Feng Yun Hui Si Chao Yuan 風雲會四朝元

The title of this melody, surviving only in Lixing Yuanya (1618),⁴ is the title given to a melody or melody-type in Scene 8 or 9 (of 42) of the famous opera called Story of the Lute (Pipa Ji).⁵ Editions of the opera that give titles to the scenes call this scene Strong Emotions in the Boudoir (Lin zhuang gan tan).⁶

Details of the opera story are easily available online in addition to the outline under Qin in Pipa Ji. The scene from which the present qin melody takes its lyrics occurs right after Cai Bojie has left his home in Chenliu to take part in the imperial examinations at the capital, Loyang. The scene consists largely of his wife Zhao Wuniang's lamenting her being separated from him, but her determination to take care of his aging parents.⁷

The whole scene has seven verses in all, but the qin version uses only the lyrics from four of the verses, #2 through #5.⁸ Verse two is said to use a melody called Feng Yun Hui Si Chao Yuan; verses three to five are then said to use the same melody.⁹

The qin handbook's commentary with the qin melody does not mention the scene title, Strong Emotions in the Boudoir (Lin zhuan gan tan). Instead it uses as its overall title the predominant opera melody or melody type, Feng Yun Hui Si Chao Yuan, given at the beginning of verse two in the opera text. Likewise verses 3, 4 and 5 of the opera text have no titles, instead identifying their melody as being "qian qiang": "the same as with the former verse".¹⁰

This may be the earliest known setting for qin of opera lyrics, but as yet there do not seem to be any studies of possible connections between the qin melody and the opera melody as ever known to have been performed.¹¹ Some issues to consider have to do with marginal comments in the qin tablature and indications of repeated passages.¹²

The creator of the qin melody (or arranger, should the melody actual come from the opera) is not stated. Zha Fuxi's Guide page 31 suggests it was Zhang Tingyu, compiler of the handbook Lixing Yuanya, but it is not known to what extent his music might have been inspired by music originating in Pipa Ji, or indeed by any opera music from that time.¹³ Here one can point to comments such as those here about opera performers complaining that the "lyrics" in novels rarely fit the actual style needed for operatic singing. This could also be related to the fact that qin settings almost always follow the tradition of having largely one note per syllable, something very rare in Chinese opera.¹⁴

Preface¹⁵ (QQJC VIII/238)
The preface in 1618 is as follows,

斯曲，趙五娘爲夫蔡邕赴試而作也。懷君子之南征，塵埋錦瑟，傷尊嫜之缺養，日薄西山。孝婦賢妻，情見乎詞。思夫若此，乃情性之得其正者，故特編入譜中。
As for this piece, Zhao Wuniang made it because of her husband Cai Yong (i.e., Cai Bojie) leaving to take the examinations. She was deeply moved by her gentleman's "southern travel" (? to conquer the examination?), a buried brocade se zither (?), was distressed by respecting his parents but not being nurtured (?), daily depletion west mountain (?....translation incomplete).

It ends with, "and so this was especially put into notation/the handbook", but there is no mention made of the actual music.

Music and lyrics ¹⁶
The source of the music is not given; for the source of the lyrics see above. Here the Chinese text is aligned to the translation by Jean Mulligan but her footnotes are omitted and romanization updated. Note that a comma followed by another punctuation mark with no text between means that the tablature called for repeating the phrase without specifying whether that meant repeating the text or just the music (this footnote shows that in all but the first case the text in these editions always writes out the lyrics again).

Opening tablature and lyrics (VIII/238; .pdf)

