Rui He Xian

Auspicious Crane Immortal
- Standard tuning² : 1 2 4 5 6 1 2

瑞鶴仙 ¹
Rui He Xian
Marked tablature for Rui He Xian ³

This qin song, the melody for which according to the Zha Guide survives only through the qin tablature brought to Japan in 1676 by Jiang Xingchou, is entitled Rui He Xian because its lyrics use one of the versions of a cipai (poetic song pattern) of that name.⁴ Its subtitle, The Old Toper's Pavilion (Zui Weng Ting), comes from the fact that the music here is paired (following the standard method) to lyrics by "Huang Shangu" (黃庭堅 Huang Tingjian, 1045-1105). Huang's lyrics, in turn, seem to be a condensed version of 歐陽修醉翁亭記 Ouyang Xiu's Record of the Old Toper's Pavilion.⁵ Cipai titles generally refer only to the poetic pattern, often with no apparent connection to the content. Here the apparent lack of a connection between the content title and the structural title makes it difficult to know what a "correct" translation of the title should be. Variants, in addition to "Auspicious Crane Immortal", include "Auspicious Crane-riding Immortal", "Immortal of the Auspicious Crane" and "Immortal Auspicious Crane".

The term "cipai" refers to patterns that follow the structure of earlier poems that are believed to have been set to earlier melodies. It is generally thought that the original melodies were already lost by the time ci poems became popular during the Song dynasty (960–1279). However, the way Huang Tingjian condensed Ouyang Xiu's lyrics so that they fit this ci pattern might suggest that perhaps in this case Huang Tingjian was inspired into reframing Ouyang's work for use with an existing or hoped for song melody. If at that time there was a custom of singing ci songs (whether or not the original melody still existed), none of these melodies is known to have survived. Likewise, there is no evidence to suggest that the melody given with the lyrics here dates back to any Song dynasty settings for poems in the Rui He Xian poetic form. On the other hand, neither is there evidence to prove that a form of this melody does not.

The Rui He Xian lyrics, as published with the present qin tablature, has a few textual differences from the version generally attributed to Huang himself. As for the pattern itself, it is often dated to a poem by a near contemporary of Huang Tingjian, 周邦彥 Zhou Bangyan (1056-1121).⁶ Huang's pattern is very similar, but the differences are enough that changes would have to be made in the melody to make one version fit to the music of the other.

As for Ouyang Xiu's 醉翁亭記 Record of the Old Toper's Pavilion, it opens as follows (original):

Around Chu(zhou) all is mountainou. To the southwest are the peaks, the forests and valleys especially beautiful. Looking at its lush and deep elegance, this is Langya. If in the mountains you walk six or seven li, you gradually hear the water resounding "chan chan". It rushes out between two peaks, and this is Brewer's Spring....

There is no known musical setting for this, but to properly appreciate Huang Tingjian's lyrics one should first read Ouyang Xiu's more detailed account.

Another qin song connected to Ouyang Xiu as the Old Toper is Zui Weng Yin; the lyrics, attributed to Su Dongpo, have actually been set to several different melodies, of which I have recorded three.

Apparently there is also a version of Rui He Xian by Xu Li (see in Rao, Section 7).⁷

Original preface
None; only the statement at the front that Rui He Xian is (or concerns) the Old Toper's Pavilion, and that Huang Shangu (Huang Tingjian) added the ci lyrics.⁸

Music ⁹ (看五線譜 see transcription; timings follow 聽我的錄音 my recording])
The tablature has no divisions, but the ci pattern clearly divides the melody in two parts of almost equal length. Here below are Huang's original lyrics, which in four places are different from what was paired with the actual tablature (explanations).

