannot control their own [trembling],
  "Xie xie" [the sound], like the music of bells and chimes.
The qingshang melody calms down everything,
  How can this sound [of rain also] not be peaceful?
I awaken, sigh, and fall into deep thought,
  Feeling shame for recently acquired fame.

Although these two qin pieces no longer exist, from these poems by Yuan Jue one can see that the contents and method of creation were the same as with [Guo's] Xiao Xiang Shui Yun. Both were using the description of scenery to express the poet's own inner feelings. [Guo Chuwang's] compositions also include such extant qin pieces as Chun Yu18 (Spring Rain), Feiming Yin (Calling out in Flight) [and] Fan Canglang (Floating on the Canglang River); the famous composition Qiu Hong (Wild Geese in Autumn) is also said to be his. His students included Liu Zhifang.

Liu Zhifang19 was from Tiantai, Zhejiang.20 He inherited the qin learning of Guo Chuwang, [and himself] created such qin pieces as Wangji Qu (Without-Schemes Tune21) and Wujiang Yin (Wu River Intonation22). Among these, Wangji Qu developed into the very widespread Ming and Qing qin tune Oulu Wangji (Seagulls Without Schemes).

Liu Zhifang contributed to the dissemination of the qin learning of [his teacher] Guo Chuwang. Originally Yang Zuan and Mao Minzhong were studying Jiang-xi Tablature tablature,23 [but] then Mao Minzhong studied [pieces by] (Guo Chuwang's student) Liu Zhifang using the "shang mode"24; after Yang Zuan heard [these] he was very astonished and happy. He immediately put out the expenses, ordering Xu Tianmin [also] to go and study from Liu Zhifang. After this Guo Chuwang's qin pieces became widespread, forming the basis of the later Zhe(jiang) school.

Yang Zuan 25 (also called Yang Zan) from Qiantang (Hangzhou), had the literary name Siweng; style names Shouzhai and Zixia. He achieved the rank of Chief Minister of Imperial Granaries (Sinongxiang). Because he had married his daughter to the Duzong emperor [1222-1275; r.1265-75] as Shufeihou (a high-ranking concubine), he was given extra rank as Shaoshi.26 His skills at discriminating music were very powerful; his influence in forming the tradition of a Zhejiang school was very beneficial. He had very sensitive hearing skills, towards music performance having very rigorous requirements. During ensemble music "if one note was incorrect, Zan would notice it. The royal and common music masters both thought he was very good.

[Yang Zuan] also sent people to look for the lost music of Xi Kang's "Four Melodies", from various places in succession assembling more than ten different versions, all boosted as true pieces of Xi Kang transmitted to the present day. He carefully listened to them, and rejected them all. Finally, from He Zhongzhang27 in Wu (Suzhou area), Xu Tianmin acquired good copies. Yang Zuan listened to several phrases and then stated flatly, "Finally, the true work of Xi Kang; none of the others comes up to this." Thus he was very much dedicated to the collection and arrangement of the qin music legacy.

(As for the Zixiadong Handbook of Yang Zuan,28) in his later years, together with his house guests, he made corrections to 468 modal preludes and qin compositions, and edited them as Zixiadong Pu (Handbook of the Purple Haze Cave), 13 folios. This was a guqin music collection of magnificent scope. Not only did it receive the steadfast attention of the qin circles of those days, it also deeply influenced every period of the succeeding Yuan and Ming dynasties. (Hu Zhangru, Xiawai Pu Qin Xu)

Xu Tianmin, literary name Yu, style names Xuejiang and Piaoweng, was from Yanling [a mountain about 100 km southeast of Hangzhou]. He was very good at grass writing, and often used grass characters to write out ci poems by earlier people, expressing their indignation; in this way he expressed his own identical feelings. During the years (1284/529) Yuan Jue, when he was studying qin from Xu Tianmin, confirmed that the Zhejiang Tablature transmitted by Xu Tianmin was the old tablature which Guo Chuwang had obtained from the home of Han Tuozhou.30

Jin Ruli,31 a Hangzhou Taoist who also studied qin from the father and son of the Xu family, felt that he himself could understand in detail the art of the Xu family [tradition], and could profoundly explore the art of the pieces beyond what was simply written in the tablature [of Yang Zuan]. In addition, he took 15 of the pieces in the Xu family tradition and edited them as Writing Qin Music Beyond the Haze (Xiawai Puqin32). The meaning of this was that beyond the Zixiadong Pu there were excellent qin pieces which could be learned through careful study. In Shen Qi Mi Pu, the earliest extant collection of [qin] tablature, the middle and last folios are called Xiawai Shenpin (Spiritual Pieces from Beyond the Haze), also borrowing the implication of Xiawai Puqin.

