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This began as a page to centralize information about poets who have relevant lyrics in such collections as Yuefu Shiji, Taigu Yiyin or Qinshu Daquan but who are not introduced in any of the qin biographies. There are now many additional entries for other poets for whom I have found relevant lyrics there and elsewhere.
- Lyrics for
Bie Gu Cao
- Five sets of lyrics for You Lan; in YFSJ and
1511, Yi Lan Cao)
- Zhi Zhao Fei Cao
Perhaps due to the You Lan poems he is sometimes connected to the ancient melody You Lan. I do not know of any other evidence to support such a claim.
Another of his poems, Yellow Crane Pavilion (黃鶴樓 Huang He Lou), is translated under Intonation for Poetry (詩吟 Shi Yin) together with
a linked recording.
Not translated.
His poems that mention qin include.
千里黃雲白日曛， For a thousand miles yellow clouds and white sunsets,
六翮飄颻私自憐， A great bird soars, hiding its grief,
In addition he is said to have written a 王氏廣陵散記 Madame Wang's Record of Guangling San, as follows:
Poems by He Xun that mention qin include the following:
He Xun is also mentioned in the poem An Xiang by Jiang Kui.
長卿懷茂陵，綠草垂石井。
洞庭明月一千里，涼風雁啼天在水。 (Some versions have "帝子" instead of "明月")
The translations by Frodsham include copious footnotes.
Listening to the Great Dong Play the Hujia Sound
Another related poem is his Qin Song (琴歌 Qin Ge, one of the 300 Tang Poems. It has been put online and translated by Ying Sun as Deeply Moved by Music - here slightly modified):
Yet another is 題僧房雙桐 (not translated)
He is also mentioned in connection with
"The sound of reading", but I have not yet found the source of that quote.
Idema and Grant translate nine of her poems, Owen translates four. Both books translate two poems that mention qin:
中江月
Li Zhiyi's poem in the form 卜算子 Bu Suanzi has been set by Wang Di to
tablature dated 1687; Li's lyrics have a connection to the melody Xiang Fei Yuan (see a footnote there).
ICTCL mentions an essay by Liu Ji about a Craftsman Zhichao (工之僑) making a qin with such a wonderful sound that he presented it to a high official. However, the official, saying it wasn't old, returned it. Zhichao then redid the lacquer adding false cracks, carved into it some characters with seal writing, then put it in a box and buried it for a while. After this people thought it was old and so valued it greatly. The original text is as follows:
Liu Ji seems later to have been connected to banana leaf qins. And several of his poems apparently mention qin (e.g. in phrases such as "援琴奏將歸" and "玉琴奏瑤席") but I am not sure of the details within the context of much attributed to him being unreliable.
A poem by Liu Ji that mentions qin is:
Some other longer poems that mention qin include:
Liu Ji has been connected with the qin melodies
Kechuang Yehua,
Daming Yitong and
Chun Yu, but all the connections are tentative and/or peripheral.
Joseph Lam, State Sacrifices, pp.6-7, quotes a description by Liu Ji of a state sacrifice.
The 70 online poems include seven that mention qin, as follows:
On this site Liu Yong is mentioned in two places,
However, to my knowledge, while there is mention of other music instruments in his poetry, there is none of qin. Perhaps this is related to his connections to popular culture.
External references include poetrychina.net and www.gutenberg.org/ebooks (his 樂章).
The first line of this last poem can also be written "泠泠七弦上"; see also
this reference. As for line 2, Xu Hong mentions it as part of another poem by Liu. Although the most famous related qin melody is Wind through the Pines, at least one old list includes one called Quietly hearing the wind in the pines.
Five tones, six pitches, and thirteen studs,
全唐詩 #388) :
全唐詩 #389) :
So far only one is translated.
Translation from Tony Barnstone, Chou Ping: The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry; NY, Anchor Books, 2005, p. 253.
Nevertheless, none of these connects Qin Guan directly to qin.
(#4 is said to have only eight lines because two lines were omitted from the middle, but I have not yet seen a version that includes those lines.)
Not yet translated.
Shao Yong was sometimes also connected to the melody
Yu Qiao Wenda
In 300 a certain Sun Xiu accused Shi Chong of political intrigue and he was executed. Supposedly Sun Xiu had demanded Shi Chong's wife but Shi Chong refused; after his death the wife committed suicide at Jin Gu. As a result Jin Gu was used as an allusion to tenuous nature of wealth. See David Knechtges (trans.) Wen Xuan, III, p.202. Also ICTCL p. 962.
Plus at least four others.
Wang wrote a poem called Listening to the Qin (聽琴 Ting Qin), as follows:
Wang Jian's poem 夢好梨花歌 Meng Hao Li Hua Ge does not mention qin but a line from it ("夢中喚作梨花雲") is quoted in the preface to the melody Li Yun Chun Si.
There are also several other minor references to him on this site.
"Qin" is in the title of,
His poem 謁金門 Ye Jin Men is said to be the earliest example of the ci pattern of this name; it thus fits the setting published in 1664.
Wei Zhuang is featured in a very interesting article and book on the
oral transmission of Tang poetry).
How are you to express your mysterious feelings?
Regarding the "walk of the crab" (or "crabwalking": (蟹行 xiè xíng) see also the Guan Xiu poem above as well as
these comments on a finger technique called 大蟹行 da xie xing This recluse has mastered the essentials of the zither:
For learning the qin from nature see
Shui Xian Qu. "Autumn Thoughts" (Qiu Si) is an ancient melody name (in, e.g., this list). As for "the Guangling piece", this must be
Guangling San, a melody in the shang mode called "慢商調 man shang mode", literally "lowered shang (string) mode" because the second string ("shang string") is loosened so that it has the same pitch as the first string. Shang modes are indeed commonly associated with autumn and sadness (though see also the
musical characteristics). Here Wen Tong does not know if he could bear so much sadness in the playing of such a great master.
In addition, Su Dongpo once wrote an inscription on a qin belonging to Wen Tong.
松邊自掩扉， Beside the pines you shut your gate,
"Purple robe" refers to public office. Lute, of course, is qin. Some editions call it 贈熊鍊師 Sent to Alchemist Hsiung.
Wu Jun wrote several books and poems mentioned on this site.
謝靈運 Xie Lingyun (385–433; Wiki)
References to Xie Lingyun on this site include,
Another, most likely, is the following (translation from 禹露 Lu Yu, Readings of Chinese Poet Xue Tao. M.A. thesis, U. Mass. Amherst, 2010 [also has commentary; see p.13ff]):
Poems Yang Wanli wrote connected to qin can be found here and
here. Others include:
And,
His biographical references above mention a 東維子集 Dong Weizi Ji and a 鐵崖先生古樂府 Tieya Xiansheng Gu Yuefu (ICTCL says they are "sensual, often wildly imaginative songs"). ICTCL mentions six folios of 鐵崖先生復古詩 Mr. Tieya's Return-to-antiquity Poems, with introductory notes by 章琬曰 Zhang Wan. Since all the Qin Cao here (QSDQ has 琴操序 Qin Cao Xu as the heading; perhaps this means "Qin Cao with Prefaces) have prefaces beginning "Zhang Wan says", and ICTCL adds that the collection includes "lute [sic] songs", they must come from that collection.
And
"Xi Kang" presumably refers to Wen Tingyun himself, someone with whom Yu Xuanji has sometimes been associated.
Qin references on this site include:
Yuan Haowen also wrote a famous poem called Tune of The Wild Geese’s Tomb (雁邱詞 Yan Qiu Ci; currently there is an online translation here (#7). In it he tells of a wild goose being shot by a hunter by the Fen River; for a while its mate soars above, then dashes itself on the rocks. Perhaps the title for Section 7 of the melody
Knowing Autumn from a Single Leaf refers to this.