00.05
環滁皆山也。望蔚然深秀，琅琊山也。
Huán Chú jiē shān yě. Wàng wèi rán shēn xiù, Lángyá shān yě.
Around Chu(zhou) all is mountainous,
Looking lush with deep elegance is Langya.
山行六七里。有翼然泉上，醉翁亭也。
Shān xíng liù qī lǐ. Yǒu yì rán quán shàng, Zuì Wēng Tíng yě.
In the mountains walk six or seven li.
There appear outstretched wings extended above a spring: this is the Old Toper's Pavilion.
翁之樂也。得之心、寓之酒也。（「樂也」譜作「意」）
Wēng zhī lè yě. Dé zhī xīn, yù zhī jiǔ yě.
As for the old man's joy (mindset),
it comes from the heart, but is encountered in wine.
更野芳佳木，風高日出，景無窮也。（「更」譜作「平」）
Gèng yě fāng jiā mù, fēng gāo rì chū, jǐng wú qióng yě.
As for the fragrance of the wilderness and the delightful trees,
High winds as the sun comes out, the scenery has no limitation.

01.08
游也，山肴野蔌，酒洌泉香，沸籌觥也。（「沸籌觥也」譜作「沸觥籌也」）
Yóu yě, Shān yáo yě sù, jiǔ liè quán xiāng, fèi chóu gōng yě.
Just drift, (and you find) mountain game and wild vegetables,
The wine is pure, the springs sweet; (then there are) jumbled tallies and wine cups.
太守醉也。諠譁眾賓歡也。（「諠譁」譜作「喧嘩」)
Tàishǒu zuì yě. Xuān huá zhòng bīn huān yě.
The prefect is drunk,
the rambunctious bevy of guests joyous.
況宴酣之樂、非絲非竹，太守樂其樂也。
Kuàng yàn hān zhī lè, fēi sī fēi zhú, Tàishǒu lè qí lè yě.
As for the feast's high point, it is not the silk strings or bamboo flutes,
though the prefect loves their enjoyment.
問當時、太守為誰，醉翁是也。
Wèn dāng shí, Tàishǒu wéi sheí, Zuì Wēng shì yě.
You may ask at such a time, this prefect is who?
The Old Toper (Ouyang himself) is who.

02.11 曲終 melody ends

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Rui He Xian references (QQJC XII/194 & XII/252; TKKP III/35)
瑞鶴仙 Rui He Xian; subtitle: 醉翁亭 Zui Weng Ting (Old Toper's Pavilion); Zha Guide 35/--/505: only here.

21606.132 瑞鶴 Rui He: 謂象徵吉祥之鶴也 symbolizes a lucky crane, with a Song dynasty reference (宋史，五行志：至和三年九月，大饗明堂，有鶴囬翔堂下，明日又翔於上清宫，是時所在言瑞鶴 in 1056 at the Grand Feast Hall (Campbell: Hall of Enlightened Rule?), a crane flew down to the hall then the next day flew up to the heavens; it was then called an auspicious crane), then a couplet from 唐享龍池樂章第七章 the 7th in a set of 10 poems called Tang Xiang Long Chi Yue Zhang; see YFSJ, p.104 (online): "恩魚不入昆明釣，瑞鶴長如大液仙。"
21606.133 瑞鶴仙 Rui He Xian: name of a 詞牌 cipai and of a 曲牌 qupai. The former is said to date from a poem by 周邦彥 Zhou Bangyan (1056-1121), later modified. The reference gives a backstory from the Chronicles of Yijian (夷堅志 Yi Jian Zhi, a collection of myths as told by 洪邁 Hong Mai, 1123-1202).

Other references seem to suggest some connection to Qiliang Fan as well as Ruilong Yin.

