Yin De
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SQMP ToC   /   Tracing chart for Yin De and Qiujiang Yebo   Note count chart Listen to my recording with transcription   /   首頁
24. Hidden Virtue
Shang mode:2 standard tuning played as 1 2 4 5 6 1 2
 		 隱德 1
Yin De
Picture stone: In seclusion3 (side A / side B)        
"Yin De" evokes "maintaining values" whether "in seclusion amongst the cliffs and gullies, or living in the market place", bringing honor to those who do so with humility. As a qin melody title it occurs in only four handbooks from 1425 to 1585, then once again in 1670.4 However, the melody itself also appears twice more, in 1547 and 1559, where it has the title Chumu Yin (Intonation on Grazing).5 Except for the version dated 1585, which has both lyrics and subtitles6 as well as a preface,7 these melodies are very similar. It should be noted, however, that while the version from 1525 changes the flatted thirds to natural thirds, the version from 1547/1559 retains them, at least in part.8

As for the sources of Yin De, the Shen Qi Mi Pu preface gives no clue, and the only attribution is the one in Chongxiu Zhenchuan Qinpu (1585), which says that the famous 13th century qin player Mao Minzhong replenished it from an unknown source. However, the fact that the 1585 version is a related but quite a different song means that connecting any specific style of that version to Mao is at present impossible.

It is not known how actively this melody was played at that time, but in 1614 Songxianguan Qinpu published a rather different but clearly related melody called Qiujiang Yebo (Autumn River Night Anchorage).9 Songxianguan Qinpu was the first handbook of the famous Yushan Qin School, started by followers of Yan Tianchi. It has no commentary, but a story from the Yushan School connects the melody to a famous Tang dynasty poem by Zhang Ji. This poem is said to have inspired Yan Tianchi to create a new version of the melody. My own commentary on that melody makes some suggestions as to how that transformation may actually have occurred. In any case, the melody under that title then survives in at least 27 handbooks from 1614 to the present.

The introduction to the Qiujiang Yebo in Mei'an Qinpu (1931) is completely different from the commentary in any earlier handbook, saying that Qiujiang Yebo depicts musically the whole of Su Dongpo's 11th century poem Red Cliff Rhapsody #1,10 beginning with casting off the boat, followed by punting and loud singing in section two (second half of Yin De section one); hoisting sails and approaching mid-stream in the next section; and further singing, descriptions of the scenery, lowering the sails and re-anchoring in the last section.

Although many of the bits of information above can be seen as either vague or contradictory, it is better to add them to your own experiences and let all this enrich your appreciation as you listen to or play the music.

My interpretation of Yin De changed very little from when I first did it in the 1980s until I published it in this CD collection. Then, until almost 2020, I was unaware of any other interpretations, but in 2019 I found that this recording by Tse Chun-yan had been posted on YouTube. Since then there have been several more put online including this one dated 2020 by Muka Fushimi from Xilutang Qintong. Most of these are very similar to my own.11

 
Original Preface12

The Emaciated Immortal says,

as for this piece, in the ancient time (when the Dao was followed), resolute gentlemen and benevolent men had uncommon talents, and were born with pure and lofty goals. Whether in seclusion amongst the cliffs and gullies, or living in the market place, they wore rough clothing and maintained their values, so as to nurture their heroic spirits. They were not known among (common) people so, it is said, a gentleman has great virtue while looking like an ordinary coarse fellow. And thus this piece was written in order to communicate with the most sagelike worthies, using this opportunity to speak of their own objectives.

 
Music (timings follow the recording on my CD; 聽錄音 listen with my transcription)
Three sections, untitled (Section 1 divided according to Qiujiang Yebo) 13

(00.00) 01. Secluded life in wooded foothills
(00.30) 1A. (see Qiujiang Yebo)
(01.05) 02. (Life with the) wind and moon, poetry and wine
(01.32) 03. Nurturing a magnanimous disposition
(02.13) --- harmonics
(02.23) ---Melody ends

Return to the Shen Qi Mi Pu ToC or to the Guqin ToC.

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. 隱德 Yin De (QQJC I/125)
42825.174 "virtue not known to other people"; it gives only a quote from the biography of a third century official named 王湛 Wang Zhan. 11/1130 has the same together with three other quotes. These four quotes are as follows:

No translations yet available.
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2. Shang Mode (商調 shang diao)
Standard tuning is also considered as 5 6 1 2 3 5 6. For further information on shang mode see Shenpin Shang Yi and Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature.
(Return)

3. Picture stone: In seclusion (16" x 9"; side A / side B)
"Picture stone" refers to a slab of stone that has been sliced in such a way that, when polished, it forms an interesting design, perhaps abstract or perhaps evoking something in nature. It is enjoyable to be in the presence of such stones when playing qin. Often, as with this modest example, they are suggestive of a theme rather than explicitly depicting it. The same is often true of the best in music and poetry.