Guoshi Jingji Zhi33 of Jiao Hong [1541-1620]34 listed a Xumen Qinpu, 10 folios. According to [modern] research, this was also a handbook transmitted by Xu Tianmin. Ming dynasty musicians had extremely high regard for teachings of the Xu house, calling it Xumen Zhengchuan (Orthodox Tradition of the Xu House). One can see he was a very influential qin master in the Zhejiang school. His disciple two generations down, Zheng Ying,35 from Pujiang,36 also wrote a Qin Pu, 3 folios.37

Mao Minzhong,38 from Sanqu,39 was a house guest of Yang Zuan, together with Xu Tianmin. Originally he studied Jiang-xi Tablature, then later from Liu Zhifang studied Zhejiang Tablature. He composed a large number of qin pieces. [Qin pieces] popular during the Ming and Qing dynasties, such as Yu Ge, Qiao Ge, Yu Hui Tushan, Zhuangzhou Meng Die, Shanju Yin, Pei Lan, Youren Zhe Gui,40 Liezi Yufeng and so forth41 are all said to have been his creations. Late in life, together with qin masters Ye Lanpo42 and Xu Qiushan,43 he traveled to the capital [Beijing], and was recommended to [the emperor] Kublai Khan. For this he re-named the piece Yu Hui Tushan as Shangguo Guanguang, preparing to offer it up to Kublai. [But] while they were waiting to be summoned, [Mao] died in a hotel.44 Mao Minzhong's attitude towards the Yuan dynasty ruling class formed a clear contrast with that of the contemporary qin master Wang Yuanliang.

Wang Yuanliang, in his Poem on Seeing off Mao Minzhong on his Northern Voyage45 expressed strong dissatisfaction with [Mao's] trip. The poem includes the famous phrase,

"Southerners shed tears, northerners laugh,
Subjects bow their heads to the cuckoo bird."46

and

"Today you are leaving, tears are shed,
In the future, for meritorious service,
your name with be engraved at Yanran."47

[Such words] satirized Mao Minzhong's rapid advancement and having fame throughout the Yan capital.

Wang Yuanliang,48 literary name Dayou, style name Shuiyun[zi], from Qiantang, was qin master of the Duzong emperor (1265-74) at the end of the Southern Song dynasty. He accompanied the "three royalties" (the Duzong emperor49, the emperor's paternal grandmother, and the emperor's mother Empress Xie) when they went north to Yan (Beijing, the Mongol capital) for several years, and he suffered deep depression over the annihilation of the country. Together with other palace officials who had gone with him he often "cried and wrote poems."

[Wang Yuanliang] wrote many patriotic poems. His writings included Shuiyun Ji (Record of Water and Clouds50) and Hu Shan Leigao (Collected Sketches of Lakes and Mountains51). Qian Qianyi,52 in his Epilogue to Shuiyun Shi, said of this poem, "[It is a] Record of the Annihilation of the Country and the Northern Trip; very detailed and sorrowful; it could be called a historical poem." In the poem he by name bitterly attacked Empress Xie, who had capitulated and damaged the country, [as follows], "[Her] underlings having finished writing out the announcement of surrender to Yuan, [she] signs her name, Xie Daoqing."53 The poem also pointed out that the real reason for her bending the knee was to protect herself. "Empress Xie already received the benefit of the new imperial edict [in that] the Xie family fields and land would remain tax-free, even after Empress Xie died. He wrote, still groaning with indignation, "things disappear quickly -- even 1,000 years is a short time; sadness comes as quickly as death."

During his period in the Yuan capital [Wang] often went to see the people's hero, Wen Tianxiang (1236 - 1283), then kept in prison.54 Wang created a Detained in Gloom Melody, 10 Sections, and Wen Tianxiang then accompanied it with song.55 In autumn of 1280 Wang also played Hujia Shibapai for Wen (who remained in prison until he was executed in 1283). Wen Tianxiang, in response to a request by Wang, chose sentences from a poem by Du Fu, forming sections that fit together.56 These two men used poetic and musical interchange to express public grief and indignation.

