Mudan Fu 牡丹賦

20. Rhapsody on Peonies ¹
No mode indicated; apparent tuning: 1 2 4 5 6 1 2)

牡丹賦 ¹
Mudan Fu

Visitors at the modern Peony Island in Nanjing (map) ³

According to the introduction here, this rhapsody (fu) commemorates a visit Yang Biaozheng made with friends in spring 1575 to the grounds of the Chief Censorate in Nanjing to see peonies. Inspired by this visit, he created a melody with lyrics that either copied or were inspired by a poem he saw inscribed on a wall within the garden.

Original preface
Yang Biaojun's introduction explains the visit to the peony garden of the Chief Censorate in Nanjing as follows,

乙亥春三月，友挾同遊都察院觀牡丹花，見花幹蒼蒼，蓓蕊開放，百十餘朵，真實可嘉可愛。仍登院亭，仰視壁懸是賦。御史白嶽何其賢題，云係：
「國初種，移自沈萬三家，古幹繁碩，獨異他本，向嘗稱為牡丹道。
每年當花，適值秩滿，盤桓花下，觴詠盡興，漫賦。」
雖謂昔人遺種，至今賞翫而皆同，賦記琴聲，而為一時奇遇矣。

In the third month, spring of the yihai year (1575), I went with friends on an outing to the Chief Censorate to view the peonies. We saw that their mature stems were dark and vigorous, their buds and blossoms opening, more than a 110 of them in all — truly glorious in their appeal. We then climbed to the courtyard terrace, and looking up saw its fu hanging on the wall. It had been inscribed by the censor He Qixian of Baiyue, and it had a coda that said:

"These were planted at the beginning of the dynasty. Having been transplanted from the house of Shen Wansan, their ancient stems were luxuriant and full, uniquely different from other plants. Formerly they were often praised as a veritable Way of the Peonies. Each year when they come into flower, it happens to coincide with the completion of one’s term of office; lingering beneath the blossoms, with wine cups and poetic chanting carried to the full, I casually wrote this fu.”

Although these are said to be plants handed down from former times, those who admire and enjoy them today do so in just the same way; and now that the fu has been recorded together with a qin melody, this has become a rare and singular moment.”

Music and lyrics
The tablature for the 1585 Mudan Fu (Rhapsody on Peonies) has not yet been restructured. As for the lyrics, they are very regular: 14 lines of 7 + 7 . This structure, though very unusual for a fu ("rhapsody"), is not impossible, but perhaps when Yang set the rhapsody to music he regularized the lyrics.