There is an ancient tradition of such stones, the most common examples perhaps being as part of traditional furniture (example) but a history of this is beyond the scope of this site. In fact, I have not yet found a general Chinese name for these stones that is not simply modern descriptive or, in classical terms, descriptive of a particular style (yunhui [grey clouds], baishi [white jade]), caihua [colored flowers]. etc). In English various generic names have been tried, including "dendritic siltstone", "Chinese picture jasper" and "Chinese picture stone". In Guangxi they are often referred to as grass and flower stones ("草花石 caohua shi) while in Dali (Yunnan) they may be called dream-stones ("夢石 meng shi"), apparently also a modern term.

The present example is a stone from Guangxi province. It is claimed that nothing has been done to alter the natural color pattern within the stone. It is said to be typical of the type of images one can get from certain quarries in Guangxi. As yet I have not found a reliable source of historical information about such stones. Meanwhile there is some preliminary information at www.kaizenbonsai.com and www.gardenofthenightingale.com.

The style of such stones from the Dali area of Yunnan province seems to emphasize more black, white and grey. There is some further information at www.schneiblefinearts.com, while this article by Michael C. Teller IV, founder and president of TK Asian Antiquities, and chairman of the International Dali Dreamstone Association, does include some historical information.
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4. Tracing Yin De (see chart)
Based on Zha Fuxi's Guide 4/45/65 the five handbooks are:

  1. Shen Qi Mi Pu (1425; I/125)
    See commentary above
  2. Xilutang Qintong (1525; III/85)
    3; Almost the same as #1; no commentary: used as prelude to Chun Jiang
  3. Fengxuan Xuanpin (1539; II/145)
    3 sections; Same as 1425; no commentary
  4. Chongxiu Zhenchuan Qinpu (1585; IV/324)
    3T; lyrics; preface says 毛敏仲 Mao Minzhong 補 replenished it from an unknown source; first note: 大七勾四! Rather different but still related.
  5. Qinyuan Xinchuan Quanbian (1670; XI/479)
    3; same as 1425, including preface

The chart also traces occurrences of the later Qiu Jiang Ye Bo
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5. Shepherd's Intonation (芻牧吟 Chumu Yin) (prelude to Herdsman's Song (牧歌 Mu Ge)
Chumu Yin and Yin De, both in 商調 shang mode, are essentially the same melody. The first noticeable difference is that the 1425 Yin De begins with the note mi, while in Chumu Yin the opening note is sol. As in Yin De, Chumu Yin also has the flattened third intervals in part 3, but it divides the melody into four sections, as in Qiujiang Yebo, and it has a slightly different harmonic passage at the end.

Regarding elements of "芻牧 chumu":

As for chumu 31389.10 芻牧 says 刈芻放牧也 cut grass and graze, with early references not seeming to specify sheep or cows.

To trace Chumu Yin see Zha Fuxi's Guide 18/177/--. The only two known surviving occurrences were published in,

  1. Qinpu Zhengchuan (1561; II/511) and
  2. Taiyin Xupu (1557; III/418).

In both handbooks Chumu Yin is used as a prelude to 牧歌 Mu Ge (Song of the Herdsman); the prelude there seems to specify that the herdsman can be herding either sheep or cattle. The title has not been connected to Han Jie Cao, which concerns Su Wu, who is often referred to as 蘇武牧羊 Su Wu the Shepherd.
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6. Yin De lyrics from 1585 (IV/330)
The original lyrics and section titles, in three sections, are as follows (see also here and here).