Verse 1
【風雲會四朝元】
(Fēng yún huì sì cháo yuán)
(She sings to the tune Feng-yun hui si chao yuan [no explanation])
春闈催赴，，
Chūn wéi cuī fù, ,
He was forced to go to the spring examination, ;
同心帶綰初。
Tóng xīn dài wǎn chū.
Our love knot had just been tied.
嘆「陽關」聲斷，
Tàn "Yáng Guān" shēng duàn,
Alas, the sounds of "Yang Guan" died away,
送別南浦。
Sòngbié Nánpǔ.
And I saw you off from Nanpu.
早已成間阻。
Zǎo yǐ chéng jiān zǔ.
How long since we parted!
謾羅襟淚漬，，
Mán luó jīn lèi zì, ,
Nothing left but tears which soak my jacket, !
和那寶瑟塵埋， (Mulligan changes 那寶 to 寶琴?)
Hé nà bǎo sè chén mái,
Our treasured (Mulligan: "qin and") se are covered with dust,
錦被羞鋪。
Jǐn bèi xiū pù.
Our embroidered coverlet I'm ashamed to unroll.
寂寞瓊窗，
Jì mò qióng chuāng,
At lonely window,
蕭條朱戶，
Xiāo tiáo zhū hù,
By deserted door,
空把流年度。
Kōng bǎ liú nián dù.
Year after year I'll pass in vain.
嗏，
Chā,
Ah!
瞑子裏自尋思，
Míng zi lǐ zì xún si,
From somewhere comes the thought
妾意君情，
Qiè yì jūn qíng,
That the feelings between us
一旦如朝露。
Yī dàn rú zhāo lù.
Suddenly became transitory as the morning dew.
君行萬里途，
Jūn xíng wàn lǐ tú,
The road you travel is a thousand miles.
妾心萬般苦。
Qiè xīn wàn bān kǔ.
My heart is filled with a thousand sorrows.
君還念妾，
Jūn hái niàn qiè,
If you remember me,
迢迢遠遠也須回顧。
Tiáo tiáo yuǎn yuǎn yě xū huí gù.
From far, far away, you'll long to come home.
Verse 2
【前腔】
Qián qiāng
(She sings to the same tune):
朱顏非故，
Zhū yán fēi gù,
Gone, the pink of my cheeks,
綠雲懶去梳。
Lǜ yún lǎn qù shū.
My black clouds of hair I'm reluctant to comb.
奈畫眉人遠，
Nài huà méi rén yuǎn,
He who painted my eyebrows is far away.
傅粉郎去，
Fù fěn láng qù,
My lover with powdered cheeks is gone.
鏡鸞羞自舞。
Jìng luán xiū zì wǔ.
Like the phoenix, I blush (?) at my solitary form in the mirror.
把歸期暗數，，
Bǎ guī qī àn shù, ,
Secretly, I count the days till he returns, .
只見雁杳魚沈，
Zhǐ jiàn yàn yǎo yú chén,
Lost are the fish and goose that carry his letters,
鳳隻鸞孤。
Fèng zhī luán gū.
Each alone, phoenix husband, phoenix wife.
綠遍汀洲，
Lǜ biàn tīng zhōu,
Green covers our river island,
又生芳杜，
Yòu shēng fāng dù,
And the fragrant pollia tree blossoms once more.
空自思前事。
Kōng zì sī qián shì.
In vain do I think of these former matters (Mulligan omitted this line)
嗏，
Chā,
Ah!
日近帝王都，
Rì jìn dì wáng dōu,
Day by day he draws near the imperial city.
芳草斜陽，
Fāng cǎo xié yáng,
Fragrant grass in the light of the setting sun
教我望斷長安路。
Jiào wǒ wàng duàn Cháng'ān lù.
Leads my gaze toward the road to Chang'an.
君身豈蕩子，
Jūn shēn qǐ dàng zi,
How could you stay long a wanderer?
妾非蕩子婦。
Qiè fēi dàng zi fù.
I am not meant to be a wanderer's wife.
其間就裏，
Qí jiān jiù lǐ,
This situation I'm in -
千千萬萬，有誰堪訴？
Qiān qiān wàn wàn, yǒu shuí kān sù?
Out of millions of people, is there not one in whom I can confide?
Verse 3
【前腔】
Qián qiāng
(She sings to the same tune):
輕移蓮步，
Qīng yí lián bù,
Softly I walk on delicate feet
堂前問舅姑。
