Liu Yuxi was a poet noted for his "folk-style poems" (see Wikipedia), and the earliest surviving preface to this melody, in the 1609 setting,⁷ emphasizes Liu Yuxi's respect for the simple life. Although the 1609 melody is very different from that of 1539, one might presume that the intention was the same, and so here the 1609 preface is used as a substitute preface for the present melody.

Further regarding the sentiments expressed in the Liu Yuxi lyrics, the sixth line is worthy of special mention for its Buddhist connection:

Although here "Jin Jing" does not necessarily refer to the famous Buddhist sutra as we know it, it most likely does refer to reading Buddhist texts. Liu Yuxi in his youth studied with two renowned Buddhis poets in the Shaoxing area, 靈澈 Lingche (746-816) and 皎然 Jiaoran (730-799), and his later works often reflected this Buddhist sensibility (Wiki). Here one can also imagine the reclusive literatus combining the two, meditating on sacred texts while playing qin, perhaps even creating melodies that in their minds fit the texts.

This indeed may be what was done later by the people who made and/or played the Heart Sutra setting.⁸

This 1539 setting is completely syllabic; there are no slides and few indications of other ornaments. It is said to be a shang mode melody presumably on the basis that the main tonal center is a note equivalent to the open second string (called the shang string). However, unlike most early Ming shang mode melodies its other main tonal center is yu (la) rather than gong (do). It is perhaps significant that the otherwise related 1590 version changes this, putting more emphasis on do.⁹

 
Original preface¹⁰
None, but the 1609 commentary can serve quite as well. My very tentative translation is as follows:

 
Music and lyrics (II/151)¹¹ (transcription; timings follow 錄音 my recording.
One Section, set to lyrics by Liu Yuxi. The structure of these lyrics suggests the melody might be divided into three parts, as shown. Note that the last line of the current version includes a phrase not in the most common version of the melody.

00.00 (Instrumental prelude adapted from the closing harmonics)

00.17 ([4+4] x 3)

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Loushi Ming References
42549.14 gives two references, as follows:

• 崔沔 Cui Mian (673 - 739; Bio/2158)
  The entry says he wrote a poem of this name, quoting 唐書崔沔傳 the Cui Mian entry in the Book of the Tang Dynasty, which says he often lived in
• 劉禹錫 Liu Yuxi (772 - 842)
  It quotes Liu Yuxi's poem in its entirety. ICTCL discusses Liu Yuxi in detail but does not mention this poem.

42549.13 said 陋室 Lou Shi was the name of the home of Liu Yuxi.
(Return)

2. Shang Mode (商調 shangdiao)
For further information on shang mode see Shenpin Shang Yi and Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature.
(Return)

3. Calligraphy for Loushi Ming
The above calligraphy, attributed to Zhao Mengfu, was copied from here; the original is apparently in the Guangdong Provincial Museum.
(Return)

4. Tracing Loushi Ming
Zha's Guide 15/162/355 has this title in 12 handbooks (missing 1709), as follows,

5. Pairing lyrics
Almost all qin songs have one Chinese character for each right hand stroke and left hand pluck; no words paired to slides. Further detail is given here.
(Return)

6. Later versions
My examination of the latter versions has only been somewhat cursory.
(Return)

7. Liu Yuxi
劉禹錫
(Return)

8. Expressing Buddhist sentiment through qin
The Heart Sutra setting is said to have been made by a qin player for a friend who liked to recite the sutra (further on this aim).
(Return)

9. Comparing the 1590 setting
I have played through the 1590 version but not recorded it. It was not uncommon for early Ming melodies to have non-pentatonic notes that later were changed to fit into the pentatonic system.
(Return)

10. Original text of the introduction to the 1609 Loushi Ming
The original text in 楊掄伯牙心法 Yang Lun, Boya Xinfa, is as follows:

The translation above is quite tentative.
(Return)

11. Music
The setting is almost completely syllabic.

A note on the translation
The poem has been translated by Herbert Giles as My Humble Home. It is included in Minford and Lau, Classical Chinese Literature, Vol. I, p. 1009. I consulted this in my own translation, presented above. Giles' translation uses a prose structure and skips the lines about ignorant people and the qin.

The original poem by Liu Yuxi

劉禹錫﹕陋室銘 (聽錄音):

00.00
00.17

In the last line of Liu Yuxi's poem he omitted "君子居之" from the passage in Lun Yu which said, "君子居之，何陋之有。".
(Return)

Return to the annotated handbook list or to the Guqin ToC.