[When] the Yuan Shizu Emperor [Kublai Khan] heard it said that Wang Yuanliang played the qin very well, he wanted to order him to enter service playing the qin [at court]. But Wang Yuanliang did not go; he asked to return to his old home village. From poems written to him by other people we can see he could play many qin pieces; of these Hujia Shibapai was the one played most remarkably.

Song Yinwen,57 literary name Wenbi, from Taicang,58 was the most famous Zhejiang school qin player during the Yuan dynasty. He studied qin from Xu Qiushan [see above]. During the Dade reign (1297-1307), because he played the piece Hujia Shibapai, he deeply moved the Princess of Lu.59

(Xu Li:) Besides the Zhejiang School, Xu Li,60 a contemporary of Yang Zuan, was from Nanxi in Fujian.61 He studied qin from an early age and was very good at music and mathematics, using 20 years to write out a Zhong Lü (Bell Pitches62). After the age of 50 he focused on the qin, writing Qin Tong (Qin Rules), 1 folio; Wai Pian (Extra Publication63), 1 folio; Aoyin Yupu (Mysterious Sounds Jade Handbook64); and so forth. These writings of his at that time were already passed on by Zhang Bingyan65 to Yu Yan (see below). They were separately published in the Yuan dynasty's Qinlu Fawei 66 and the Xilutang Qintong of the Ming dynasty. `

Yu Yan,67 literary name Yuwu, style name Linwu Laoren, was from Wu (Suzhou area). When the Song dynasty fell, he discarded his rank, closed his doors, read books and amused himself with the qin. From Ziyang Qinshu,68 Nanxi Qintong69 and Aoyin Yupu (see previous paragraph) he learned methodologies for changing musical pitch. He figured that, "Qin music has tablature, but no words, [thus] it has lost its origins created in ancient times; [so] he studied to make more than 40 tablatures." He took such ancient poems as the Shi Jing, Li Sao and Gui Qu Lai Ci, and wrote accompanying tablature. This method of his was the origins of the Ming dynasty tablatures with lyrics. (Yu Yan, Xishang Futan [Worthless Dinner Talk]; Suzhoufu Zhi70)

(Continue with Qin Experts of the Jin and Yuan Dynasties)

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Chapter 6 covers these dynasties (dates, capital city [modern name]):

Northern Song (960-1126; Dongjing [Kaifeng])
Liao (907-1125; Dading Fu [Daning?])
Southern Song (1127-1280; Linan Fu [Hangzhou])
Jin (1115-1260; Zhongdu [Beijing])
Yuan (1206-1280-1368; Dadu [Beijing])
(Return)

2. Translated by JT
(Return)

3. The Zhe(jiang) School of the Southern Song 南宋的浙派
The present article seems to suggest that the Zhe school originated with Yang Zuan and his coterie of qin masters in Hangzhou at the end of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1280). For this see also the discussion of Yuan Jue in Chapter 6c2. However, the article on Cheng Yujian in Chapter 6c7 seems to trace the origins of the Zhe school much earlier. Compare the Ming dynasty Zhe School and Jiang school.
(Return)

4. Zhe Tablature 浙譜 Zhe Pu
Zhe Pu (178979.xxx; .17 浙派 Zhepai concerns Ming Hangzhou painters, poetry critics, or Qing dynasty Hangzhou seal carvers) might also be translated "Zhe music". The relationship between Zhe tablature and the Zhe school is not clear. Zhe Tablature is contrasted with Jiang-xi Tablature, seeming to suggest that (at least in Southern Song Hangzhou) members of the Zhe and Jiang-xi schools were arguing for the validity of the particular tablature they were using. The Zhe school seems to have centered on the famous players in Hangzhou discussed in the present section.
(Return)

5. House Guest (門客 menke)
42129.107 mostly learnly references. It is not clear how common at any period in China it would have been for a wealthy family to have an in-house qin teacher. Regarding menke in genaral, the Wikipedia page Retainers in early China suggests that from the Warring States period through the Han dynasty there were menke who would perform many functions - including fighting。 Apparemtly their role could be different at different times, and they could be well-respected or greatly disdained. Later it was apparently not uncommon for wealthy people with large mansions to pay cultured people to live in their mansions as "house guests", but there is little information of their doing household tutoring.