柏林陰陰飛香雨，東風簾幙春如醑。
Bó lín yīn yīn fēi xiāng yǔ, dōng fēng lián mù chūn rú xǔ.
In (rows of) cypress trees dense shade has the drifting fragrance of rain;
with east wind behind blinds and curtains spring comes in like fine raw wine.
當階旗旎見名花，含態含嬌如欲語。
Dāng jiē qí nǐ jiàn míng huā, hán tài hán jiāo rú yù yǔ.
Before the steps, famed flowers appear, fluttering like banners;
full of charm, full of coy beauty, as though about to speak.
秣陵自昔比洛陽，平章宅裏春未央。
Mòlíng zì xī bǐ Luòyáng, píng zhāng zhái lǐ chūn wèi yāng.
Since olden times Moling (Nanjing) has compared itself with Luoyang;
in the Grand Councilor’s mansion, spring never ends.
祇今庭中堆繡谷，染就玄湖山水鄉。
Qí jīn tíng zhōng duī xiù gǔ, rǎn jiù Xuán Hú shān shuǐ xiāng.
Now in this courtyard embroidered valleys seem piled up,
as though dyed into the very landscape realm of Xuan(wu) Lake. (a lake in Nanjing)
丹延有種不足持，檀心倒暈眾未知。
Dān yán yǒu zhǒng bù zú chí, tán xīn dào yūn zhòng wèi zhī.
Their crimson beauty stretches on in varieties that are too many to take in;
their sandalwood-colored hearts, with reversed halos of color, are something most people have never known.
輕盈自合湘娥姿，濃艷爭誇六一詞。
Qīng yíng zì hé Xiāng É zī, nóng yàn zhēng kuā Liù Yī cí.
Their light grace truly matches the bearing of the Xiang River goddess;
their rich艳 beauty vies in splendor with the verses of Ouyang Xiu.
遲日酐來難自持，低昂向背競瑤姿。
Chí rì gān lái nán zì chí, dī áng xiàng bèi jìng yáo zī.
When the lingering sunlight and heady warmth arrive, they can scarcely contain themselves;
tilting high and low, facing and turning away, they compete in jade-like beauty.
露容長信初妝罷，風態昭陽乍舞時。
Lù róng Chǎngxìn chū zhuāng bà, fēng tài Zhāoyáng zhà wǔ shí.
Their dewy faces are like ladies of Changxin just finished with their first toilette;
their manner in the wind is like beauties of Zhaoyang at the instant they begin to dance.
攢__披蕤動曉寒，餘芬凝弄鬱金團。 (__ = 手+族 12886 xuan = 旋、繁、手挑物、長引)
Zǎn__pī ruí dòng xiǎo hán, yú fēn níng nòng yù jīn tuán. (__ = Shǒu +zú 12886 xuan = xuán, fán, shǒu tiāo wù, zhǎng yǐn)
Clustered, whirling, trailing their stamens, they stir in the chill of dawn;
their lingering fragrance seems to gather and play about like balls of tulip-scented perfume.
豪奢莫論千金價，愛護真如百寶蘭。
Háo shē mò lùn qiān jīn jià, ài hù zhēn rú bǎi bǎo lán.
Speak not of luxurious extravagance or a price of a thousand gold pieces;
to cherish them is truly as if they were some orchid among a hundred treasures.
欲問花神歲月賒，托根曾向石崇家。
Yù wèn huā shén suì yuè shē, tuō gēn céng xiàng Shí Chóng jiā.
If you would ask the flower-spirit how many years have been lent to them,
their roots were once entrusted, it seems, to the house of Shi Chong.
可憐金谷當年麗，添得烏臺此日華。
Kě lián Jīngǔ dāng nián lì, tiān dé Wūtái cǐ rì huá.
Pitiful indeed is the lost splendor of Jin Gu (Golden Valley) in those old days;
yet now it has added its brilliance at Wutai to this present glory.
繁華一去不可復，捧日堯心今尚在。
Fán huá yī qù bù kě fù, pěng rì yáo xīn jīn shàng zài.
Once vanished, such flourishing magnificence cannot return;
yet the loyal heart that upholds the sun, a Yao-like heart, still remains today.
一年一度一對花，當盃莫惜花蘋酹。
Yī nián yī dù yī duì huā, dāng bēi mò xī huā píng lèi.
Every year just once does this pair of blossoms appear;
when the cup is in hand, do not begrudge a libation of duckweed and flowers.

Poem glossary:

Censorate (都察院 Dū Chá Yuàn; also 御史臺 Yushi Tai)
The Ducha Yuan was established early in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). In 1382 it replaced the old 御史臺 Yushi Tai (also Censorate). Their roles in supervising various judicial matters are discussed in some detail in Kroll.
Censor-in-chief (烏臺 Wutai "Crows' Terrace")
Kroll also says 烏臺 Wutai (Crows' Terrace; see line 12) was a traditional name for the (quarters of?) the Censor-in-chief. Cedar trees (see line 1) were a characteristic of the censorate compound, and in front of the Censorate quarters there was a large cedar tree that attracted many birds, crows in particular.
Grand Councilor (平章 pingzhang)
Again see Kroll: this was high central government official. The 平章宅 Pingzhangzhai (Grand Councilor's mansion) was probably not connected to the Censorate. Instead it is more likely an allusion to a mansion such as the one in Chang'an of grand councillor 令狐楚 Linghu Chu, famous in Tang poetry for its beautiful peonies.
玄湖 Xuan Hu: Black Lake => Xuanwu lake (Wiki)
玄湖 xuanhu 21288.xxx; but 21288.37 玄武湖 Xuanwu Hu.
This most likely refers to Nanjing's well-known 玄武湖 Xuanwu Hu: Xuanwu Lake or Black Warrior Lake. There are examples in Ming poetry where Xuan Hu clearly refers to Xuanwu Lake. This connection is further strengthened by the fact that the old 都察院 censorate in Nanjing may have been close to Xuanwu Lake. The censorate belonged to the judicial quarter associated with 刑部 Ministry of Corrections and its 三法司 Three Office Facilities, and Ming sources place these on the east side of the lake near 太平門 Taiping Gate, where Xuanwu Lake meets 鍾山 Zhongshan (Mountain). In that area there is, in fact, a "Peony Island" (牡丹島) Mudan Dao, part of a lakeside 情侶園 Lovers’ Garden, though it is of modern origin.
In Chinese cosmology, 玄武 xuanwu is one of the "Four Symbols", associated with the north and normally represented as a tortoise entwined with a snake. In that context it is commonly translated “Black Tortoise” or “Black Warrior.”
白嶽何其賢 He Qixian of Baiyue (in Anhui; bio/1091xxx; see in preface).
More specifically He Qixian was from 休寧 Xiuning, near Huangshan, and served as a 南京江西道監察御史 Nanjing Jiangxi Circuit Supervising Censor; 白嶽/白岳 Baiyue (white Peak) was perhaps the name for a peak in the Huangshan range. Elsewhere he is credited with:
1. 四書人物考序 Preface to a Study of people in the Four Books, dated 嘉靖戊午 (1558). There he praises the book as inspiring people to learn from the ancients how to think and write well.
2. A poem 《九疑歌》明朝·何其賢 “Song of Jiuyi”, by He Qixian, Ming dynasty
  望仙橋外望靈都，崢嶸萬壽對香爐。
  Beyond Wangxian Bridge I gaze toward the numinous capital;
  towering Wanshou stands facing Xianglu Peak.
  玉琯雲深龍馭杳，桂林秋老月輪孤。
  Deep in cloud, the jade pipes are lost and the dragon carriage is gone;
  in the aging autumn of the cassia groves, the round moon hangs alone.
  日奉五官蒼佩肅，峰回二女翠屏虛。
  Day by day the five peaks attend in solemn ranks of dark jade pendants;
  as the summits turn, the Two Ladies appear like an empty screen of kingfisher-green.
  洞庭不洗娥眉恨，斑竹瀟瀟鳩亂呼。
  Dongting’s waters cannot wash away the sorrow of those fair brows;
  on the mottled bamboos the wind sighs thinly, while doves cry out in confusion.
  From the style one might say it supports the idea that He Qixian wrote the text used as lyrics for Mudan Fu.
沈萬三 Shen Wansan (bio/1158; Yuan/Ming; see in preface.)
Shen was a man famous for his great wealth, one of the "gods of wealth" (財神 caishen). Shen Wansan (traditionally ca. 1306–1394, though the dates are uncertain) was a late Yuan – early Ming Jiangnan merchant (both farming and trade), associated above all with the Suzhou–Kunshan–Zhouzhuang region and remembered in later tradition as the archetypal southern millionaire. As such there are quite a few temples commemorating him and his wealth.
There is today a residence in Kunshan said to have been his. However, in the note here saying that the peony plants had been transplanted from “Shen Wansan’s house” is probably not identifying a unique horticultural source so much as conferring on the flowers an aura of early-Ming antiquity, elite luxury, and famous Jiangnan wealth.
洛陽 Luoyang
Today Luoyang still has a reputation for the best peonies in China. West of Luoyang was Jin Gu (Golden Valley), home of the wealthy Shi Chong.

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. 牡丹賦 Mudan Fu (Rhapsody on Peonies; 1 section)
In Toc; Guide 26/214/396 lists a Mudan Fu only in 1585 (QQJC IV/344).

Regarding the use here of the term 賦 fu in the title, usually translated as rhapsody, it almost always refers to poems that have the same structure as lyrics of an old song. The original melody became lost over time, but they were almost always songs with lines of unequal length. Here, however, the lyrics are in a regular structure: (7+7)x14.
(Return)

2. Tuning and mode
Although these are not indicated, according to my understanding of Ming dynasty practice the relative tuning should be

1 2 4 6 6 1 2. Gong is the name of the first string, and this is the tonal center. For more on this see Shenpin Zhi Yi as well as Shenpin Gong Yi and Modality in early Ming qin tablature.
(Return)

3. Visitors at the modern 南京牡丹島 Peony Island in Nanjing
Image copied from www.xhby.net. The park is at the east end of Xuanwu Lake. See further comment above.

Return to the Chongxiu Zhenchuan intro, to the annotated handbook list or to the Guqin ToC.