Poems of his mentioning qin include:
詩如鼓琴，聲聲見心。
Poetry is like playing the zither - reveal your heart with every note.
One of the few classical Chinese poems that mentions rats in a positve way is the following by Yuan Mei:
品畫先神韻，論詩重性情。
None yet translated.
Some of Zhang Xian's ci poems mentioned here include:
莫把幺弦撥，怨極弦能說。
Zou Zhimo's poems were originally published in 麗農詞 Li Nong Ci.
Cen Shen (ICTCL, p.798), also called Cen Can, was a scholar official who traveled with 高仙芝 Gao Xianzhi on his military campaigns to Central Asia. Though best known for his ballads describing the rugged and harsh conditions in Central Asia, he also wrote many on more standard topics. His poem Fisherman (Sunflower Splendor, p.44) captures nicely the mood of Yu Ge. Those that specifically mention qin include:
- On an Autumn Evening Listening to Mountain Recluse Luo Play Sanxia Liu Quan
- The Qin Terrace of
Fu Zijian (Preface, and three poems)
ICTCL p.225, says there is very little personal information about him other than that he passed the jinshi exams in 727 and after a few minor postings retired to the countryside. His poetry was quite distinctive, "noted for reclusive poetry and frontier poetry rather than poems on court themes. Fewer than sixty of his poems survive...but these show great variety and originality...." Of these at least four mention qin:
一指指應法，一聲聲爽神。
寒蟲臨砌默，清吹裊燈頻。
何必鐘期耳，高閒自可親。
Style name 陳無己 Chen Wuji. ICTCL p.233. www.cuhk.edu.hk has: "Chen Shidao came from present-day Jiangsu. He was known for both his prose and his poetry, studying under Huang Tingjian and modelling his poetry on that of Du Fu. Both Su Shi and Zhu Xi admired his writings. Much of his life was spent in poverty because he did not come up through the examination system and was only intermittently employed in official positions."
Poems he wrote connected to qin include,
(Three poems; in Qinshu Daquan the third is incomplete)
A poem of 20 couplets ("qin" mentioned line 16):
生世何用早，我已後此翁。
頗識門下士，略已聞其風。
中年見二子，已復歲一終。
呼我過其廬，所得非所蒙。
先朝羣玉殿，冠佩環羣公。
神文煥王度，喜色見天容。
御榻誰復登，帝書元自工。
黄絹兩大字，一覽涕無從。
似欲託其子，天意人與同。
曆數况有歸，敢有貪天功。
集古一千卷，明明並羣雄。
誰爲第一手，未有百世公。
廟器刻科斗，寶樽蟠華蟲。
緬懷弁服士，酬獻鳴瑽瑢。
插架一萬軸，遺子以固窮。
素琴久絕絃，棋酒頗闕供。
向來一瓣香，敬爲曾南豐。
世雖嫡孫行，名在惡子中。
斯人日已遠，千歲幸一逢。
吾老不可待，草露濕寒蛩。
Chen Yu (Bio/1330)
Lyrics for Xiangfei Yuan
Cui Hao (Bio/2169), from 州汴 Bianzhou
(Wiki; well-known contemporary of Wang Wei)
He wrote lyrics for the qin songs Huo Jiangjun and Melody of Ms. Lu, but their melodies no longer exist.
Cui Tu (Bio/2163), style name 禮山 Lishan, was from 江南 Jiangnan; jinshi in 888 but official career details unknown.
Two of his poems are included among 300 Poems of the Tang Dynasty.
His poem You Lan collected in YFSJ was set in 1511 for Yi Lan Cao.
Liang dynasty poet; most of his work is lost. This poem translated in HJAS 57, Ronald Egan, Music, Sadness and the Qin, p. 41.
寄语调絃者， I send these words to him who tunes the strings, (or, "plays the strings")
客子心易惊。 This traveler's heart is easily startled.
离泣已将坠， Tears of parting are already about to fall,
无劳别鹤声。 You need not play "
The Solitary Crane".
Duan Keji was a poet from Shanxi under the Jin and Yuan dynasties; his poems were published together with those of his younger brother 段成己 Duan Chengji (1199-1282). For details see the English abstract of 譚寶芝，段克己(1196-1251)及段成己(1199-1282)詞研究 (Tam Po-chi, A study of the Ci Poetry of Duan Keji [1196-1251] and Duan Chengji [1199-1282]). The complete collection, online in several places (e.g., here as of 2014) has several poems that mention qin.
At least two poems might connect the qin with calendar events:
(Referenced under Liang Xiao Yin [from 9/263] but does not mention "qin").
The whole poem is:
柳薰遲日千絲暗，花噴溫黁一夕開。
須席地，更茵苔。素琴橫膝賦歸來。
一觴一詠風流在，牛背如船倒載回。
31472.83 A noted poet and travel commentator, style name 致能 Zhineng, nickname Stone Lake (石湖 Shi Hu or 石湖居士). He had a long career as a civil servant, then in retirement was a close friend of
Jiang Kui, to whom he apparently contributed music as well as verse. References on this site include:
拂我膝上琴，當客清風襟。
我琴無軫絃不和，願借之子調其音。
美人一笑千黃金，彈作江岸花木深。
下有同隊之游魚，上有同聲之鳴禽。
琴聲一疊一嘆息，江花江草無終極。
村巷秋舂遠，禪房夕磬深。
饑蚊常繞鬢，暗鼠忽鳴琴。
薄薄寒相中，稜稜瘦不禁。
時成洛下詠，却似越人吟。
烏帽休衝九陌埃，瘦藤定約到秋回。
龍湫鴈蕩經行處，斷取松風萬壑來。
Fu Xuan was "the preeminent Confucian theorist of the Western Jin period," and "his poetry is notable for its influence on later major poets." (ICTCL, pp.391/2). QSCM includes his 琴敘 Qin Xu, but it survives only through later quotes. He is also said to have written a 琴賦 Qin Fu
His lyrics called 豔歌行 Yan Ge Xing concern the Luofu story
(see Moshang Sang)
Major Tang dynasty poet. One set of two poems concerns the great qin player 董庭蘭 Dong Tinglan, and at least four more poems mention qin:
北風吹雁雪紛紛。 Northern winds blow the geese and snow flakes.
莫愁前路無知己， But don't worry that on the departure road you will have no close friends,
天下誰人不識君。 In all the world, who is there who does not recognize you?
一離京洛十餘年。 Since leaving the capital it has been more than 10 years.
丈夫貧賤應未足， We friends are poor and should be so insufficient,
今日相逢無酒錢。 That now when we meet there is no money for wine.