楊西峰重脩真傳：（明萬曆十三年即1585年）

第一段　隱居林麓

山陰溪曲，抱長才隱居林麓。數椽茅屋，門前流水清如玉，霽月光風，一樂心應足。淡淡藜羹味，的那味勝千鍾粟。
The mountains are shadowed and the streams winding; (a qin) has been carried a long way to reside hidden in the woods and hills. There are many rafters in the thatch hut, and in front of the doorway flowing streams clear as jade.... (translation incomplete)
  ?   嘆古今非是多榮多辱。世間萬事彳亍，空嗟碌碌。疏籬下好栽松菊，簾侵新綠。腋庭前，當種竹。任先生歸去來兮，此身豈肯為形役。為形役。

第二段　風月詩酒

閑名閑利俱無繫，丘山高誼。煙霞那泉石，了此生平。世事風與月，詩酒的那相交累。剪舌因言，折腰為米，從今已。

第三段　養浩氣然

琴書真有味，性猶湍，今將已，浩然氣善養也方為美。井井條理，看步翠麓崎嶇，忘我兼忘世。先生兮，行且休矣。臨水那登山，流行次止那樂天命復奚疑。

Qin lyrics applied to melodies otherwise occuring as purely instrumental melodies may not alway have been intended for singing: they might have been read separately for or from inspiration, or have been recited silently or aloud, or sung silently, perhaps helping the player remember the tune.

The music here is sufficiently different from other versions that I have not been able use pairing the words here as hints to using the song melody for cluse as to how to interpret the instrumental versions.
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7. 1585 Yin De preface
The 1585 preface is mostly as in 1425 but adding a few phrases at front and back:

是曲不知何人所作，毛仲翁補云，「昔在朴之世，...(then as 1425 until)...訴己之志。噫，其不仕之心，斯其人，斯其德矣。.
It is not known who created this piece, but when Mao Minzhong replenished he (see SQMP), ending not yet translated. This introduction is tantalizing for the possibility of connecting in to the famous late 13th century Mao Minzhong. In saying that Mao had taken an existing piece and "replenished" it there is a wish that the version here might shed insights into Mao's style. However, Mao is known for instrumental melodies, not songs, and it seems that this melody was created by someone taking an instrumental piece and trying to adapt the melody the the words.
(Return)

8. Changing flatted thirds to natural thirds
Flatted thirds were a common characteristic of Ming dynasty Shang mode melodies (further comment.
(Return)

9. 秋江夜泊 Qiujiang Yebo
Did Yan Tianchi invent this, or could it have been the original name? The musical connection between Qiujiang Yebo and Yin De was pointed out to me by Mitchell Clark. See further details here.
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10. Red Cliff Rhapsody: 前赤壁賦 Qian Chibi Fu
Su Dongpo's Rhapsody #1 and Rhapsody #1 are both set in their entirety to qin tablature in Huang Shida's Taigu Yiyin (黃士達太古遺音 1515), but there is no apparent musical relationship between those melodies and the present one.
(Return)

11. Other recordings of Yin De
As of 2024 the most notable are these two silk string rcordings:

If these two interpretations were done without reference to my earlier published one this would be remarkable support for the logic of the note values I had worked out in my own independent interpretation. For more on reconstructing qin melodies from tablature see the essays linked here.

Here it is also interesting also to compare the note values in several YouTube recordings that seem to be played on composite strings. These include,

One can also fairly easily (through a Chinese search) find recordings of Yin De on BiliBili.

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12. Original 1425 preface
For the original Chinese text see 隱德.
(Return)

13. Chinese section titles
See 隱德.
(Return)

Return to the top

 
Appendix: Chart Tracing Yin De / Qiujiang Yebo
Based on Zha Guide 4/45/65 and 30/236/--

  隱德 (Yin De) 秋江夜泊 / 秋江晚波 / 秋江晚釣
  1. 神奇秘譜
      (1425; I/137)		 3 (details)  
  _. 浙音釋字琴譜
      (>1505; I/---)		 Lyrics of 1585 fit 1425, though it requires what seems quite unnatural phrasing  
  _. 發明琴譜
      (1530; I/347)		   8; 秋江晚釣 Qiujiang Wan Diao: not related
 
  2. 風宣玄品
      (1539; II/147)

same as #1, including flatted thirds; no commentary

  
  3. 西麓堂琴統
      (1525; III/87)		 almost same as #1 but begins Sec.2 at my m.19 and changes flatted thirds to natural thirds; no commentary; recording  
  4. 太音續譜
      (1559; III/426)		 Called Chumu Yin; first note changed to sol and first flatted mi also becomes sol but has other flatted thirds and is still quite similar to previous (more)   
  5. 琴譜正傳
      (1561; II/515)		 Called Chumu Yin
like previous  		  
  6. 重修真傳琴譜
      (1585; IV/330)		 3T; lyrics; first note 大七勾四 !
preface credits Mao Minzhong		 (also IV/365; 8T; 秋江晚釣 ; not related)
 