House guests as qin teachers.
The most famous examples are Xu Tianmin and Mao Minzhong as house guests of Yang Zuan.

A related term seems to be "private advisor" (幕客 mu ke), a term used by Yuan Jue in describing Guo Chuwang as Zhang Yan's private advisor.

In discussing this period Rao Zongyi in some cases simply uses the word "guest" (客 ke). On the other hand, QSCB never uses "muke. It is thus not completely clear if there is a real distinction between menke and muke
(Return)

6. Zhang Yan 張巖
See also Zhang Yan's home. Regarding this, 10026.1575, based on Song History, says Zhang Yan was from Daliang (Kaifeng?). See also next footnote.
(Return)

7. 和州(今安徽和縣) "Hezhou: He County in today's Anhui province," about 50 km southwest of Nanjing, across the Yangzi river. I don't know why this information is different from that mentioned here.
(Return)

8. Grand Master of Splendid Happiness (光祿大夫 Guanglu Daifu)
1367.190/189: This was a sort of personal secretary in the palace. Hucker: "prestige title for civil officials of rank...2b in...Sung.... Sometimes occurs with pefixes Left and Right." Rao, Section 4 says he was at one time Vice Grand Councilor.
(Return)

9. 韓佗胄 Han Tuozhou or 韓侘胄 Han Chazhou (1157 - 1207)
44126.140 has 韓侘胄 Han Chazhou (no mention of 佗胄 Tuozhou; Song Biographies seem to prefer 佗, but whether they use that or 侘, modern sources seem to prefer romanizing the name "Tuozhou"; e.g., Wiki). His style name was 節夫 Jiefu, and he was 安陽人 from Anyang in Henan, 琦曾孫 a great-grandson of 韓琦 Han Qi (44126.270; 1008-1075; Giles: high minister who eventually lost out to 王安石 Wang Anshi; canonized 忠獻 Han Zhongxian). Han's father married into the imperial family, leading to Han Tuozhou gaining high office. Around 1195 CE Han got rid of neo-Confucians and embarked on a war that turned out to be disastrous. After he was executed in 1206 or 1207 it is said the "Tartars" demanded his head, so his coffin was opened and the head sent to them. His property was confiscated and his four "arrogant" concubines were also executed.
(Return)

10. Zhang Yan's Qin Handbook
Rao Zongyi gives a bit more detail to the account of the qinpu collected by Zhang Yan. At the time both Zhang Yan and Han Tuozhou would have been living in the southern Song capital of Hangzhou. So Rao specifically has Zhang Yan finding the qin tablature ("Han family heirlooms") in the home of Han Tuozhou's ancestor, 韓琦 Han Qi, i.e., back in Henan province (from which Zhang's family also apparently came). Rao adds that Zhang then also secretly purchased more qin handbooks from Jin territory. The accumulated tablature was then eventually passed on to his qin master, Guo Mian; hence, some of it was probably included in the later compilation called Zixiadong Pu.
(Return)

11. This apparently refers to Zhang Yan being out of office and thus either not able to gain access to the qin documents, or no able to do anything with them.
(Return)

12. See Qinshi Xu #15; 40338.xxx; 15473.99 has Chuwang as literary name of Wang Mian 21295.454, Jinshi during 976-984, so coincidence.
(Return)

13. According to Xu Jian; according to the atlas, Yongjia is the modern Wenzhou on the coast of southern Zhejiang; Li Shui is about 100 km upriver.
(Return)

14. 16621.14: Walking on Moon; name of a 詞牌 cipai.
(Return)

15. 25505.142; poetic references to Wang Wei, Du Fu, etc.
(Return)

16. Yuan Jue 袁桷
34953.145 says Yuan dynasty, but below he is said to have been studying from Xu Tianmin in 1224/5. Rao Zongyi [p.83] says he is one of the most important sources of information about qin music of that time. Xu Jian discusses his essay called Qin Narration (琴述).
(Return)