古跡使人感，琴台空寂寥。靜然顧遺塵，千載如昨朝。
臨眺自茲始，群賢久相邀。德與形神高，孰知天地遙。
四時何倏忽，六月鳴秋蜩。萬象歸白帝，平川橫赤霄。
猶是對夏伏，幾時有涼飆。燕雀滿簷楹，鴻鵠摶扶搖。
物性各自得，我心在漁樵。兀然還復醉，尚握樽中瓢。
昔余涉漳水，驅車行鄴西。遙見林慮山，蒼蒼戛天倪。
邂逅逢爾曹，說君彼岩棲。蘿徑垂野蔓，石房倚雲梯。
秋韭何青青，藥苗數百畦。栗林隘谷口，栝樹森回谿。
耕耘有山田，紡績有山妻。人生苟如此，何必組與珪。
誰謂遠相訪，曩情殊不迷。簷前舉醇醪，灶下烹只雞。
朔風忽振盪，昨夜寒螿啼。遊子益思歸，罷琴傷解攜。
出門盡原野，白日黯已低。始驚道路難，終念言笑暌。
因聲謝岑壑，歲暮一攀躋。
人幽想靈山，意愜憐遠水。習靜務為適，所居還復爾。
汲流漲華池，開酌宴君子。苔徑試窺踐，石屏可攀倚。
入門見中峰，攜手如萬里。橫琴了無事，垂釣應有以。
高館何沉沉，颯然涼風起。
隱隱春城外，朦朧陳跡深。君子顧榛莽，興言傷古今。
決河導新流，疏徑蹤舊林。開亭俯川陸，時景宜招尋。
肅穆逢使軒，夤緣事登臨。忝遊芝蘭室，還對桃李陰。
岸遠白波來，氣喧黃鳥吟。因睹歌頌作，始知經濟心。
灌壇有遺風，單父多鳴琴。誰為久州縣，蒼生懷德音。
Gu Kuang (ICTCL p.486) was a painter, poet and calligrapher from Suzhou whose sarcastic wit led him to his early retirement from public office; he then lived out his life at 茅山 Maoshan, a famous Daoist center; references here include:
Wu Ye Ti
Long Gong Cao (lyrics)
Qin Ge (lyrics)
QSDQ, 20A, #23 and #24
QSDQ, 20B, #14 and #15
44649.201 顧野王字希馮 Gu Yewang, style name Xifeng, from 吳 Wu, lived during the 梁 Liang (505-557) and 陳 Chen (557-588) dynasties.
Lyrics for Yang Chun Qu
Also Guan Xiu: name taken by "a celebrated Buddhist monk, painter, poet, and calligrapher" (Wikipedia; see also ICTCL p.509)
Lyrics for Bai Xue
Lyrics for Gu Jiao Xing (further details)
QSDQ has at least two Guanxiu poems mentioning qin:
家近吳王古戰城，海風終日打牆聲。
今朝鄉思渾堆積，琴上聞師大蟹行。
至境心為造化功，一枝青竹四絃風。
寥寥雙耳更深後，如在緱山明月中。
Guo Zhen (40338.343; Wiki focuses on his government career), was better known by his literary name 元振 Yuanzhen. He was (Giles:) a handsome man who married a daughter of 張嘉貞 Zhang Jiazheng (later Minister of State) by picking her out from behind a screen. Zhang went to Turfan on a mission from Empress Wu
(Wu Zetian), then served also as a minister of state. He has four entries in YFSJ; none are in the qin section, but two connect to qin titles.
Chun Jiang Qu (Folio 77, p. 1081, has his original lyrics, slightly changed in the
qin melody)
Wang Zhaojun (Folio 29, p. 429 has his lyrics, but Zhaojun Yuan does not use them)
Bio/2283; Han Biao was a prolific and once well-known poet of the Jiangxi school; see this reference as well as others in Zhang Chen, p. 50, etc.
A poem he wrote connected to qin was included
here, with another
reference here. Other poems that mention qin include,
以彼發此意，因此知彼聲。
山川既閒遠，天地亦清寧。
獨撫曲空奏，相宣調易成。
何由俗子愛，宜是老夫驚。
鳴琴單父。鳧舄宜飛去。
不比河陽花滿樹。此意直高千古。
清秋誕日相逢。乃同澗上村儂。
笑指壺山為壽，仁心靜處加功。
霜晴隨意到南庵，近有溪流遠看山。
小醉情懷聽別鶴，數聲清弄入幽閒。
A nephew of Li Shangyin from what is today Xi'an, he was a senior government official and poet at the end of the Tang dynasty.
His 《贈湖南李思齊處士》詩 poem Presented to recluse Li Sizhai of Hunan refers to the guqin as 七絲琴 qi si qin "seven silk qin", as follows:
On the two-plank bow are dregs in a wine-cup, the seven-silk-qin's sides look like mustaches (?).
He Xun (489.335; Bio/1082). There is no Wiki entry but there are many other internet references. Like Lin Bu he had a particular fondness for plum blossoms. His poetry, though not widely known today, was highly regarded in his own day and by many later poets. Two examples of praise are from Du Fu and Li Qingzhao (thanks to David Badagnani for the references):
"東閣官梅動詩興，還如何遜在揚州
The plum blossoms by the east tower inspire poetry for me as they did for He Xun in Yangzhou"
"手種江梅漸好，又何必、臨水登樓 / 無人到，寂寥渾似，何遜在揚州
Lonely as He Xun in Yangzhou, / With no one coming to visit, / Need I go roaming distant streams and towers / In quest of wild blossom / Now that the plum I planted / Is blooming luxuriantly?".
別離既有緒，琴瑟反在悲。
美人多怨態，亦復慘長眉。
世上逸羣士，人間徹惣賢。
畢池論賞賜，蔣徑篤周旋。
一旦辭東序，千秋送北邙。
客簫雖有樂，鄰笛遂還傷。
提琴就阮籍，載酒覓楊雄。
直荷行罩水，斜柳細牽風。
可聞不可見，能重復能輕。
鏡前飄落粉，琴上響余聲。
少知雅琴曲，好聽雅琴聲。
雅琴不可聽，一聽一沾纓。
Hu Quan, nickname 胡澹菴 Hu Dan'an (ICTCL p.110)
Qin-related poems are in QSCM,
Folio 18, #27,
Folio 19B, #150 and #151, and
Folio 18, #117 to 119
He Zhu (37569.151; ICTCL), 字方回 style name Fanghui, 慶湖遺老 nickname Qinghu Yi Lao, also called 賀東山 He Dongshan. Stuart Sargent: The Poetry of He Zhu says he was a "Northern Song poet...best known for his lyrics (ci) but he also produced shi poetry of subtlety, wit, and feeling." (Search for "zither" for mention of qin in He Zhu's writing).
Three of He Zhu's poems (ci?) are mentioned in connection to melodies on this site:
Huangfu Ran, nickname 茂正 Maozheng (Bio/1744; Renditions)
One of his qin-related poems is in QSCM,
Folio 20B
The text of another (from Complete Tang Poems) is included under
Qin and Tea
Two more poems of his are also mentioned on this site for their themes; see under Chun Si and
Liangxiao Yin.
Jia Dao (ICTCL p.257), style name 浪仙 Langxian, nickname 碣石山人 Man of Jieshi Mountain. He was from 范陽 Fanyang, north of modern Beijing
(Jieshi Mountain was not far away)
送彈琴張道者 Seeing off a Clear Thinker Playing a Qin (V/445)
聽樂山彈易水 Listening to Leshan Play Yi Shui
Jiang Hong (Bio/xxx; 17496.179/2 梁，濟陽人 Liang dynasty, from Jiyang)
Lyrics for Caishi Wu Nong, Qiu Feng
Jiang Huan (17496.xxx; Bio/xxx; 齊江奐 49553xxx) was apparently a poet of 齊 Qi during the Southern Dynasties, but I have found out no more information about him. Yuefu Shiji has only the poem by him included here.
Lyrics for Caishi Wu Nong,
Lushui Qu
Monk Jiaoran (23241.9/3 皎然) was the Buddhist name of the poet-monk 謝晝 Xie Zhou.
See Nienhauser, Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, pp.270-2; also Lu Yu and
Li Ye, below.