See below regarding 醉翁亭記 Record of the Old Toper's Pavilion, a famous essay by Ouyang Xiu (1007 - 1072). The lyrics here by 黃山谷 Huang Shan'gu (i.e., Huang Tingjian) retell that story.
(Return)

2. Mode
The Japanese handbooks say "商音 Shang Yin". For details of shang mode characteristics during the Ming dynasty see under Shen Pin Shang Yi.
(Return)

3. Tablature for Rui He Xian from 1676 (complete pdf)
Copied from QQJC XII/194-5; red marks added to clarify phrasing.
(Return)

4. Versions of the ci pattern (Wiki) called Rui He Xian
The Rui He Xian ci pattern is said to have originated with a poem by Zhou Bangyan (who actually wrote at least two), though later versions have a number of variations from his original poem. Others include:

One subtitled 賦梅 On Plum Blossoms, by 辛棄 Xin Qiji (1140-1207) .
Perhaps the best known version, it has ben translated in Sunflower Splendor, pp.394-5. The title there is "An Immortal's Auspicious Crane", but in "The Problem of Beauty" Ronald Egan translates it "Auspicious Crane Immortal".
雁霜寒透幕。正護月雲輕，嫩冰猶薄。
溪奩照梳掠。想含香弄粉，艷妝難學。
玉肌瘦弱。更重重、龍綃襯著。
倚東風，一笑嫣然，轉盼萬花羞落。 (compare 5,4,4.)
寂寞。家山何在，雪後園林，水邊樓閣。
瑤池舊約。鱗鴻更仗誰托。 (compare 4,3,3.)
粉蝶兒只解，尋桃覓柳，開遍南枝未覺。
但傷心，冷落黃昏，數聲畫角。 (compare 5,6.)
One by 徐理 Xu Li; 13th c., mentioned above,
The text can be found here.

For more specifics, this webpage has examples of 16 variants on this ci pattern; all are doubled patterns (雙調 shuang diao).

The character count for the 16 variants listed above is as follows:
9 have 102 characters (including the two by Zhou Banyan, #s 1 and 6 in the above link)
3 have 100 characters
2 have 103 characters
1 has 101 characters
1 has 90 characters
The present version by Huang Tingjian, having 102 characters (52+2+48), is with the majority. However, its arrangement of the 102 seems to be different from that of some of the other variants. Here they are arranged into phrases as follows (the use here of periods, commas and semicolons is based in part on my feeling for the music itself.) :
5 5 4 ; 5 5 4. 4 3 4; 5 4 4.
2, 4 4 4; 4 6. 5 4 6; 3 4 4.
Perhaps closest from the link are the seventh through 10th, all of which have a different character count in only two places: in the last group of the first section instead of 5 4 4 these have 3 6 4, 3 4 5 or 5 3 5; and in the third group of the second section instead of 4 6 they all have 4 3 3. This is quite puzzling. In addition, I have not been able to find any comparisons here with the 平仄 ping ze patterns or the other 16 versions.

There is further discussion here of the use of ci lyrics in qin melodies.
(Return)

5. Record of the Old Toper's Pavilion (醉翁亭記 Zui Weng Ting Ji)
The Old Toper's Pavilion was at 滁州琅琊 Langya near Chuzhou (Langya also written 瑯琊), across the river but not far from Nanjing. Further details are given here. Ouyang Xiu's original text begins,

環滁皆山也。其西南諸峰，林壑尤美。望之蔚然而深秀者，琅琊也。山行六七里，漸聞水聲潺潺，而瀉出於兩峰之間者，讓泉也。。。。

The complete text can be found at zh.wikisource.org, with a translation here. Published translations include those by,
Stephen Owen, in his An Anthology of Chinese Literature, p.613;
Robert E. Hegel, in Victor Mair, The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature, p.590.

Although Huang's lyrics are a sort of summary of a narrative, they do follow a version of the ci pattern (see next).
(Return)

6. Zhou Bangyan 周邦彥 (1056-1121; Wiki)
There is a short bio in Renditions; currently there is also online a ph.d. thesis about him, Zhou Huarao, The lyrics of Zhou Bangyan (1056-1121): In between popular and elite cultures. However, it does not mention Rui He Xian at all.