Táng qián wèn jiù gū.
Toward his parents' room to ask what they need.
怕食缺須進，
Pà shí quē xū jìn,
If they're short of food, I must offer more;
衣綻須補，
Yī zhàn xū bǔ,
Torn clothes I must mend,
要行時須與扶。
Yào xíng shí xū yǔ fú.
Feeble limbs I'll support.
奈西山暮景，，
Nài xī shān mù jǐng, ,
Alas, the sun has set over western hills, .
教我倩著誰人，
Jiào wǒ qiàn zhe shéi rén,
And whom can I hire
傳語我的兒夫。
Chuán yǔ wǒ de er fū.
To carry word to my husband?
你身上青雲，
Nǐ shēn shang qīng yún,
You may ascend to the high clouds;
只怕親歸黃土，
Zhǐ pà qīn guī huáng tǔ,
I only fear your parents are returning to the yellow earth.
我臨別(時)，也曾多囑付。
Wǒ lín bié (shí), yě céng duō zhǔ fù.
As you left, how I entreated you!
嗏，
Chā,
Ah!
那些箇意孜孜，
Nà xiē ge yì zī zī,
Are you really such a dedicated scholar?
只怕十里紅樓，
Zhǐ pà shí li hóng lóu,
I only fear that in ten miles of red pavilions,
貪戀著他人豪富。
Tān liàn zhe tā rén háo fù.
Power and wealth you'll covet.
(丈夫，)你雖然忘了奴，
(Zhàngfū), nǐ suīrán wàngle nú,
(Husband), though you may forget me,
也須念父母。
Yě xū niàn fùmǔ.
Surely your parents will stay in your thoughts.
無人說與，
Wú rén shuō yǔ,
There's no one to whom I can speak of this -
這淒淒冷冷，怎生辜負？
Zhè qī qī lěng lěng, zěn shēng gū fù?
This cold, cold loneliness - how can I bear it?
Verse 4
【前腔】
Qián qiāng
(She sings to the same tune):
文場選士，
Wén chǎng xuǎn shì,
Candidates fill the examination hall;
紛紛都是才俊徒。
Fēn fēn dōu shì cái jùn tú.
So many talented young gentlemen!
少什麼鏡分鸞鳳，
Shǎo shénme jìng fēn luán fèng,
So many mirrors broken as pledges by loving couples!
都要榜登龍虎，
Dōu yào bǎng dēng lóng hǔ,
They all seek to climb high on the examination list;
偏是他將奴誤。
Piān shì tā jiāng nú wù.
But it is he alone who does me wrong.
也不索氣蠱，，
Yě bù suǒ qì gǔ, ,
Still I mustn't be bitter, . (Here "再作 repeat" is written in the lyrics column.)
既受託了蘯蘩，
Jì shòu tuō le dàng fán,
Since he entrusted me with the family altars,
有甚推辭？
Yǒu shén tuī cí?
How can I shirk my duty?
索性做箇孝婦賢妻，
Suǒ xìng zuò gè xiào fù xián qī,
Why not become a filial daughter-in-law and virtuous wife,
也落得名標青史(，)
Yě luò dé míng biāo qīng shǐ(,)
And have my name recorded in history (?)
不枉受了些閒悽楚。
Bù wǎng shòu le xiē xián qī chǔ.
Then my loneliness won't be in vain.
嗏，
Chā,
Ah!
俺這裏自支吾，
Ǎn zhèlǐ zì zhī wú,
I'll carry on here as best I can,
休得污了他的名兒，
Xiū dé wū le tā de míng er,
So his reputation won't be harmed,
左右與他相回護。
Zuǒ yòu yǔ tā xiāng huí hù.
I'll cover up for him somehow.
你便做腰金衣紫，
Nǐ biàn zuò yāo jīn yī zǐ,
When you have donned golden belt and purple robes,
須記得荊釵與裙布。 (荊釵?)
Xū jì dé jīng chāi yǔ qún bù. (tablature has "jīng chāi"?)
Remember my thorn hairpin and cotton skirt.
一場愁緒，
Yī chǎng chóu xù,
My depression's a skein -
堆堆積積，宋玉難賦。
Duī duī jī jī, sòng yù nán fù.
Such tangled piles, even Song Yu could never describe.
(The scene then ends with two 7+7 couplets, but these were not included in the qin melody.)