Lyrics in Yuefu Shiji (Folio 60, #7) for Feng Ru Song Ge
Lang Shiyuan (ICTCL, p.277)
Lyrics for Xiang Fei
14819.63; ICTCL, p.536; see also the entry in
The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry, 2005)
J. D. Frodsham (trans. and commentary), Goddesses, ghosts, and demons: the collected poems of Li He (790-816), 1983
J. D. Frodsham, The poems of Li Ho (791-817), 1970.
Stephen Owen, The Late Tang: Chinese Poetry of the Mid-Ninth Century (827-860)
This website mentions Li He in connection with:
Lyrics for Xiang Fei; translated in Frodsham (44: Royal Ladies of Xiang)
Lyrics for Lushui Ci (applied to Section 4 of the qin melody
Caishi Wu Nong; Frodsham (140: Song of Green Water)
Lyrics for
Huangzhong Diao
(Frodsham 31:
Ninth Moon, part of Li
He's Thirteen Songs of the 12 months (Frodsham 23-35)
Poems by Li He that mention qin include the following eight poems. Numbers, titles and translations of "qin" are all from Frodsham
(see above), which translated them all.
彈琴看文君，春風吹鬢影。 ("As he played his zither, he watched Wen-jun,")
梁王與武帝，棄之如斷梗。
惟留一簡書，金泥泰山頂。
九節菖蒲石上死，湘神彈琴迎帝子。 ("The spirits of Xiang are playing their lutes,")
山頭老桂吹古香，雌龍怨吟寒水光。
沙浦走魚白石郎，閑取真珠擲龍堂。
Qin translated as ("harp") in An Anthology of Chinese Literature (pp. 493-4)
羲和敲日玻璃聲，劫灰飛盡古今平。
龍頭瀉酒邀酒星，金槽琵琶夜棖棖。 pipa
洞庭雨腳來吹笙，酒酣喝月使倒行。
銀雲櫛櫛瑤殿明，宮門掌事報一更。
花樓玉鳳聲嬌獰，海綃紅文香淺清，黃娥跌舞千年觥。
仙人燭樹蠟煙輕，青琴醉眼淚泓泓。 qin
"Bachelor Xie Had a Concubine by the Name of Gao-Lian Who Deserted Him for Another Man. Xie Tried to Make Her Stay with Him, but Was Unsuccessful. Later She Grew Sentimental about Him. Those of Our Part Wrote Poems Satirizing and Vilifying Her. Later I Added Four Poems of My Own."
腮花弄暗粉，眼尾淚侵寒。
碧玉破不復，瑤琴重拔弦。 ("Her lute of jade was played by another hand.")
今日非昔日，何人敢正看？
沉香熏小像，楊柳伴啼鴉。
露重金泥冷，杯闌玉樹斜。
琴堂沽酒客，新買後園花。 ("The man selling wine in his lute hall")
手持白鸞尾，夜掃南山雲。
鹿飲寒澗下，魚歸清海濱。
當時漢武帝，書報桃花春。
Li Jiao (ICTCL p.531) "was an influential officer and a renowned man of letters during (690-710. His) poetry is characterised by the "Court Style" which had flourished in the Six Dynasties - many of his verses were also written at court. He is also well-known for his yongwu shi 詠物詩, poems on objects, which deal with an encyclopedic spectrum of subjects, from the sun, various musical instruments, and household items to flora and fauna...." References to him on this website include ones under
Liangxiao Yin,
Gu Yuan and Yu Qiao Wenda (see the quote from Su Shi's Yu Qiao Xianhua). Three of his yongwu shi mention the qin:
帶花疑鳳舞，向竹似龍吟。
月動臨秋扇，松清入夜琴。 (...Pines clear through the evening qin.)
若至蘭台下，還拂楚王襟。
漸離初擊筑，司馬正彈琴。 (...Sima now plays the qin.)
細柳龍鱗映，長槐兔月陰。
徒知觀衛玉，詎肯掛秦金。
Li Qi (14819.1463; ICTCL p.530) has several lyrics referenced on this site, including:
Xiang Consorts
請奏鳴琴廣陵客。 He requests qin melodies from the Guangling guest.
月照城頭烏半飛， Startled by the moon, the crows on city walls scatter.
霜淒萬樹風入衣； The wind through frost-coated trees is piercingly bitter.
銅鑪華燭燭增輝， As the brass stove and candles warm up the crew,
初彈淥水後楚妃。 First Lu Shui is played, then Princess Chu.
一聲已動物皆靜， The room turns quiet when he begins to play.
四座無言星欲稀。 Not a word from the crowd until the stars fade away.
清淮奉使千餘里， The new order sends me a thousand miles to Qinghuai.
敢告雲山從此始。 Suddenly I long for retirement to mountains in cloudy sky.
綠葉傳僧磬，清陰潤井華。
誰能事音律，焦尾蔡邕家。
(Moved to a separate entry).
A talented Hunan poet, he passed the official examinations but instead of pursuing high rank he remained in his home town to enjoy music, calligraphy, poetry and so forth. His poems are quoted under
Wu Ye Ti and 昇仙操
Sheng Xian Cao; see also
琴心 Qin Xin.
Li Shangyin, from Henan, was one of the most famous Tang poets. He wrote at least 15 poems that mention qin
(q.v.). One particular quote from 李商隱雜纂殺風景 (not one of the above 15) says,
This is said to be the source of the expressions "焚琴煮鶴" and "燒琴煮鶴", i.e., "burn a qin to cook a crane": have no appreciation of culture, waste wonderful things.
Li Ye was a highly regarded courtesan-poet (some say Daoist nun) also called 李季蘭 Li Jilan (Bio/988). See Idema and Grant (pp. 176 - 182), and Chang and Saussy (pp. 56 - 59). In the latter, Stephen Owen writes that she
"seems to have been well-known among the poetic groups of the Lower Yangzi region in the 760s and 770s (a poem by the poet-monk Jiaoran suggests that she made romantic as well as literary advances)....Of her eighteen extant poems, two are clearly spurious; however, twelve of the remaining sixteen were preserved in Tang anthologies, which is a good indication of her popularity." (Another friend was Lu Yu.)
- A Song on Listening to a Playing of
Sanxia Liu Quan (the original is in both YFSJ [Folio 60, #6] and Qinshu Daquan [Folio 19B]).
- Reproach from Mutual Love (the lyrics are later echoed in Xiangfei Yuan, see footnote there)
Nickname 姑溪居士; a poet and prose writer said to have attended the
Elegant Gathering in the Western Garden. His Poems of Guxi (姑溪詞 Guxi ci) include at least two that mention qin:
古宵莫惜醒顏紅。非常外，且安詳。須疑悲情，回想似旋威嚴。流浪海角頭黑也，罕見非，再相遇。
十暮年北南感徵鴻。愛當同，甘沉沉。戚把憂懷，輕易即書空。只無琴樽堪寄小，除另外，絕蒿蓬。
昨日非常霜重，曉來千里書傳。吳山秀處洞庭邊，不夜星垂始遍。
佳事寄來禪侶，少情將收琴仙。為憐好因稱嬋娟，一哭談歸媚眼。
Details under his birth name, 蕭綱
Xiao Gang
Linghu Chu, coming from a distinguished family and having close imperial connections, was a senior civil and military official during the reign of several emperors. He is said to have been a brilliant writer but most of his writings are lost. The 全唐詩 Complete Tang Poems has 86 poems attributed to him (includes those in YFSJ).
Three of the nine poems attributed to him in Yuefu Shiji are his lyrics for
You Chun Ci in in Caishi Wunong.
