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SQMP ToC / #30. Bai Xue / 1525 Yang Chun / Spring | My recording with transcription / 首頁 |
07. Sunny Spring
- Gong mode,2 standard tuning: 5 6 1 2 3 5 6 |
陽春
1
Yang Chun Playing qin in spring 3 |
In literature Yang Chun is usually paired with Bai Xue (White Snow).5 In addition, in many music repertoires there are melodies called Yangchun Baixue.6 In the qin repertoire the two melodies seem equally popular: versions of Yang Chun can be found in 38 surviving handbooks from 1425 to 1946, while versions of Bai Xue are in 39 handbooks from the same period.7 It should also be noted that the Yang Chun entries comprise two musically unrelated melodies (with the present version in only three of handbooks, one handbook having both versions); and that whichever version of Yang Chun is being considered, in these qin handbooks Yang Chun and Bai Xue, while sharing similar commentary, are two completely distinct melodies and rarely placed together.
In fact, even in ancient times Yang Chun and Bai Xue were associated with different modes: as stated in the original prefaces both here and under Bai Xue, Yang Chun is in gong mode and Bai Xue in shang mode. Surviving Ming dynasty versions accord with this. As a result, since in most surviving early qin handbooks melodies are grouped by mode, in those handbooks Yang Chun and Bai Xue could never be placed together.8
As for the two distinct melodies called Yang Chun in Ming dynasty qin handbooks: both are in gong mode, but otherwise seem completely unrelated musically.
Taiyin Chuanxi, dated variously 1552 to 1561, has both of these versions, saying that the second melody should actually be called Longmen Taolang Yin; this title is also mentioned in several other places, beginning in 1546, as an alternate title.
In addition, an apparently new melody called He Yangchun was published in 1673. Also in gong mode, it survives in at least 11 handbooks from 1673 to 1878.10
The version of Yang Chun played today is the one that can be traced back to the Yang Chun in Xilutang Qintong (1525).11
According to R.H. van Gulik,12 Yang Chun and #30 Bai Xue (White Snow) were melodies of the southern state of Chu, originally popular in the 5th c. BCE, but of such continuing popularity that the names were soon ascribed separately or together to a great variety of melodies. They were also long associated with a variety of famous people, including Shi Kuang, Song Yu and Liu Juanzi.
It is thus not surprising that there is a certain amount of confusion when trying to trace the origin of the stories mentioned here by Zhu Quan.13
When reading this, one should keep in mind that these stories are mainly for their literary and historical associations, and probably have little to do with the actual origins of any surviving melody. Of this we can only say that the Yang Chun published in 1425 CE was probably copied from a 13th century manuscript of uncertain age.14
Zhu Quan follows to a certain extent the introductions in Yuefu Shiji not to Yang Chun (which are not in the qin melody section), but to Bai Xue Ge (which are). That introduction is translated under the introduction to Bai Xue.
The Yang Chun in Yuefu Shiji are all included under Qingshang quci. First is a single entry in Folio 50, which has the following explanation:
Yuefu Jieti says, "Yang Chun is grief".
Yuefu Shiji Folio 50 then includes lyrics by Shen Yue entitled Yang Chun Qu.
In addition, Yuefu Shiji Folio 51 has six sets of lyrics called Yang Chun Ge, then four more called Yang Chun Qu. There is no commentary; the original lyrics can be seen under the 1525 Yang Chun.
According to Van Gulik the common attribution to
Liu Juanzi, a 4th c. CE Daoist doctor, is from the Qin Treatise16 by
Xie Zhuang (421-466); the story about
Shi Kuang,17 a qin master from Confucian times, is from Huainanzi (see Liu An; perhaps 2nd c. BCE), with the part about Song Yu, a nephew of the famous 4th century BCE poet and official Qu Yuan, being available from many sources, quoting a Han dynasty original; that in the
Bowu Zhi Zhang Hua actually says Su Nü 18 played the piece on a se zither; and that the information about Lü Cai19 is from the Xin Tang Shu (New Tang History).
Besides my own, a transcription and recording by Yao Bingyan can be found in Bell Yung, Celestial Airs of Antiquity. Yao Gongjing's version follows his father's.20 Other Yang Chun recordings are of the contemporary Yang Chun descended from the 1525 version.21
The Emaciated Immortal says:
Qin History23 states,
Song Yu told (King) Xiang of Chu,
Music (Timings follow the recording from
my CD;
listen with
transcription)
Eight sections, untitled
26
(00.00) 1.
(01.06) 2.
(01.59) 3.
(02.46) 4.
(03.17) 5.
(04.00) 6.