3597.218 "周邦彥，錢塘人，字美成，為北宋詞家大宗 Zhou Bangyan, from Hangzhou, style name Meicheng, was a great master of ci lyrics during the Northern Song dynasty...." He is said also to have composed music for many of his lyrics, this perhaps being why he is credited as the source of several cipai. As well, as Ruihe Xian, discussed here, these include Rui Long Yin, mentioned under the qin melody of that name. However, the cipai pattern called Rui He Xian, though usually of the same length as here (102 characters), is just one of a number of variations on that pattern. As for Zhou Bangyan's original poem, it is as follows. The structure is very similar to that of Huang Tingjian's poem as given above, with each line having the same word count, but four lines are phrased differently, as indicated here: (There is an online translation by 曾培慈 Betty Tseng here or here.)

周邦彥瑞鶴仙 (Rui He Xian by Zhou Bangyan)
悄郊原帶郭。行路永，客去車塵漠漠。 (compare 5,5,4.)
斜陽映山落。歛餘紅、猶戀孤城欄角。 (compare 5,5,4.)
淩波步弱。過短亭、何用素約。
有流鶯勸我，重解繡鞍，緩引春酌。

不記歸時早暮，上馬誰扶，醒眠朱閣。
驚飆動幕。扶殘醉，遶紅藥。 (compare 4,6.)
歎西園、已是花深無地，東風何事又惡。 (compare 5,4,6.)
任流光過卻，猶喜洞天自樂。

Another Rui He Xian, which Zhou apparently wrote later, also has for each line the same word word count as that of Huang Tingjian's poem, but here three lines are phrased differently, as indicated:

暖煙籠細柳。弄萬縷千絲，年年春色。
晴風蕩無際，濃於酒、偏醉情人調客。 (compare 5,5,4.)
闌乾倚處，度花香、微散酒力。
對重門半掩，黃昏淡月，院宇深寂。

愁極。因思前事，洞房佳宴，正值寒食。
尋芳遍賞，金谷里，銅駝陌。 (compare 4,6.)
到而今、魚雁沈沈無信，天涯常是淚滴。 (compare 5,4,6.)
早歸來，雲館深處，那人正憶。

A setting of Zhou's poem in the form Yi Qin E was also published in Japan.
(Return)

7. Xu Li's Rui He Xian
These lyrics have not been translated. The form is basically the same except for the third line of the second stanza.
(Return)

8. 瑞鶴仙
醉翁亭，黃山谷填詞
(Return)

9. Music
In the recording two notes are added at the front to help a singer know the pitch.

There are several puzzling issues in the tablature, including some problems. These include (measure number references are to my transcription),

The original tablature in several places added corrections in the margins, starting at "之酒也" (see my m.22-23). A note at the end of the tablature suggests these corrections were made by Shin Etsu himself. However, they are not all clear, and if they were done by Shin Etsu himself, why are the corrections not reflected in the "Correct Toko Kinpu"?
At end of each of the respective four lines (i.e., where there were the changes in the version paired to Japanese tablature) the text above indicates the changes (in Chinese: "original" in the 譜 tablature became "this"). The emphasis in the translation there is to go word for word, to help a singer know where to put emphasis. Unfortunately, in these four places it is not certain whether the changes were deliberate or simply a mistake.
Particularly puzzling is the change at "翁之樂也", where the tablature has only one character ("意") instead of the latter two ("樂也"). Here (m.19) in order to make the music keep following my understanding of the standard pairing method I had to add a note/stroke.
At m.45 I have interpreted position "七半" as 7.3, yielding a C# (on the word "醉 drunk"!). This seems appropriate to me, and in other measures with this stopped note the position is written in as 7.7 (see m.38, where "八上" clearly should be "七上", which is "C"; the next note, also "C", is written "七七" [7.7]; it was the custom at that time often to write a position differently whether it was a position slidden into [here 七半] or stopped at [七七]). However, the tablature is not always consistent in indicating positions and perhaps a more conservative 7.6 (C natural) was intended.
Four lines end with a similar pattern (see mm. 21-24, 37-40, 45-48 and 53-56). My rhythms at those places (as well as the question about the absence of the slide at m.22) assume this should be emphasized. (explanations).

Issues caused by variants on the ci pattern are discussed further above.
(Return)

Return to the Guqin ToC