"Bian" is actually written 柳巧言, but 36236 says this is a form of 辯 created during the 北齊 Northern Qi period (just before Sui). 15002.161 says Liu Bian was a grandson of 柳惔 Liu Yan, and that his style name was 顧言 Guyan. YFSJ calls him 柳顧言 Liu Guyan
Lyrics for Yang Chun Qu
Not a poet; for essays about qin see in
Qinshu Cunmu.
2270.xxx; Bio/xxx
Liu Ji (ICTCL, pp. 574-6; compare 劉籍 Liu Ji, above), style name 伯溫 Bowen, nickname 郁離子 Youlizi (Master of Refined Enlightenment), "born into a family noted for military...and scholarly achievements", was himself a noted essayist and poet who originally worked for the Yuan government, but also criticized them, eventually becoming one of the main advisors of Zhu Yuanzhang (1328 - 1399) during his campaign to overthrow the Yuan; Liu continued as an advisor and official after Zhu became the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty. Over time, and especially during the Qing dynasty, his importance was gradually magnified, with many forged writings such as the Shaobing Ge saying he had predicted numerous events that occurred during and after his lifetime. For a detailed account see Hok-Lam Chan. Legends of the Building of Old Beijing, pp. 138-155.
寒燈耿幽暮，蟲鳴清夜闌。
起行望青天，明月在雲端。
美人隔千里，山河淼漫漫。
玄雲翳崇岡，白露雕芳蘭。
願以綠綺琴，寫作行路難。
憂來無和聲，弦絕空長嘆。
Has the line "援琴奏將歸，日暮增慘淒。" (Use qin to play
Jiang Gui.)
Begins: 秋清眾籟寂，華月耿遙夜。
玉琴奏瑤席，逸響發高榭。
Although one webpage has over 70 poems attributed to him, saying he was from Chang An and became 宮榮刺史 Censor at Rongzhou, I can find no direct biographical entries (2270.628xxx; Bio/xxx) and online I have found conflicting information about whether he was Tang dynasty (earning his 進士 jinshi during 天寶 742-56), Five Dynasties, or early Song (). A footnote to Peaceful Evening Prelude (Liangxiao Yin) quotes his Crabapple Flower Poem (海棠花詩 Haitang Hua Shi) for its mention of a peaceful evening.
春雲春日共朦朧，滿院梨花半夜風。宿酒未醒珠箔卷，艷歌初闋玉樓空。
五湖范蠡才堪重，六印蘇秦道不同。再取素琴聊假寐，南柯靈夢莫相通。
東風滿地是梨花，只把琴心殢酒家。立處晚樓橫短笛，望中春草接平沙。
雁行斷續晴天遠，燕翼參差翠幕斜。歸計未成頭欲白，釣舟煙浪思無涯。
憑高多是偶汍瀾，紅葉何堪照病顏。萬疊雲山供遠恨，一軒風物送秋寒。
背琴鶴客歸松徑，橫笛牛童臥蓼灘。獨倚郡樓無限意，夕陽西去水東還。
琴中難挑孰憐才，獨對良宵酒數杯。蘇子黑貂將已盡，宋弘青鳥又空回。
月穿淨牖霜成隙，風捲殘花錦作堆。欹枕夢魂何處去，醉和春色入天台。
齊朝慶裔祖敖曹，麟角無雙鳳九毛。聲價五侯爭辟命，文章一代振風騷。
醉琴自寄陶家意，夢枕誰聽益郡刀。補袞應星曾奏舉，北山南海孰為高。
小橋流水接平沙，何處行雲不在家。畢卓未來輕竹葉，劉晨重到殢桃花。
琴樽冷落春將盡，幃幌蕭條日又斜。回首卻尋芳草路，金鞍拂柳思無涯。
煙雨樓台漸晦冥，錦江澄碧浪花平。卞和未雪荊山恥，莊舄空傷越國情。
天際寂寥無雁下，雲端依約有僧行。登高欲繼離騷詠，魂斷愁深寫不成。
邊郡荒涼悲且歌，故園迢遞隔煙波。琴聲背俗終如是，劍氣沖星又若何。
朝客漸通書信少，釣舟頻引夢魂多。北山更有移文者，白首無塵歸去麼。
莫嗔阮氏哭途窮，萬代深沉恨亦同。瑞玉豈知將抵鵲，鉛刀何事卻屠龍。
九夷欲適嗟吾道，五柳終歸效古風。獨倚郡樓無限意，滿江煙雨正冥濛。
Liu Xiaowei (Bio/677), from 彭城 Pengcheng, during 梁 Liang
See Si Gui Yin
Liu Yong 原名三變，字景莊。後改名永, originally Liu Sanbian, later changed his name to Liu Yong. He was from Chong'an (崇安) in Fujian, but apparently spent much of his life in the entertainment quarters of the Song dynasty capital, Kaifeng (now in Henan province), until passing his jinshi examination in 1035, after which he spent most of the rest of his life as an official in far flung places. His works, as collected into his Musical Stanzas (樂章 Yue Zhang? Or Le Zhang: Pleasure Stanzas?), generally reflect life in the entertainment quarters. Otherwise, although he was one of the earliest writers of ci poetry, little is known of his life. Nevertheless, according to Stephen Owen in his Anthology, p. 574,
Liu Yuxi (2270.583; ICTCL) , style name 夢得 Mengde, was from 徐州 Xuzhou (now in Jiangsu). After attaining his jinshi degree he became Censor in Chang'an, but because of "his participation in the Legalist-reform faction led by Wang Shuwen which sought to restrain the power of the eunuchs, local army commanders, and aristocratic families," he was sent into exile for 10 years in Hunan, then later again in Guangdong. He was important as an essayist as well as a poet. His poetry is said to have been influenced by his life among non-Han minorities. YFSJ has his lyrics for the qin songs Fei Yuan Cao and
Qiu Feng Yin, but no melodies using these lyrics survive. On the other hand, there are various qin settings for his poem Loushi Ming. The biography of Cui Caochang quotes one of his poems. And his poem Listening to a Qin is translated in HJAS 57, Ronald Egan, Music, Sadness and the Qin, p. 47, as follows:
禪思何妨在玉琴， Why can't meditation coexist with a precious qin?
真僧不見聽時心。 A true monk does not show a listening heart.
離聲怨調秋堂夕， The autumn hall is quiet, the night half over.
雲向蒼梧湘水深。 Clouds go to Cangwu, the Xiang River runs deep.
Liu Zhangqing (also: Liu Changqing; style name 文房 Wenfang, nickname 隨州 Suizhou). ICTCL, p.572: "the most representative poet of the period immediately following that of the major High Tang figures.... Over 500 of Liu's poems are extant."
- lyrics for Xiang Fei
- poems in QSDQ: Folio 19B, #65,
Folio 20A, #12, and
Folio 20B, #9
- "彈琴 Playing the qin", one of the 300 Tang Poems; the text is as follows (mostly following a translation by Ying Sun).
靜聽松風寒。 Quietly hearing "Wind in the Pines" brings a chill.
古調雖自愛， Although such old tunes are what I most adore,
今人多不彈。 Today people seldom play them any more.
Lu Tong (Bio/381, Wiki and ICTCL p.954), self-nicknamed 玉川子 Yuchuanzi, was from 濟源 Jiyuan (in southern Shanxi). He was a poet best known for his love of travel and especially tea: he spent his life studying it, never becoming an official. Poems attributed to him that mention qin
are copied below from the Complete Tang Poems as included in
ctext.org. Thus they do not include perhaps his most famous melody, Song of Tea (Cha Ge): it was set to a qin melody in Lixing Yuanya (1618), but it does not mention qin. The ones that do include qin are as follows:
妾本懷春女，春愁不自任。迷魂隨鳳客，嬌思入琴心。
托援交情重，當壚酌意深。誰家有夫婿，作賦得黃金。
五音六律十三徽，龍吟鶴響見包羲。
一彈流水，一彈月；水月風生松桂枝。
Dragons moan, cranes sing out, and one can imagine Baoxi
(Fu Xi).