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Illustrious Meeting with/of Superiors? (風雲會四朝元 Feng Yun Hui Si Chao Yuan; QQJC VIII/238)
Understanding the background of this qin melody begins with learning how it fits into the play Pipa Ji by Gao Ming. For this I have relied so far largely on two sources:

The original Chinese text (editor not named) as found online at CText.
The lyrics there seem to be virtually identical to those with the qin melody.
The English translation by Jean Mulligan: The Lute. New York, Columbia University Press, 1980.
Mulligan makes no attempt to translate or explain anything about the melody titles given in the play. However, this book is said to be based on her doctoral dissertation and perhaps such detail is given there (though I could not find it at the University Microfilms website).

Regarding the title Feng Yun Hui Si Chao Yuan, many opera libretti include this as the name of an opera melody or melody type, but as yet I have not found any descriptions of what it is, its origins, how many variations there might be/have been, and so forth. References include:

Fengyun Hui: 風雲際會 Fengyun Jihui can refer to a gathering of illustrious warriors or scholars. 44734.352/2 風雲會 says it was 戲曲名 an opera name, no mention of 四朝元 Si Chao Yuan. LXS 風雲會 has Feng Yun Hui as both a Ming 雜劇名 Zaju (p.75) and a Qing 新傳奇名 New Chuanqi (p.402). The stories concern 宋太祖北征黃衣加身事 military campaigns of the first Song dynasty emperor. There is nothing about this becoming the name of an opera melody or melody type.
Si Chao Yuan: 四朝元 4782.559 has only 四朝 Si Chao ("諸侯謁見天子，四面朝于方岳之下也...."), no mention of 元 Yuan. My other dictionaries also do not mention this. However, online there are numerous references to Si Chao Yuan as an opera melody or melody type. Many make no reference to Fengyun Hui (example), but others say that that Si Zhao Yuan is simply a short version of Fengyun Hui Sichao Yuan.

This plus the fact that the table of contents in Lixing Yuanya gave only "Si Chao Yuan" as the title may signifies that here Si Chao Yuan is simply short for Fengyun Hui Sichao Yuan, but this does not show the connection, if any, between Fengyun Hui Sichao Yuan and the drama called Fengyun Hui.
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2. Jiao Mode (角音 Jiao Yin (5 6 1 2 3 5 6)
For more on jue mode see Shenpin Jiao Yi of 1425; for mode in general see Modality in early Ming qin tablature.
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3. 蔡伯喈 Cai Bojie and 趙五娘 Zhao Wuniang
Image copied from 張國標 Zhang Guobiao, ed., 徽派版畫藝術 Art of Woodcut of the Huizhou School, 安徽省美術出版社 Anhui Publishing House, 1995, p.227. The original woodblock is from a woodblock edition of Pipa Ji; the commentary does not actually identify the scene but it seems to be by the Cai family garden.
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4. Trace Feng Yun Hui Si Chao Yuan
Zha Guide lists Feng Yun Hui Si Chao Yuan only in this one handbook, Li Xing Yuan Ya (1618).
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5. Scene 8 or 9
The online CText edition has this as Scene 9, but in the translation by Jean Mulligan it is Scene 8.
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6. Strong Emotions in the Boudoir (臨妝感歎 Lín zhuāng gǎn tàn)
Mulligan's version does not have section titles; the Ctext version adds them without saying from where they came. In any case, the fact that the qin melody title comes from an opera melody title rather than this opera story title, whenever it was added, might suggest that the qin melody was intended to have a connection to the opera melody (or melody type). If so, the comments in the next footnote suggest that the melody must have been quite flexible (i.e., a melody type rather than a fixed melody).
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7. Filial attitude
The inequality with regard to roles expected of the husband and wife has received much modern commentary. I have not yet seen contemporary commentary.
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8. Relationship of the lyrics to the scene in Pipa Ji
The lyrics are verses 2 to 5 (of seven) from Scene 9 (of 42) of Pipa Ji; they are copied here from the CText edition. Verse 1 has a different melody; all scenes end with two verses that are each 7+7 couplets.
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9. Same melody as previous verse (前腔 qian qiang)
The precise meaning or usage of this is unclear. The four verses are of unequal length and the qin melody seems different (though perhaps related) for each section. Perhaps relationships will reveal themselves after the qin melody has been reconstructed.
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10. Titles
Scene title: 臨妝感歎 Lin zhuan gan tan. Overall title: 風雲會四朝元 Feng Yun Hui Si Chao Yuan. Qian qiang: 前腔.
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11. Earliest use of opera lyrics for qin melodies
This does not include ancient song lyrics that might have been adapted into both qin melodies and opera lyrics, with no information as yet to show any connections between the latter two. See, for example, a song such as Yan Yi Ge.
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12. Marginal comments
Marginal comments presumably are related to the pronunciation or inflection of the characters just to their left, six in all, but it is not clear why these six characters were selected out. The six comments and the related characters are, in order:

去聲（間）
音字（漬）a "pronunciation word"? It is just before the next: are they together?
去聲（和）
上聲（數）
平聲（教）
平聲（教） In addition the instructions "do again" (再作) occur four times in small print and once in large print. In the case, except for the first one, the ctext version writes out the paired lyrics twice. The five are: "春闈催赴", "謾羅襟淚漬", "把歸期暗數", "奈西山暮景" and "也不索氣蠱".
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13. Is the music from or influenced by the opera tradition?
Perhaps reconstructing the melody will help answer this question. However, it may also require a deeper understanding than is currently possible of the connections between its sources in 南戲 Nanxi and 傳奇 Chuanqi as well as its development into and within 崑曲 kunqu (see further under Qin in Pipa Ji).
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14. Note for note setting
More under Poetry and Song
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15. Preface
Not yet translated (Oh, the joys of trying to understand classical opera writings!)
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16. Music and Lyrics
There are a few differences between the qin melody lyrics and the lyrics as included in CText Scene 9 (of 42). The latter is as follows (n.b., the first scene has divisions here to show it has three sections, one using the tune Po qichen, one in gufeng form, one perhaps in prose):

【破齊陣引】(not set for qin)
〔旦上〕翠減祥鸞羅幌，香銷寶鴨金爐。楚館雲閒，秦樓月冷，動是離人愁思。目斷天涯雲山遠，親在高堂雪鬢疏，緣何書也無？
〔古風〕明明匣中鏡，盈盈曉來妝。憶昔事君子，雞鳴下君床。臨鏡理笄總，隨君問高堂。一旦遠別離，鏡匣掩青光。流塵暗綺疏，青苔生洞房。零落金釵鈿，慘澹羅衣裳。傷哉惟悴容，無復蕙蘭芳。有懷悽以楚，有路阻且長。妾身豈歎此，所憂在姑嫜。念彼猿猱遠，眷此桑榆光。願言盡婦道，遊子不可忘。勿彈綠綺琴，絃絕令人傷。勿聽白頭吟，哀音斷人腸。人事多錯迕，羞彼雙鴛鴦。
〔〕奴家自嫁與蔡伯喈，纔方兩月。指望與他同事雙親，偕老百年。誰知公公嚴命，強他赴選。自從去後，竟無消息。把公婆拋撇在家，教奴家獨自應承。奴家一來要成丈夫之名，二來要盡為婦之道，盡心竭力，朝夕奉養。正是：天涯海角有窮時，只有此情無盡處。
【風雲會四朝元】
春闈催赴，，同心帶綰初。歎「陽關」聲斷，送別南浦。早已成間阻。謾羅襟淚漬，，謾羅襟淚漬，和那寶瑟塵埋，錦被羞鋪。寂寞瓊窗，蕭條朱戶，空把流年度。嗏，瞑子裏自尋思，妾意君情，一旦如朝露。君行萬裏途，妾心萬般苦。君還念妾，迢迢遠遠也須回顧。
【前腔】
朱顏非故，綠雲懶去梳。奈畫眉人遠，傅粉郎去，鏡鸞羞自舞。把歸期暗數，把歸期暗數，只見雁杳魚沈，鳳隻鸞孤。綠遍汀洲，又生芳杜，空自思前事。嗏，日近帝王都，芳草斜陽，教我望斷長安路。君身豈蕩子，妾非蕩子婦。其間就裏，千千萬萬有誰堪訴？
【前腔】
輕移蓮步，堂前問舅姑。怕食缺須進，衣綻須補，要行時須與扶。奈西山暮景，奈西山暮景，教我倩著誰人，傳語我的兒夫。你身上青雲，只怕親歸黃土，我臨別也曾多囑付。嗏，那些個意孜孜，只怕十里紅樓，貪戀著他人豪富。丈夫，你雖然是忘了奴，也須念父母。苦，無人說與，這淒淒冷冷怎生辜負？
【前腔】
文場選士，紛紛都是才俊徒。少什麼鏡分鸞鳳，都要榜登龍虎，偏是他將奴誤。也不索氣蠱，也不索氣蠱，既受託了蘯蘩，有甚推辭？索性做個孝婦賢妻，也落得名標青史，今日呵，不枉受了些閒悽楚。嗏，俺這裏自支吾，休得污了他的名兒，左右與他相回護。（丈夫，）你便做腰金衣紫，須記得荊釵與裙布。（苦，）一場愁緒，堆堆積積，宋玉難賦。
回首高堂日已斜，遊人何事在天涯？
(Not set for qin: "For my parents-in-law the sun is setting fast; What keeps the wanderer at the ends of the earth? ")
紅顏勝人多薄命，莫怨春風當自嗟。
(Not set for qin: "'The lives of lovely ladies are more than others' harsh; Dont blame the spring breeze; it's our own fault.'")

Together with translation above.
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