  _. 真傳正宗琴譜
      (<1609; VII/95)		 (楊掄太古遺音)
(太古正音欽佩 ?) 		(VII/95; 8; 秋江晚釣; not related)
 
  7. 松絃館琴譜
      (1614; VIII/100)		   Earliest 秋江夜泊 Qiujiang Yebo; 4; no attribution;
no flatted mis, but many fas (compare 1673)
  8. 古音正宗
      (1634; IX/296)		  
 		 4; no attribution; Uses the decimal system, but inconsistently
秋江夜泊
  9. 徽言秘旨
      (1647; X/94)		   4; no commentary
秋江晚釣 !? should be 秋江晚泊 ?
10. 徽言秘旨訂
      (1692; X/--)		   Not included
Should be same as 1647 秋江晚釣
11. 琴苑新傳全編
      (1670; XI/487)		 3; same as #1, including intro
隱德		 No
 
12. 大還閣琴譜
      (1673; X/362)		  
 		 4 sections; the decimal system
Compare 1614: fas replaced by mi, as today
13. 澄鑒堂琴譜
      (1689; XIV/230)		   4; 秋江夜泊
14. 德音堂琴譜
      (1691; XII/524)		   4; 秋江夜泊
15. 琴譜析微
      (1692; XIII/72)		   4; 秋江夜泊
16. 響山堂琴譜
      (<1700?; XIV/106)		   4; 秋江夜泊
17. 一峰園琴譜
      (1709; XIII/521)		    
4; 秋江夜泊
18. 臥雲樓琴譜
      (1722; XV/50)		    
4; 秋江夜泊
19. 存古堂琴譜
      (1726; XV/241)		    
4; 秋江晚泊
20. 光裕堂琴譜
      (1726?; XV/319)		    
4; 秋江晚泊
21. 琴書千古
      (1738; XV/437)		    
4; 秋江晚泊
22. 蘭田館琴譜
      (1755; XVI/220)		    
4; 秋江夜泊
23. 自遠堂琴譜
      (1802; XVII/349)		    
4; 秋江夜泊
24. 裛露軒琴譜
      (>1802; XIX/121)		  

秋江夜泊 Qiujiang Yebo; 4; "雍門譜 Yongmen Tablature"
 

24a. 裛露軒琴譜
      (>1802; XIX/155)		  

秋江晚泊 Qiujiang Wanbo; 4; "光裕堂譜 Guangyu Tang tablature"
      (XIX/260 秋江晚釣, 8 段, is unrelated)

25. 峰抱樓琴譜
      (1825; XX/317)		    
4; 秋江夜泊
26. 鄰鶴齋琴譜
      (1830; XXI/36)		    
4; 秋江夜泊
27. 二香琴譜
      (1833; XXIII/154)		    
4; 秋江夜泊
28. 悟雪山房琴譜
      (1836; XXII/261)		    
4; 秋江夜泊
29. 行有恒堂錄存琴譜
      (1840; XXIII/190)		    
4; 秋江夜泊
30. 琴學尊聞
      (1864; XXIV/xxx)		   Guide lists it p.20
But not in [207]165 or QQJC
31. 琴學入門
      (1864; XXIV/317)		   Only version with commentary: instructions on how to learn it
4; 秋江夜泊
32. 以六正五之齋
      琴學秘書 (1875; XXVI/250)		    
4; 秋江夜泊
33. 天聞閤琴譜
      (1876; XXV/403)		 "From 1802"
4; 秋江夜泊
34. 雅齋琴譜叢集
      (not in QQJC)		   Zha Guide [239]197 lists 2:
松荺館本 & 硯田山房本
35. 梅庵琴譜 #8
      (1931; XXIX/207)		   This Meian version suddenly switched to using lowered third string tuning. Could this be related to the commentary on the 1864 version suggesting some confusion about which string plays "do"? Also, the melody is still related to the earlier versions, the commentary for the 1959 edition (translated in Lieberman, p.100) attributes the melody to Su Dongpo and it describes the scene of his Qian Chibi Fu. Could the connection to Su Dongpo be related to Su having written a poem called 牛口夜泊 Niukou Night Anchorage? See text and translation. (Lieberman was apparently unaware of the earlier connection of Qiujiang Yebo with Yin De or Chumu Yin.)
36. 夏一峰傳譜
      (1957)		   p.74; comment says earliest is 1614 and theme is "as in the title"
4; 秋江夜泊
     
37. 龍吟館琴普
      (1799 #7)		    
earliest Mei'an-pieces? Facsimile from VG Leiden collection