Whether playing about flowing waters, or playing about the moon;
The water reflects the moon and the breezes stir up the laurel and pine branches.
泉溜潛幽咽，琴鳴乍往還。長風翦不斷，還在樹枝間。
負霜停雪舊根枝，龍笙鳳管君莫截。
春風一番琴上來，搖碎金尊碧天月。
小婦欲入門，隈門勻紅妝。
大婦出門迎，正頓羅衣裳。
門邊兩相見，笑樂不可當。
夫子于傍聊斷腸，小婦哆㖷上高堂。
開玉匣，取琴張。陳金罍，酌滿觴。
願言兩相樂，永與同心事我郎。
夫子于傍剩欲狂。
珠簾風度百花香，翠帳雲屏白玉床。
啼鳥休啼花莫笑，女英新喜得娥皇。
當時我醉美人家，美人顏色嬌如花。
今日美人棄我去，青樓珠箔天之涯。
天涯娟娟姮娥月，三五二八盈又缺。
翠眉蟬鬢生別離，一望不見心斷絕。
心斷絕，幾千里。
夢中醉臥巫山雲，覺來淚滴湘江水。
湘江兩岸花木深，美人不見愁人心。
含愁更奏綠綺琴，調高弦絕無知音。
美人兮美人，不知為暮雨兮為朝雲。
相思一夜梅花發，忽到窗前疑是君。
02. 四載成地理，七政齊天文。階下蓂莢生，琴上南風熏。
26. 正受凍餓時，索得人家貴傲婦。
讀書史未潤身，負薪辛苦胝生肘。
謂言琴與瑟，糟糠結長久。
意智未成百不解，見人富貴亦心愛。
等閒對酒呼三達，屠羊殺牛皆自在。
放心為樂笙歌攢，壯氣激作風霜寒。
廚中玉饌盈金盤，方丈厭見嫌不餐。
飛鷹躍馬實快性，唇腐齒爛空巑岏。
豈期福極翻成禍，禍成身誅家亦破。
昨朝惆悵不如君，今日悲君不如我。
否泰交加無定主，懶學風雲戢翎羽。
綠酒清琴好養生，出將入相無心取。
三五圖書舊揣摩，五千道德新規矩。
自識夫子面，便獲夫子心。夫子一啟顏，義重千黃金。
平原孟嘗骨已土，始有夫子堪知音。
忽然夫子不語，帶席帽，騎驢去。
餘對醁醽不能斟，君且來，餘之瞻望心悠哉。
零雨其蒙愁不散，閑花寂寂斑階苔。
不如對此景，含笑傾金罍。
莫問四肢暢，暫取眉頭開。
絃琴待夫子，夫子來不來。
彈琴人似膝上琴，聽琴人似匣中絃。
二物各一處，音韻何由傳。
無風質氣兩相感，萬般悲意方纏綿。
初時天山之外飛白雪，漸漸萬丈澗底生流泉。
風梅花落輕揚揚，十指乾淨聲涓涓。
昭君可惜嫁單于，沙場不遠只眼前。
蔡琰薄命沒胡虜，烏梟啾唧啼胡天。
關山險隔一萬里，顏色錯漠生風煙。
形魄散逐五音盡，雙蛾結草空嬋娟。
中腹苦恨杳不極，新心愁絕難複傳。
金尊湛湛夜沉沉，餘音疊發清聯綿。
主人醉盈有得色，座客向隅增內然。
孔子怪責顏回瑟，野夫何事蕭君筵。
拂衣屢命請中廢，月照書窗歸獨眠。
Lu You (42620.261), style name 務觀, nickname 放翁 Fengweng, was "the most prolific lyric poet of the Southern Song dynasty. Many of his poems mention the qin: see separate entry.
Lu Zhaolin (Wiki) was said to have been one of the "初唐四傑 Four Paragons of the Early Tang".
Lyrics for Mingyue Yin
Noted writer and poet; ICTCL/2. References on this site include the following:
See under 1425
Shenpin Jiao Yi
落紅鋪徑水平池，弄晴小雨霏霏。
杏園憔悴杜鵑啼，無奈春歸。
柳外畫樓獨上，憑欄手捻花枝。
放花無語對斜暉，此恨誰知？
These lyrics by him can substitute for later ones in this pattern:
杜宇聲聲不忍聞，欲黃昏，雨打梨花深閉門。
These lyrics by him can substitute for later ones in this pattern:
金風玉露一相逢，便勝卻人間無數。
柔情似水，佳期如夢，忍顧鵲橋歸路！
兩情若是久長時，又豈在朝朝暮暮！
Magpie Bridge Immortal
As slender clouds form clever shapes, shooting stars convey the lovers' complaints.
They secretly ferry across the wide Celestial River.
In this moment, gold wind and jade dew meet,
With more ecstasy than any human would encounter.
Their tender feelings are like soft water, But the reunion is short as a dream.
Unbearable to go back across this bridge built by magpies.
If love lasts long between a couple
they don't need to be together morning and night.
Bio/1398; courtesy name 堯夫 Yaofu; "one of the five masters of the Neo-Confucian Learning of the Way" (DeBary, Sources, Vol. 1, p. 678).
陶鎔水石閑勳業，銓擇風花靜事權。
意去乍乘千里馬，興來初上九重天。
忺時更改三兩字，醉後吟哦五七篇。
直恐心通雲外月，又疑身是洞中仙。
銀河洶湧翻晴浪，玉樹查牙生紫煙。
萬物有情皆可狀，百骸無病不能蠲。
命題濫被神相助，得句謬為人所傳。
肯讓貴家常奏樂，寧慙富室賸收錢。
若條此過知何限，因甚臺官獨未言。
春秋禮樂能遺則，父子君臣可廢乎？
浩浩羲軒開闢後，巍巍堯舜協和初。
炎炎湯武干戈外，洶洶桓文弓劍余。
日月星辰高照耀，皇王帝伯大鋪舒。
幾千百主出規制，數億萬年成楷模。
治久便憂強跋扈，慮深仍念惡驅除。
才堪命世有時有，智可濟時無時無。
既往盡歸閒指點，未來須俟別支梧。
不知造化誰為主，生得許多奇丈夫。
禍如許免人須謟，福若待求天可量。
且異緇黃徼廟貌，又殊兒女裊衣裳。
中孚起信寧煩禱，無妄生災未易禳。
虛室清冷都是白，靈台瑩靜別生光。
觀風御寇心方醉，對景顏淵坐正忘。
赤水有珠涵造化，泥丸無物隔青蒼。
生為男子仍身健，時遇昌辰更歲穰。
日月照臨功自大，君臣庇癊效何長。
非徒聞道至於此，金玉誰家不滿堂。
頻頻到口微成醉，拍拍滿懷都是春。
何異君臣初際會，又如天地乍絪縕。
醺酣情味難名狀，醞釀功夫莫指陳。
斟有淺深存燮理，飮無多少寄經綸。
卷舒萬世興亾手，出入千山雲外身。
雨後靜觀山意思，風前閒看月精神。
這般事業權衡別，振古英雄恐未聞。
Nienhauser, Companion, p.677, pairs him with 宋之問
Song Zhiwen (d. 712), who wrote a poem about Wangzi Qiao
(see Yao Tian Sheng He). At one time he achieved high public office but then was exiled to what is today Vietnam, where he wrote some of the earliest known poems about the region. Eventually he returned to another high position at court.
