Guqin and wine

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Guqin and Wine ¹

琴與酒

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Front of the long scroll "Song of the 8 Drinking Immortals ²

Alcohol in its many forms has been a companion of Chinese literati since ancient times. A not uncommon thought as to how this might affect artistic expression is set forth in the last two lines of a drinking song version of the ancient melody Jiu Kuang (Wine Mad):

古來多少顯達皆寂寞，惟有飲者留其名。
醉翁之意，端不在乎酒。
Of old many great ones had no fame, only drinkers left their name.
Old toper's aims do not end with wine.

Related qin melodies I have reconstructed and played can be divided into two categories, qin songs and qin solos. These include:³

Qin songs: (with potential for others!

⁴)

Jiu Kuang (Wine Crazed; 1425 and/or 1589)
- 1425 - Instrumental qin solo, the earliest known version
- 1589 - qin song: play and sing, alternating sections (.pdf) with 1425
Yangguan Sandie (Thrice Parting for Yangguan; >1505 and/or 1530)
Lyrics inspired by a famous departure song by Wang Wei
- >1505 - long version, with 8 titled sections
- 1530 version - quite similar to the modern version (recording with lyrics)
Zuiweng Yin (Old Toper's Chant; 1539 and 1571)
Su Dongpo remembers Ouyang Xiu, the Old Toper
Ba Jiu Wen Yue (Wine in hand, Asking the Moon; 1618)
Setting of a well-known poem by Li Bai
Lin He Xiuxi (River Purification Ceremony; 1664)
A setting of Wang Xizhi's preface to the famous Xiuxi at Lanting Pavilion
Lang Tao Sha (Waves Scouring the Sands; 1676)
Lyrics by Ouyang Xiu include, "I raise my wine cup to implore the east wind"
Rui He Xian (Auspicious Crane Immortal; 1676)
Ci lyrics by Huang Tingjian are connected to the Old Toper's Pavilion
Shui Diao Ge Tou (Water Tune Prelude; 1687)
Can use ci lyrics by Su Dongpo that include, "With wine in hand I ask the clear sky"
Qin instrumental melodies:
Jiu Kuang (Wine Mad; 1425)
Solo instrumental only; for combining with the song see above
Xiuxi Yin (Xiuxi Prelude; 1525)
A Xiuxi spring purification ceremony took place along a stream
Liu Shang (Floating Wine-Cups; 1525)
This took place during a Xiuxi
Zui Yu Chang Wan (Drunken Fisherman Sings in the Evening; 1525)
Commemorates the late Tang poets Lu Guimeng and Pi Rixiu
Qiao Ge (Woodcutter's Song; 1425)
Final section: Dancing Drunkenly Down the Mountain)
Yu Ge (Song of the Fisherman; raised fifth string tuning; >1505)
Section 10: Drunkenly lying among the rushes
Yu Ge (Song of the Fisherman; standard tuning; 1525)
Section 13: Having Caught Fish, Buying Some Wine; Section 15: Drunkenly Leaning on a Boat Window
Qiujiang Wan Diao (Autumn River Evening Fishing; 1530)
Final section (in 1589 called "Minced lin fish and heated wine") sings of buying wine and becoming enebriated
Zhao Yin (Seeking Seclusion [or: Seeking a Recluse]; 1425)
In 1425 it is an instrumental melody, but the 1585 version added lyrics that can instead be sung with to the 1425 music; Section 1 is entitled "Drinking Friends and Poetic Companions" and the same phrase is used there as lyrics.

There are at least two more qin songs connected to this theme that to my knowledge have not yet been reconstructed. These include,

襄陽歌 Xiangyang Ge (3 sections; 1579 and 1618)
The 1618 tablature sets Li Bai's lyrics for 5-string qin; it is a new melody but the same lyrics can be sung with the 1579 tablature
飲中八仙歌 Yinzhong Baxian Ge (2; raised seventh string: 1 2 4 5 6 1 3; 1618)
A setting of Du Fu's Song of the Eight Drinking Immortals

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Guqin and Wine 琴與酒
See also Stephen Jones' blog page Inebriation and the qin zither.

21570.39 琴酒 qinjiu says it 謂琴與酒 refers to qin and wine; the earliest reference is to 宋史，宇文之邵傳 Song (dynasty) History, biography of Yuwen Zhichao (1029-1082; Bio/728), "日與交友為經史琴酒之樂 daily with friends have the pleasure of the classics, history, qin and wine". (Yuwen was a surname for Xiongnu living in China, e.g., the qin player Yuwen Xuzhong.)

"琴酒 Qinjiu" is in the title of three poems by Bai Juyi

"琴酒 Qinjiu" is now sometimes used in Chinese for "gin" (otherwise "金酒" or "杜松子酒").
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2. Front of a long scroll called 飲中八仙圖 "Eight Drinking Immortals Full Chen Hongshou scroll (expand)
The original of this scroll, by 陳洪綬 Chen Hongshou (1598-1652) is at the National Palace Museum; image copied here from the Digital Archives website.
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3. More melodies mentioning wine
The following mention wine either in a preface, in a section title or in the lyrics:

Tiantai Yin, >1505, has a preface that mentions preparing wine
Duan Qing, 1425, Section 7: (Drink) a pot (of wine) and grow old with nature
Jiang Yue Bai, 1525, Section 7: "Having goblets of wine, speaking one's feelings"
Si Gui Yin, 1511, ends by singing of "filling jade wine cups"
Gui Qu Lai Ci, 1511, includes a line about a "wine-filled goblet".
Ting Qin Fu, 1511, Section 4 includes a line about being "half-intoxicated with wine" (but playing a 箏 zheng).

Further searches will undoubtedly find more such references.
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4. Material for more songs
For some of the song melodies above one might apply different lyrics following the traditional pairing method for matching lyrics with tablature. For example,

Ba Jiu Wen Yue has eight lines of 7+7 characters each (7+7) x 8; one could pair other appropriate lyrics with this structure.
Also, because the melody lends itself to having four equal segments, four different (7+7) x 2 songs could also be sung to it.
Lang Tao Sha follows a popular ci pattern: other songs in this pattern should be singable with this melody.
Rui He Xian also follows a popular ci pattern so, again, other songs in this pattern should be singable with the melody linked above.

There will be many more examples and, of course, people could write new lyrics that fit these melodies - or fit patterns such as those here or here if they think the melody might be appropriate for lyrics about wine.
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