(04.47) 7.
(05.12) 8.
(06.22) Melody ends
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Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a
separate page)
1.
Tracing the title Yang Chun
42673.149/2 Yang Chun says "music piece" and quotes a
Wen Xuan story contrasting it with the melody "Ba Ren" 巴人; .153 Yangchun Baixue says "old song, and gives the Song Yu story (see below) from Wen Xuan. Most of Zhu Quan's commentary can be found quoted in YFSJ, p.823.
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2.
For more information on gong mode see Shenpin Gong Yi. See also Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature.
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3.
陽春圖 Yang Chun image
In this unsigned 景德鎮瓷畫 Jingdezhen ceramic painting, the low clouds and waterfall suggest spring. The sun is burning off the clouds, while the solitary qin player suggests the rarified tones of antiquity.
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4.
Yang Chun in early melody lists
The earliest such list, from the 7th century, mentions only
Bai Xue. Likewise the lists in
Qin Yuan Yao Lü and
Seng Juyue. Thus the earliest list that includes Yang Chun seems to be the Song dynasty list of
Yuan Junzhe.
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5.
As can be seen from the Original Preface here. Note, however, that the Qin Cao Hejian Yage lists a Bai Xue (#7), but no Yang Chun.
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6.
Yangchun Baixue
42673.153 陽春白雪 says Yangchun Baixue is 古歌曲名 "the name of an old song", then gives the Song Yu story from Wen Xuan, as in Yuefu Shiji; discussed here under Yang Chun. (It also has this as the name of two volumes of poetry, one edited by 宋趙聞體 Zhao Wenti of the Song dynasty; the other edited by 元楊朝英 Yang Chaoying of the Yuan Dynasty.) Zha Fuxi's Guide has no Yangchun Baixue, and in old melody lists the two titles are usually not even placed together.
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7.
Tracing Yang Chun and Bai Xue
For Yang Chun see Zha Fuxi's Guide, 3/27/19. More details are in the appendix below.
For Bai Xue see the Guide 5/48/66 ; its appendix compares which handbooks omit which title.
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8.
The origins of this modal differences are unclear.
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9.
Other versions related to 1425
The other two occurrences of the 1425 version of Yang Chun are in Taiyin Chuanxi (1552) and Qinyuan Xinchuan Quanbian (1670). The lyrics in Chongxiu Zhenchuan Qinpu (15 sections) cannot be matched to the SQMP version.
Zha's Guide does not distinguish between this early version and the musically unrelated later one: see again the appendix below. The Guide also does not include Taiyin Chuanxi, which has both versions.
Regarding the chronological spread of surviving versions of Yang Chun note the following.
From this it would seem that over time Yang Chun became less popular.
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10.
He Yangchun 和陽春
"He" has various meanings including "in accord with", "in tune with", "mild" and "peaceful". In the qin repertoire He Yangchun (3600.xxx [.206 only 和陽, someone's nickname]) is a 宮音 gong melody. According to Zha Fuxi's Guide, 34/260/--, it survives in 11 handbooks:
The last of these is not listed in the Zha Guide.
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11.
Earliest versions of Yang Chun
I always try to learn the earliest known version of any melody I study. However, since the Yang Chun which has survived into the modern repertoire is unrelated to the earliest known version after I had finished my Shen Qi Mi Pu project I started working on what I thought was the earliest version of this later Yang Chun, the one in 1539. I wrote out a transcription of it but found textual problems (in addition to the lyrics that needed translating) and before I was able to make it into what I considered a convincing melody I discovered that the Xilutang Qintong was probably published in 1525, not 1549, making it the earliest version of this later melody. So I changed my focus to ">that one.
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12.
Van Gulik's Hsi Kang, p.92, fn.36, gives the most detail. Both here and in Lore, p.116, fn.77, he mentions various attributions of both Yang Chun and Bai Xue.
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13.
Confusion over "Juanzi"
This name provides an example of the difficulties that arise when trying to trace the origins of the stories mentioned by Zhu Quan. Early qin sources are quite inconsistent in using the name "Juanzi", which seems to have referred to at least three people:
No source is clear about when or where he supposedly lived.
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14.
Zhu Quan is thought to have obtained much of his tablature from the great Song dynasty collection of Yang Zuan.
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15.