Lyrics for Pili Yin
Shen Yue, style name 休文 Xiuwen, "is probably best known as the originator of the first deliberately applied rules of tonal euphony in the history of Chinese prosody, though many have disputed this self-made claim." (ICTCL, p.680). YFSJ has over 50 entries under his name, but only two are in the qin section, Xiang Fei and
Zhen Nü Yin. See also
Yang Chun Qu,
a Qiu Hong poem,
Yu Yan,
Xiao Yan and
qin schools.
Shi Chong (24574.619) of 晉 Jin had a mixed reputation as a poet. For example, ICTCL, p.962, says he followed a narrative tradition "telling stories of the ancient days in a language which is fairly ornate but lacks originality." He was a wealthy man with a villa in 金谷 Jin Gu (41049.281, a valley on the northwest side of Luoyang) where prominent people would gather for elegant feasts involving music, art and poetry. He also had a second villa at 河陽 Heyang (north of the Yellow River, in what is today 孟州 Mengzhou, also in
Henan province).
Si Gui Yin uses the
YFSJ
Preface and
lyrics attributed to him
Chu Fei Tan (YFSJ, p.435)
15975.xxx; Diao: 約 27858.xxx. Bio/2564-5xxx (has one Tan with a qin connection: 檀翥 Tan Zhu). No further information (YFSJ has only this one poem); if 齊 means Qi dynasty then he lived during 479-501.
Lyrics for Yang Chun Qu
Tang Huixiu (China Wiki) was in his day a well-known poet. When he was young he became a Buddhist monk, but apparently 孝武帝 Emperor Xiao Wu of the Liang dynasty brought him back into government service, where he eventually was promoted to senior positions.
Lyrics for Qiu Feng,
Chu Mingfei
Wang Anshi (21295.361; ICTCL p.854; Giles; etc.) was a famous "reformer" strongly opposed by traditionalists (who suffered the consequences). His poems connected to the qin include,
Most famous writing, Preface to Tengwang Pavilion, has been used for several qin melodies, beginning in 1585. Poems by him that mention qin include:
窮途非所恨，虛室自相依。
城闕居年滿，琴尊俗事稀。
開襟方未已，分袂忽多違。
東岩富松竹，歲暮幸同歸。
客心懸隴路，遊子倦江乾。
槿豐朝砌靜，筱密夜窗寒。
琴聲銷別恨，風景駐離歡。
寧覺山川遠，悠悠旅思難。
ICTCL p.855
He wrote a poem
Listening to an Unadorned Qin.
And is mentioned in connection with the melodies
Dao Yi and
Feng Ru Song.
Wang Jian was a noted poet. His 律呂圖說九卷 Lülü Tushuo concerns music theory. His most famous poem is probably 新嫁娘 The Bride, included in Tang Dynasty 300 Poems, but he is also noted for his 100 Palace Poems describing court life in the Tang dynasty (under
Huang Chonggu he is mentioned as an official).
至心聽著仙翁引，今看青山圍繞君。
ICTCL p. 944
Lyrics for Xiang Furen
Also ICTCL p.885. Two of his poems that mention qin are
魂歸寥廓魄歸煙，隻住人間十八年。
昨日施僧裙帶上，斷腸猶系琵琶絃。
Translated in Birch I, p.340, A Visit to Golden Gate (Google Boooks as well as in Robin Yates, Washing Silk, p.223, Paying Homage at the Golden Gate)
天上嫦娥人不識，寄書何處覓？
新睡覺來無力，不忍把伊書跡。
滿院落花春寂寂，斷腸芳草碧。
Bio/299; 13766.140; style name 與可 Yuke. A Northern Song poet as well as perhaps the most highly regarded painter of bamboo. He wrote several poems that mention qin. The following two are translated by Jonathan Chaves from his Cave of the Immortals:
A Studio for Playing Zither
爲問好彈處，誰來聽蟹行。
You’ve got the sounds of this ancient wutong wood!
Let me ask: when you get to a point where you’re playing really well,
Who is there to come and listen to The Walk of the Crab?
Listening to a Recluse from Mt. Tiantai [Heavenly Terrace] Play the Qin-Zither
爲言秋思好；因聽夜聲圓。
耳出淫哇外；心揺寂寞前。
廣陵君且止；不欲慢商絃。
Who was his master? His master was Nature!
And since he says, "Autumn Thoughts is fine!"
We hear the roundness of his night-plucked tones.
Our ears are carried beyond lascivious bawling,
Hearts trembling before the fall of silence again.
But sir, please stop before playing the Guangling piece:
One should not loosely sound the sad note of shang.
Bio/1968; late Song dynasty poet from 溫州 Wenzhou. At least eight of his poems mention qin: 鲍使君闲居、酬友人、寄從善上人、送陳嘉父為彭澤主簿、送吉水包長官、送姚主簿歸龍溪、送趙明叔明府、贈熊鍊師。 (These are online, e.g.,
here). One of these is translated by Jonathan Chaves in West Cliff Poems: The Poetry of Weng Chüan, as follows:
賣藥罷方歸。 Just returned from selling medicines.
教客認仙草， You teach visitors to recognize immortal herbs,
笑人求紫衣。 Laugh at those who seek the "purple robe."
惜琴眠處放， You love your lute so much, you sleep with it;
玩易語時稀。 You read the Book of Changes, but cite it rarely.
風說沅砂賤， I hear you find Yüan-hsia a vulgar place:
閒身去欲飛。 Fully at leisure, perhaps you'll fly away.
Wu Jun of 梁 Liang (Bio/1031), style name 叔庠 Shuxiang, was a well-known writer and poet from Zhejiang. He held official positions under the Qi and Liang dynasties, based in Nanjing. 玉臺新詠 (see Birrell,
Jade Terrace), has 26 of his poems. Birrell's biographical note on Wu Jun says, "He did some editorial work on the Annals of the Qi Dynasty, but was dismissed for inaccuracies." Annals of Qi is 齊春秋 Qi Chunqiu. His Continuation of the Annals of Qi Xie
(28646.85 續齊諧記 Xu Qi Xie Ji) is quoted in several references below. And he is also considered to have been one of the compilers of
Xijing Zaji.
Wu Maiyuan (Bio/1056) lived under the Liu Song
Lyrics for Chu Chao Qu,
Yang Chun Ge
Xiao Que (32667.xxx; 11312.xxx; Bio/xxx; compare 32667.557 Bio/2105 蕭懿 Xiao Yi, d. 500 CE) has four entries in YFSJ, but I haven't found any biographical information yet. One of the poems is 飛龍吟 Fei Long Yin. His poem Listening to a Qin is translated in Ronald Egan,
Music, Sadness and the Qin (HJAS 57, p. 42).
Bio/2382; ICTCL, p.427: minor poet from a wealthy clan that included his cousin Xie Lingyun next; Huilian's Rhapsody on Snow uses the persona of Sima Xiangru. References on this site include,
Xie Lingyun (Wade-Giles Hsieh Ling-yün), known as the first great Chinese nature poet or (more literally) "rivers and mountains poet", is still honored today for his poetry on the joys of nature. There are at least two collections translating his poems:
ICTCL pp.430-2 says he "is best known for the originality of his landscape poems....Traditional criticism favorably characterizes his style as spontaneous and rhythmically fluid." He was an official of Southern Qi, based in Jiankang (within modern Nanjing) and he also served across the river in what is now Anhui, but in the end the harsh politics of the time led to his arrest and execution.