17. Yuan Jue: "Describing Walking on the Moon and Autumn Rain, Two Qin Melodies of Guo Chuwang"
述郭楚望《步月》、《秋雨》琴調二首 (Shu Guo Chuwang Buyue, Qiu Yue, Qin Diao Er Shou)
The original text of these two poems is as follows (QSCB/88-9 has only the first four couplets of each; these are translated above:

《步月》:
明月當清空,流光滿西墀。
振衣獨徐行,耿耿長相隨。
我心如明月,萬古無成虧,
偶逐區中名,遂為塵所欺。
抱影長夜吟,別鶴同離思。
行矣歸故山,探雲結幽期。

《秋雨》:
欹枕絕幽夢,臥聽秋雨鳴。
寒葉不自持,槭槭金石聲。
清商肅萬物,此聲何不平?
痛嘆生遐心,夙昔羞近名。....

As yet I have not found a more complete version of the latter poem.
(Return)

18. Spring Rain (Chun Yu 春雨)
14146.146 Spring Rain; the only known surviving qin piece of this title is the Chun Yu in Wusheng Qinpu (1457; QQJC I/171-186), which is thought to have only new compositions, by "Lan Xian", the "Lazy Immortal". Xu Jian's above association of the "extant melody" with Guo Chuwang is thus rather dubious.
(Return)

19. 2279.xxx; I cannot find any references in Qinshi Xu.
(Return)

20. A mountain and town about 200 km southwest of Hangzhou.
(Return)

21. Earliest version, in Shen Qi Mi Pu, seems unrelated to present version, which first appears in Huiyan Mizhi, 1647.
(Return)

22. Wujiang Yin 吳江吟
Wujiang is a town about 25 km south of Suzhou. 3453.xxx has no references to music, nor is this title included in any handbooks or melody lists.
(Return)

23. 江西譜 Jiang-xi Pu
See more under Chapter 6a5. Although Jiang-xi Pu literally means "Jiang-xi tablature", it is not clear to what extent this term specifies a particular notated form of a melody, or the melodies themselves. There is no reference to Jiang-xi tablature in the Qinshi Xu biographies.
(Return)

24. In Shen Qi Mi Pu, of the 22 titled "Pieces from Beyond the Haze" in Folios 2 and 3 which use standard tuning, 11 are in shang mode and two in shangjue mode; gong, jue and yu modes each have two pieces, zhi has three. The shang and shangjue modes use the first string as gong, while the other standard tuning modes use the 3rd string as gong. So what?
(Return)

25. Yang Zuan 楊纘 (also Yang Zan 楊瓚)
For "Zuan" Xu Jian (p. 89) uses the jade radical, writing 瓚 Zan, but he says it is also written 纘 Zuan, i.e., with the silk radical (e.g., as in his biography in Qinshi Xu [q.v..]; 15489.839/2 has 楊瓚 Yang Zan while Bio/859 has 楊纘 Yang Zuan. See further in a footnote to his biographical entry.
(Return)

26. Shaoshi: A personal tutor of middle rank, one of "Three Gu".
(Return)

27. He Zhongzhang of Wu 吳中何仲章 (source of the 紫霞洞 Zixiadong qin materials!)
489.xxx; Zhongzhang 437.243 is a nickname but only for other surnames. What Xu Jian means by "good copies" (善本) of the qin materials being found at this home in 吳中 Wu (Suzhou area) is not clear. Rao Zongyi, Section 6, quotes Song Lian on this subject, saying that after over 10 years of searching the materials were finally found at this home. But in none of the sources does there seem to be any speculation as to just what was found there, or why.
(Return)

28. Zixiadong Pu 紫霞洞譜
The information that Zixiadong Pu (Handbook of the Purple Haze Cave, 13 folios) had 468 modal preludes and qin compositions comes from Hu Zhangru, Xiawai Pu Qin Xu. Zhu Quan seems to be alluding to this handbook in naming two of the folios in Shen Qi Mi Pu as "Xiawai Shenpin", but the exact significance of this is unclear.
(Return)

29. Xu Jian's original says "1224/5", but this does not accord with the dates given for Yuan Jue. The original date is apparently 甲申乙酉間, which according to the Chinese 60-year cycle could also be 1284-85, which seems more likely to be correct.
(Return)

30. "Concerning Xu Tianmin's Grass Writing".
(Return)

