Shi Xiangzi

Shi Xiangzi (Music Master Xiang), also called Shi Xiang, was a famous qin player of antiquity. Qin illustration 8 in Taiyin Daquanji, which claims to be a depiction of his qin, says he was from 衛 Wei. He is perhaps particularly famous as the qin teacher of Confucius, as illustrated at right.

The Qin Shi entry is as follows:⁴

Shi Xiangzi, a man of Lu, was the "Xiang the chimes player" in Lun Yu (see 18/9).

Confucius studied qin from Shi Xiangzi.⁵ For 10 days he did not advance. Shi Xiangzi then said, (Now your qin playing is quite fluent), you can go on. Confucius said, I may have learned the 曲 melody but I haven't learned the 數 skill. Later Xiangzi said, You have learned the art, you can go on. But Confucius said, But I haven't learned the 志 aim. Later Xiangzi said, You have learned the aim, you can go on. But Confucius said, I have not learned 其為人 what kind of person created it. Then later he said, It was someone contented with profound thoughts, and also who happily had high hopes and ambitions. Xiangzi said, You got it. (Confucius said) it was someone of very dark appearance, large in size and looking far off at the sea, like the king of four countries. If it isn't Wen Wang, who else could it be? Shi Xiang bowed and said the melody was Wen Wang Cao.

Confucius used the qin as a sage would for learning, his skills were exquisite. As for the teaching of Shi Xiang, his disciples learned the sounds. For the studies of sages, they had to learn the deeper significance.... (Translation incomplete. The gist of this last section is that Shi Xiang's original teaching method was to wait for students to reason out their own mistakes. If someone figures things out for himself he learns them more deeply.)

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. 師襄子 Shi Xiangzi
9129.189 師襄 quotes the account in 孔子家語，辯樂 of Confucius studying qin from Shi Xiangzi.
(Return)

2. 12 lines (Return)

3. Illustration: from 孔子聖蹟圖 Traces of the Sage Confucius, 1996
This illustration, untitled, is in the back of the book. It is somewhat different from the main illustration, "學琴師襄 Studying qin with Shi Xiang", included under Si Shun, another title of Wen Wang Cao. After relating the story of Confucius learning Wen Wang Cao, the text has a poem with 8 four-character lines.
(Return)

4. Original text from Qin Shi
The original Chinese is:

師襄子，蓋魯人。《論語》所謂擊磬襄者是也。

夫子學鼓琴師襄子，十日不進，襄子曰：「今子於琴已習，可以益矣」。孔子曰：「丘已習其曲矣，未得其數也。」有間曰：「已習其數，可以益矣。」孔子曰，「未得其志也。」有間曰，「已習其志，可以益矣。」孔子曰：未得其為人也。」有間曰：「有所穆然深思焉；有所怡然高望而遠志焉。」曰：「丘得其為人矣。為黮然而黑，頎然而長，曠如望洋，心如王四國，非文王其誰能為此也。」師襄子避席再拜，曰：「師蓋云：「文王操也。」

夫以琴為聖人師，其工妙矣。然師襄之學，徒知其音。聖人之學，必得其意。其過襄遠矣。其先授以聲而未授以名者，蓋古人之教人者，常待學者之自得，而未盡告也。自得則悟之深而左右逢其原矣。

Punctuation mostly from Wang Mengshu. The original was not separated into paragraphs.
(Return)

5. Account of Kongzi studying qin from Shi Xiangzi
In Qin Shi this next section (paragraph) seems to have largely been quoted from Shi Ji, Book 47, Hereditary House of Confucius. However, its differences make the Shi Ji account preferable, so this is given above. For the original Shi Ji account see,

世紀，孔子世家四十七 Annals of History, Hereditary House of Confucius, Annal 47 (China Text Project, Section 34 of 85):

孔子學鼓琴師襄子，十日不進。師襄子曰：「可以益矣。」孔子曰：「丘已習其曲矣，未得其數也。」有間，曰：「已習其數，可以益矣。」孔子曰：「丘未得其志也。」有間，曰：「已習其志，可以益矣。」孔子曰：「丘未得其為人也。」有間，［曰］有所穆然深思焉，有所怡然高望而遠志焉。曰：「丘得其為人，黯然而黑，幾然而長，眼如望羊，如王四國，非文王其誰能為此也！」師襄子辟席再拜，曰：「師蓋云文王操也。

Translation in RH, pp.13-4.
(Return)

Return to QSCB, or to the Guqin ToC.