Yang Chun according to 宋玉 Song Yu
Song Yu is said to have been an early Chu poet. His statement about Yangchun and Baixue as quoted in Wen Xuan and elsewhere is said to be the earliest surviving commentary on these melodies, but the source may actually be Han, not pre-Han. In Wen Xuan it is the first piece in Folio 45 (p.2111), "(Song Yu) Responds to the Questions of the King of Chu". See also David Knechtges, Wen Xuan, Vol. 3, p. 222 and Xu Jian p. 9. The four comparisons made are:
Xiali (and) Baren 下里巴人 ;
Yang A (and) Xielu 陽阿薤露 ;
Yangchun (and) Baixue 陽春白雪;
and yin shang ke yu, zi yi liu zhi 引商刻羽,雜以流徵,
The connection to King Xiang of Chu (r. 298 - 263?) is much more common than the one in YFSJ to King Wei. Song Yu, having been told that some people are criticizing him, compares himself to a rare melody, saying,
The Wen Xuan passage has more, but does not include the final sentence of the Yuefu Shiji passage.
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16.
Qin Lun 謝莊琴論, Qin Treatise, by Xie Zhuang , is an important source on early qin players. His quote on Yang Chun and Bai Xue, with the latter in YFSJ, p.823, is somewhat different from the one here.
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17.
Biographies of 師曠 Shi Kuang (see Qin Shi #31) most commonly relate the story in Shi Ji 24 (a treatise on music) of Shi Kuang in 6th C. BCE stopping Juanzi from playing the zither music of a fallen state (he had learned it in Yin, which preceded Zhou). See also David Knechtges, Wen Xuan, Vol. 3, p. 224. Zhu Quan attributes Bai Xue (in Folio II), to Shi Kuang.
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18.
素女 Su Nü
For Su Nü see Qin Shi Bu #5. 27924.11 Su Nü has subsections for either three different woman with this name, or one woman with three different attributes. The first of them, said to be a contemporary of the Yellow Emperor, was skilled at music; see also Qin Ji(?).
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19.
呂才 Lü Cai (600? - 665)
Lü Cai is connected to Bai Xue as well as Yang Chun. Bio/523 and 3479.5 呂才 Lü Cai, from 清平 Qingping, was a skilled musician and Daoist who rose to the rank of taichang cheng 太常丞, a deputy to the Chamberlain for Ceremonials. For taichang see
Hucker and 5965.354 太常. Under the chamberlain was a government department whose responsibilities included rites and music; they apparently would take old tunes and re-do them as ritual pieces. Lü Cai's biography is in Chapter 79 of Jiu Tang Shu. Xu Jian, with reference to Tang Hui Yao 唐會要, says Lü Cai played an accompaniment to local lyrics. Hsu Wen-Ying (The Ku-Ch'in, p.171) writes that the Gaozong emperor (650-684) wrote lyrics for Bai Xue, and that Lü Cai altogether set to music 16 poems written by Gaozong, who called them Yue Fu (q.v.).
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20.
Timings: YBY: 6.53; YGB: 7.08; FJT: 6.22. A major difference is in interpretation of the figure juan. There are no quanfu in Yang Chun and Yao plays juan here as he elsewhere plays quanfu; my juan is like the juan they play elsewhere.
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21.
See recordings by Ding Yang, Wu Jinglue, Wu Wenguang, Wu Zhaoji, Xie Xiaoping and Su Sidi.
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22.
Original preface
For the original Chinese text see 陽春.
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23.
琴史 Qin Shi: book name, or just the history of qin? Zhu Quan's sources are problematic. It is not from Zhu Changwen's Qin History. The biography of Liu Juanzi is in Qinshi Bu.
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24.
琴集 Qin Ji: not found; Zhu Quan's sources are problematic.
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25.
Bowu Zhi, 3rd c. CE; see introduction: VG says it actually claims Su Nü played the piece on a se
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26.
Music
Timings follow my CD. Note that all sections end with the same phrase. Sections 4 and 7 have harmonics;
the later long versions have harmonics for either 3 & 5 or 3 & 6.
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Appendix: Chart Tracing Yang Chun
(see also the Bai Xue chart)
Based mainly on Zha Fuxi's Guide
3/27/19.
琴譜
(year; QQJC Vol/page) |
Further information
(QQJC = 琴曲集成 Qinqu Jicheng; QF = 琴府 Qin Fu) |
1. 神奇秘譜
(1425; I/123) |
8 sections (no titles); above
2nd edition has some phrasing |
. 浙音釋字琴譜
(>1505; I/xxx) |
lyrics of 1585 don't fit 1425
|
2. 西麓堂琴統
(1525; III/63) |
10T; commentary: musically unrelated to 1425; try the prelude from 1597?