31. Jin Ruli 金汝礪
Not 金如礪. Bio/xxx; 17517.149 gives Ruli as a style name for 金鈍 Jin Dun, Ming book collector and painter. See also in Rao, Section 5 and Section 6.
(Return)

32. Qin Music Beyond the Haze (霞外譜琴 Xiawai Puqin); also called
      Qin Handbook from Beyond the Haze (霞外琴譜 Xiawai Qinpu)

Does the comment here mean that these are pieces not included in Zixiadong Pu, or better versions of these pieces?
(Return)

33. 國史經籍志 Guoshi Jingji Zhi
4896.95, 5 folios and one folio appendix; Record of Classics in Chinese History.
(Return)

34. 焦竑 Jiao Hong
19585.56.
(Return)

35. 鄭瀛 Zheng Ying 40513.xxx; see Qinshi Xu #20
(Return)

36. About 100 km south of Hangzhou.
(Return)

37. "千頃堂書目 Qianqingtang Shumu"
See Qinshu Cunmu #152.
(Return)

38. 17141.XXX.
(Return)

39. 10.1904; about 200 km upriver from Hangzhou (southwest).
(Return)

40. 幽人折桂 Youren Zhe Gui (The Learned Scholar Plucks Cassia Flowers
9411.1 幽人 youren says it refers to a recluse, there is no mention of music or this title. And although Xu Jian attributes this melody to the famous qin master Mao Mingzhong, the title is not used in any known handbooks. As for its theme, The Learned Scholar Plucks Cassia Flowers might refer to a scholar accepting an official position. Perhaps there is a connection between this title and a title included in the qin tune list of [Song] Seng Ju Yue, 幽人折芳桂 Youren Zhe Fang Gui (...fragrant cassia wood). However, there is no known connection between these titles and Zhe Gui Ling, sometimes used as an alternate title for a poetic rhythm with the same title as the qin melody Guanghan Qiu (see a footnote).
(Return)

41. There are published versions of all these melodies (except perhaps the melody discussed in the previous footnote). Yu Ge appears first in Zheyin Shizi Qinpu (<1491), but this version uses a different tuning from the one in Xilutang Qintong, which is the only one attributed to Mao Minzhong); Pei Lan is found first in Fengxuan Xuanpin (1539), and the rest are found first in Shen Qi Mi Pu.
(Return)

42. Ye Lanpo 葉蘭坡
32127.xxx. A description of him by Wang Feng in Qinshu Daquan, Folio 19, was apparently inspired by his hearing Guanguang Cao played by his grandson (葉惟一 Ye Weiyi? See Rao, Section7).
(Return)

43. 10363.xxx; cf. Qinpu Zhengchuan (1561), QQJC, II/503, Qiao Ge, "by Mao Minzheng, also called Gui Qiao in the often-edited volume (loudingben) of the old men Qiushan and Xiaoshan"; and Qingdu Yin (II/434), "by Mao Minzhong; Piaoweng (Xu Tianmin) shortened it, Old man Qiushan edited it again."
(Return)

44. "Wang Feng: Listening to Qin Master Ye's Guanguang Cao."
(Return)

45. Song Mao Minzhong Beizheng Shi.
(Return)

46. The cuckoo is famous for a call said to sound like "cry for the old home". Here the subjects show respect for its mourning.
(Return)

47. 19876.279, Yanran, above the Ordos region in what is today Inner Mongolia, has a famous rock memorial.
(Return)

48. The information here about Wang Yuanliang is from p.91 of Xu Jian's Outline History.
(Return)

49. Had the Duzong emperor by then turned over his position to his son, the Gongzong emperor (r. 1274-7)?
(Return)

50. 水雲集 17458.xxx, but see next footnote; Shuiyunzi was a nickname of Wang Yuanliang.
(Return)

51. 湖山類稿 18214.8; five folios; one appendix called 水雲集 Shuiyun Ji.
(Return) n Yu's

52. 錢謙益 Qian Qianyi (1582-1664; Wiki)
41448.404; well-known Qing dynasty author and poet from Changshu (50 km north of Suzhou).
He is perhaps best known for his 列朝詩集 Liechao Shiji (a compilation of poems with attached biographies; ctext.org), but his book index Jiangyunlou Shumu is significant for qin as it included mention of a number of qin books. The original of the quote above is from 水雲詩跋 Shuiyun Shi Ba says, "記亡國北徙之事,周詳惻愴,可稱詩史。".

