Tablature Shorthand
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Taiyin Daquanji  ToC   Folio 4 ToC  /  Folio 5 ToC   parts   1  /  2&3  /  4  /  5&6  /  7  /  8  /  9&10  /  "Folio 6": ToC 網站目錄
Taiyin Daquanji 1 太音大全集
Folio 5, Part 7: Tablature Shorthand 卷五，七：陳拙、字譜
(In the original the following sections and quotations are unnumbered.2)

字譜 Tablature notation (a glossary) (QQJC I/91b) (Compare I/91b; the translation here starts 10 columns from the left 3)    
This section consists mainly of further explanations of tablature, much of it repeating or complementing what was written previously. But it begins with a brief introduction of the development of tablature, presumably the earlier longhand tablature (see also here as well as this account, especially here, which specifically concerns longhand tablature), then mentioning shorthand tablature at the end.

Here the meaning of the first phrase is actually both questionable and uncertain. First it says tablature began with someone from the Warring States period, Yongmen Zhou. Then, assuming "張敷" is considered as the person named Zhang Fu who lived in the 5th century CE and not as "zhangfu", which could be translated as "became widely used", it says this system or these systems were were subsequently lost. Since the only known historical person of that period named Zhang Fu is not known otherwise to have had any connection to guqin, I did originally consider 張敷 as zhangfu and translated it as "became widely used". The passage thus began,

The creation of tablature began with Yongmen Zhou and this became widely used. As a result, different forms of tablature emerged, but they did not get passed down to later generations....

However, most people reading the passage in Chinese would probably consider ""張敷" to be a proper name, so this is the "official" translation of this section called "字譜 Tablature glossary", which begins 10 columns from the left in the image at right, and the second column from the right in the image below:

"The construction of the tablature system began with Yongmen Zhou; Zhang Fu was then inspired by this to come up with a tablature system that was different, but this was not passed on to later generations. Zhao Yeli produced tablature (explanations) in two volumes, named Reference to Past and Present, and for learners it was quite easy to understand. As for what these earlier sages devised, it aimed to be comprehensive and complete, but what they wrote was extremely verbose, sometimes spanning two lines without forming any complete phrases. Later, Cao Rou created the simplifed tablature method (of putting elements of Chinese characters into short clusters), which was even easier to understand.

制譜，始於雍門周 張敷因而別譜，不行於後代。趙耶利出譜兩帙，名參古今，尋者易知。先賢制作，意取周備，然其文極繁動越兩行，未成一句。後曹柔作減字法，尤為易曉也。

Mention has been made elsewhere to the development of longhand tablature. And at one place earlier in the text some credit was also given to 陳居士 Master Chen, generally thought to be Chen Kangshi, but perhaps it could instead be Chen Zhuo. Commentary within the symbols themselves mentions Cao Rou at least once but more often Master Chen or Chen Zhuo. Nevertheless, it is not clear whether and if so how this section connects with the next one (Part 8), which has actual tablature explanation attributed to 唐陳居士 Master Chen of the Tang dynasty. Some believe Master Chen to be Chen Zhuo but others say Chen Kangshi.

In any case, after the above introduction comes the following list of 75 (30 this page + 45 next) shorthand forms with their longhand forms, as follows ("__" means the shorthand form cannot be written by computer; n.b., the computer forms may not be precisely the same as the handwritten shorthand forms):

  1. 宀   宮 gong
  2. 亠   商 shang ("陳拙作商")
  3. 力   角 jue ("陳拙作角")
  4. 山   徴 zhi ("陳拙作徴")
  5. 习   羽 yu ("陳拙作羽")
  6. __   文 Wen
  7. 乙   武 Wu ("陳拙作戈；已上是散聲")
  8. 丁   打 da
  9. 乚   挑 tiao
  10. 厂   歷 li
  11. 廾   散 san (艹 ?)
  12. 末   抹 mo
  13. 尸   擘 pi ("作" ?)
  14. 立   摘 zhai ("曹柔作立"; n.b., the modern shorthand form is different)
  15. 巛   瑣 suo
  16. 吅   彈
  17. 牛   牽 qian (pull; no explanation; sometimes "𠫓")
  18. 厶   勾 gou
  19. __   打挑 da tiao
  20. __   散打 san da
  21. __   緩齊打齪 huan qi da chuo
  22. __   双打 shuang da
  23. __   彈打 tan da
  24. __   双彈 shuang tan
  25. __   三彈 san tan
  26. __   齪 chuo
  27. __   擘齪 pi chuo
  28. __   齪挑 chuo tiao
  29. __   緩齪 huan chuo
  30. __   齊齪 qi chuo
      (This web page ends with the right 8 columns of this image)            
  31. __   蠲 juan (show/rescind/purify)
  32. __   連蠲 lian juan
  33. __   蠲扶
  34. __   散連蠲 san lian juan
  35. __   單蠲 dan juan
  36. __   疾牽 ji qian
  37. __   緩牽 huan qian
  38. __   癶牽 bo qian (divergent pull)
  39. __   摘歷 zhai li
  40. __   疾歷 ji li
  41. __   緩打 huan da
  42. __   緩歷 huan li
  43. __   歷擘 li pi
  44. __   摘歷擘 zhai li pi
  45. __   拂歷 fu li
  46. __   摘歷齪擘 zhai li chuo pi
  47. __   摘歷齪擘 zhai li chuo pi (shorthand is a bit different)
  48. __   全扶 quan fu
  49. __   半扶 ban fu
  50. __   疾全扶 ji quan fu
  51. __   緩全扶 huan quan fu
  52. __   半挑扶 ban tiao fu
  53. __   節全扶 jie quan fu
  54. __   間勾 jian gou
  55. __   覆門勾 fu men gou (probably should be 覆間勾 fu jian gou)
  56. __   排間勾 pai jian gou
  57. __   反門勾 fan men gou (probably 反間勾 fan jian gou)
  58. __   緩間勾 huan jian gou
  59. __   展轉間勾 zhan zhuan jian gou
  60. __   散間勾 san jian gou
  61. __   輪音 lun yin
  62. __   圓婁 yuan lou (陳拙作"員婁" Chen Zhuo had "yuanlou" as one figure)
  63. __   打瑣 da suo
  64. __   長瑣 chang suo
  65. __   緩瑣 huan suo
  66. __   三瑣 san suo
  67. __   撥剌 bo la (compare 潑刺 poci)
  68. 占   拈 nian (pick up with thumb and two fingers)
  69. 爫   搯 tao
  70. __   綽搦 chuo nuo (clutch-grasp)
  71. __   大蟹行 da xie xing
  72. __   勾打 da gou
  73. __   却輪音 que lun yin
  74. 人   幹 gan
  75. 足   跪 gui (kneel)

Continue on to the explanation of finger techniques attributed to Master Chen
or return to the Folio 5 ToC.

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. 太音大全集卷五 Taiyin Daquanji Folio 5, Part 5) QQJC I/91, bottom: comments above begin at 2nd column from right: 字譜  
See comments with right hand technique explanations.

Note also that these explanations are not at all complete. For example, ones that I have not yet found in this handbook include:

There are explanations for these in later handbooks but I am not sure if this means they are relatively later techniques.
(Return)

2. Explanations by translator
See comments concerning the structure of the original text.
(Return)

3. Images: Taigu Yiyin
Images from this Taigu Yiyin are easier to follow than the same material from Qinqu Jicheng, at right.
(Return)

 
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