Afterword quotes Zhang Hua and Song Yu, but says Shi Kuang's were two, one gong, one shang |
3. 風宣玄品
(1539; II/60) |
15T; 1st; lyrics [and section titles], otherwise rel. to 1525; no commentary;
Lyrics begin: 陽律乍轉,葭灰始飛。陰陽反復,反復,五行.... |
4. 梧岡琴譜
(1546; I/380) |
13; related to 1525;
"also called 龍門桃浪引 Longmen Taolang Yin"; no other commentary |
5. 琴譜正傳
(1561; II/413) |
same as 1546
but lyrics of 1539 version were added at II/399 |
6. 步虛僊琴譜
(1556; facsimile, #2) |
No lyrics; related to 1525
no commentary; not in QQJC/III |
7.a. 太音傳習
(1552-61; IV/30) |
14; similar to 1539
preface is an abbreviated version of 1425 |
7.b. 太音傳習
(1552-61; IV/34) |
8; virtually the same as 1425, but with phrasing added
preface says, "義見前曲 for its meaning see the previous (Yang Chun) melody" |
8. 太音補遺
(1557; III/317) |
13
preface re-hashes same as above |
9. 新刊正文對音捷要
(1573; --) |
15T; same as 1585?
|
10. 五音琴譜
(1579; IV/198) |
16; related to 1539
|
11. 重修真傳琴譜
(1585; IV/306) |
15T; titles same as 1539 but lyrics completely different
music also seems to be different from the above; commentary adds some explanation |
12. 玉梧琴譜
(1589; VI/13) |
13; like 1539, as is its prelude
|
13. 琴書大全
(1590; V/471) |
16; like 1579?
|
14. 文會堂琴譜
(1596; VI/196) |
15; like 1539; has prelude
|
15. 藏春塢琴譜
(1602; VI/313) |
13; melody and prelude same as 1589 above
|
16.a 真傳正宗琴譜
(1589; VII/60) |
13; lyrics different again; music starts like 1539, then different;
(楊倫太古遺音) |
16.b 真傳正宗琴譜
(1609; VII/xxx) |
same as 1589 edition?
|
17. 陽春堂琴譜
(1611; VII/372) |
15; music starts like 1539, then different
(太古正音欽佩) |
18. 松絃館琴譜
(1614; VIII/84) |
15; music starts like 1539
|
19. 理性元雅
(1618; VIII/196) |
15, titled; lyrics again different; music starts different
|
21. 樂仙琴譜
(1623; VIII/423) |
15; 宮音; first handbook to put Yang Chun and Bai Xue side by side
Zha's index misses it! |
20. 太音希聲
(1625; IX/132) |
14, titled; lyrics; see earlier
|
22. 古音正宗
(1634; IX/286) |
16, titled; starts as 1539
|
23. 義軒琴經
(late Ming; IX/415) |
13; starts like 1539
|
24. 徽言秘旨
(1647; X/29) |
15; starts like 1539
|
25. 徽言秘旨訂
(1692; X/???) |
not included; same as 1647?
|
26. 臣卉堂琴譜
(1663; XI/88) |
14;
|
27. 琴苑新傳全編
(1670; XI/321) |
11; very similar to 1425; has some phrasing
|
28. 大還閣琴譜
(1673; X/342) |
15; starts like 1539; it is directly followed (X/347)
by the earliest of 12 versions of an unrelated melody called 和陽春 He Yangchun |
29. 德音堂琴譜
(1691; XII/496) |
15
|
30. 蓼懷堂琴譜
(1702; XIII/187) |
15, titled; starts like 1539
|
31. 誠一堂琴譜
(1705; XIII/341) |
18; starts like 1539
|
32. 一峰園琴譜
(1709; XIII/527) |
5; short, but starts like 1539; paired with Bai Xue
|
33. 裛露軒琴譜
(>1802; XIX/83) |
15; "from 1702"
|
34. 琴學軔端
(1828; XX/393) |
13
|
35. 悟雪山房琴譜
(1836; XXII/293) |
16
(QQJC ToC incorrectly lists this twice) |
36. 天聞閣琴譜
(1876; XXV/150) |
15; "= 1702"
(see Zha Guide, p. 29 (273) |
37. 希韶閣琴譜
(1878; XXVI/xxx) |
15
This melody was in Continuation Volume (see XXVI/276), missing from the QQJC edition |
38. 沙堰琴編
(1946; XXIX/325) |
15
|
. 研易習琴齋琴譜
(1961) |
No Yang Chun,
only He Yangchun
"from 1744" |
39. 愔愔室琴譜
(2000/247) |
preface quotes 1705
|
40. 虞山吳氏琴譜
(2001/87 & 352) |
p. 87: related to 1539 version;
p. 352 is a reconstruction from 1425; both have staff notation; |
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