In 1641 Qian married the poet 柳是 Liu Shi (柳如是 Liu Rushi, 1618-1664); she is mentioned further here.
(Return)

53. 謝道清 Xie of the Clear Road; 36661.73.
(Return)

54. Wen Tianxiang (1236-1282) was a famous patriot. His poem Zheng Qi Ge is set to music in Taigu Yiyin (1511).
(Return)

55. 拘幽十操 Ju You Shi Cao
This title is translated as "Detained in Gloom, 10 Sections". "Detained in Gloom" alludes to an ancient story that was quite possibly connected to an ancient qin melody, but as a melody it survives today, still as Ju You Cao, only in a Ming dynasty handbook setting of lyrics by Han Yu in the voice of Wen Wang. This was one of Han Yu's 10 Melodies (Shi Cao) in the voice of ancient people.

Since Han Yu's lyrics concern Wen Wang in prison, perhaps Wen Tianxiang sang those or similar lyrics as Wang Yuanliang played a setting of the melody. And perhaps Ju You Shi Cao actual means it was one of these 10 songs, rather than itself having 10 sections.
(Return)

56. 成拍相合 "Forming sections that fit together": a common method of writing poetry or lyrics was to select lines or phrases from various past masters. The use of the word pai perhaps suggests a connection to Hujia, or that Wang intended to set for qin Wen Tianxiang's arrangement of Du Fu's lyrics. Xu Jian seems to be taking this story from Wen Tianxiang's Qin Shi Xu biography. There the quote is 集杜句成拍與水雲其商略之。 (Shuiyun is Wang Yuanliang.)
(Return)bly

57. 宋尹文 Song Yinwen
7230.33. 翰林檢閱官 A member of the Hanlin academy, said by the Yuan literatus 郭翼 Guo Yi to have been "魁甲 kuí jiǎ", the top candidate in the national civil service examinations.
(Return)

58. Taicang is near Kunshan, about 50 km northwest of modern Shanghai.
(Return)

59. "Suzhou Fu Annals"; a Mongolian princess?
(Return)

60. Xu Li 徐理
10363.369xxx (another Xu Li); see Qinshi Xu #18.
(Return)

61. 2798.568/2, South Creek, lists two in Fujian, one near the south coast, flowing through Zhangpu; one in the center, on the Youji, just off the Min River about 100 km upstream from Fuzhou.
(Return)

62. 鍾律 Zhong Lü
(Return)

63. 琴統,外篇: both in Qinshu Cunmu #112.
(
Return)

64. 奧音玉譜 Aoyin Yupu.
(Return)

65. 10026.xxx.
(Return)

66. Discussed in Part C of this chapter (compare Qinshu Cunmu #146, Qinlü Weifa).
(Return)

67. Yu Yan 俞琰 (1258 - 1327)
1462.94 and Bio/1751; see Qinshi Xu #33 as well as #325, Shang Bishan. Qinshu Cunmu #148 ostensibly concerns his qinpu in 40 folios, but it is mostly about Yu Yan himself, with little information about the tablature and no melody titles. It would be interesting to know if there is any connection between his melodies and those in the first surviving collection of qin songs during the Ming dynasty, Taigu Yiyin.
(Return)

68. 紫陽琴書 Ziyang Qinshu
The links here and below go to the only two reference I have found so far to this book title. 28068.808/3 紫陽 says Ziyang was a nickname of Zhu Xi: did he write it? Wang Shixiang quotes a comment from it in his Guangling San article, saying it is Song dynasty. Qinshu Daquan has a quote in Folio 12, #32 mentioning Ziyang Qinshu. The mention of a Ziyang Zhenren in Folio 15, #61 is probably unrelated.
(Return)

69. 南溪琴統 Nanxi Qintong (Qin System from Nanxi)
By Xu Li.
(Return)

70. Sources for 俞琰 Yu Yan
In addition to those here, 席上腐談 Xishang Futan (Worthless Dinner Talk), and 蘇州府志 Suzhoufu Zhi (Suzhou Gazetteer), there is also a preface to 爐火監戒 Luhuo Jianjie in Qin Fu which seems to have the same information (see under Yu Yan).
(Return)

Return to the top, to the Qinshi Chubian outline or the Guqin T of C