Declamation on the Qin
With Wang Zhongcheng Hearing a Qin
On New Pavilion Islet Parting from Fan Yun of Lingling (mentions Xiao and Xiang rivers)
The melody Evening Talk by a Guest's Window mentions him at the beginning of Section 4
Xin Deyuan (39495.111), a minor poet of the Sui dynasty; 8 poems in YFSJ
Lyrics for Pili Yin, Yi Lan Cao, Cheng Lian
Xin Qiji (39485.80; ICTCL, p.432; Giles;
Wiki), style name 幼安 You'an, nickname 稼軒(居士) Jiaxuan. A poet and military leader during Southern Song, he is mentioned as a patriotic poet here.
Lyrics by him are set to
Taiping Yin.
His Lang Tao Sha ci lyrics could be used here
His three 沁園春 Qìn Yuán Chūn (17531.11 ci from 劉改之 [劉過 1154 - 1206]; also 陳著) could be used here
Xu Xiaosi (Bio/1951)
Lyrics for Bai Xue Ge
Along with 李冶 Li Ye and Yu Xuanji, Xue Tao was one of the three most famous women poets of the Tang dynasty. A search of a site said to have 薛濤詩 全集 Xue Tao Complete Poems has none containing the word "琴 qin", but several of them do allude to it, such as the following,
前溪獨立後溪行，鷺識朱衣自不驚。
In front of the stream I stand alone, behind the stream we walked;
the herons are used to my vermilion clothing and are not startled.
借問人間愁寂意，伯牙絃絕已無聲。
Once I would ask people the significance of my silent melancholy,
Boya's strings are broken and also have no sound.
獵蕙微風遠，飄絃唳一聲。林梢明淅瀝，松徑夜淒清。
Passing through a field of fragrant orchids, the gentle breeze travels into the distance.
Strumming the strings, it cries once.
Under the light of the moon, the top of the woods rustle,
And at night a path among the pines is desolate and sad.
Yan Chaoyin (Chinese Wiki) was an official under the Tang. His use of the title "侍從途中口號應制 Attending on the Road, Orally Composed to Imperial Command" places him in the imperial entourage. In this he was a contemporary of Song Zhiwen.
Lyrics for Mingyue Ge
Very prolific; ICTCL p.915. A biography and poems are in Jonathan Chaves, Heaven my Blanket, Earth my Pillow (Weatherhill, 1975; from "天地即衾枕"). Yang was 南宋詩詞四大家 one of the four great poets of the Southern Song dynasty (with Lu You, Fan Chengda and You Mao [or: You Mou; 尤袤字延之，無錫人 1127-1194]).
學琴自有譜，相鶴自有經。
蔬經我繙盡，不見蔊菜名。
金華詩裡初相識，玉友尊前每相憶。
坐令芥孫薑子芽，一見風流俱避席。
取士取名多失真，向來許靖亦誤人。
君不見鄭花不得半山句，卻參魯直稱門生。
偶為看雲且罷琴，萬山寒隔一溪深。
誰言咽月餐雲客，中有憂時致主心。
Yang Juyuan (Bio/863)
Lyrics for Biegu Cao
Yang Weizhen, style name 廉夫 Lianfu, nickname 鐵崖 Tieya, later nickname 東維子 Dongweizi (Bio/881; 15489.703) "was to his contemporaries the foremost figure in classical poetry during the transition period between the Yuan and the Ming (ICTCL p.917). References here include:
Yu Ji (Bio/2404; 33531.130; ICTCL p.111, etc), style name 伯生 Bosheng, nickname 邵菴 (邵庵?), death name 虞文靖 Yu Wenjing, a "Southerner and a major poet of the era, is generally considered the best prose writer of the Yuan"; he became a member of the Hanlin Academy. Some sources say he composed the melody Chun Jiang Qu. QSDQ poems by him connected to the qin are in
Folio 18, #50 and
Folio 19A, #34 and
#110. See also under
Guanghan Qiu.
Yu Xin (Bio/2187)， 字子山 style name Zishan, also known as 庾開府 Yu Kaifu. ICTCL p.942 says, "His poetry marked a culmination of the richly innovative Six Dynasties and served as a harbinger for the flowering of verse under the Tang." References include: poems about hearing a string break,
playing qin and
Qiu Sai Yin,
Wu Ye Ti lyrics,
a comment about Cao Man, his qin named Qing Ying, and a quotation regarding qin se.
Yu Xuanji, along with Xue Tao and Li Ye, was one of the three most famous women poets of the Tang dynasty; all were courtesans and/or nuns. Red Brush, pp. 190/1, records a contemporary account that says she would play the qin and recite poetry for friends and clients. It also records that she murdered her maid and was executed. At least two of her poems directly mention qin, as follows:
閒散身無事，風光獨自游。斷雲江上月，解纜海中舟。
琴弄蕭梁寺，詩吟庾亮樓。叢篁堪作伴，片石好為儔。
燕雀徒為貴，金銀志不求。滿杯春酒綠，對月夜窗幽。
繞砌澄清沼，抽簪映細流。臥床書冊遍，半醉起梳頭。
階砌亂蛩鳴，庭柯煙露清。
From the stone steps comes the confused buzzing of crickets,
in the courtyard tree branches the misty dew clears up.
月中鄰樂響，樓上遠山明。
Amidst nearby moonlight music resounds,
from up in my room the distant mountains brighten.
珍簟涼風著，瑤琴寄恨生。
On my precious mat a cool breeze becomes apparent,
and my jade qin tells of my increasing regret.
嵇君懶書札，底物慰秋情。
Master Xi Kang has been lazy about sending me notes,
but in the end that is what would comfort my autumnal thoughts.
1356.156 Yuan Haowen
(Wikipedia), style name 裕之 Yuzhi, nickname 遺山 Yishan, was from 忻州 Xinzhou in northern Shanxi. ICTCL p. 953 says he was "one of the greatest Chinese of poets...an outstanding literary figure of the 金 Jin dynasty....When Kaifeng fell, Yuan wrote a famous letter to the Mongol official Yelü Chucai asking that 54 outstanding cultural figures of the Jin be spared...."). His 元遺山先生全集 Yuan Yishan Xiansheng Quanji, 40 folios (short name 遺山集 Yishan Ji) included poems and a Yuefu (music storehouse). It also apparently included Yuan's Preface to Miao Xiushi's Qin Bian (see below).
Poet and painter often paired with 紀昀 Jin Yun and noted for his advocacy of women artists including his two sisters (on this site see also
Xian Xian).
心為人籟，誠中形外。
我心清妥，語無煙火；
我心纏綿，讀者泫然。
禪偈非佛，理障非儒。
心之孔嘉，其言藹如。
.... See J. D. Schmidt, Harmony Garden: The Life, Literary Criticism, and Poetry of Yuan Mei (1716-1798), p.170.
蛟龍生氣盡，不如鼠橫行。
In painting it's catching the "spirit" and "essence".
In poems that's "nature" and "feelings."
An elegant dragon, with its life’s breath gone?
Better a rat, with some scurry left in him.
(Translation by J.P. Seaton)
Zhang Hu (Bio/1227 has three 張祐 Zhang You and one Zhang Hu, a Tang writer "sometimes mistakenly written Zhang You")
Zhi Zhao Fei Cao
Si Gui Yin
Zhaojun Yuan /
Longshuo Cao
Intoning a Sima Xiangru Qin Song (see Sima Xiangru Qin Ge)
Zhang Ji (Bio/); YFSJ has 53 entries. These include
Bie Ge Cao,
Chun Jiang Qu and
Wu Ye Ti Yin
See also Qiu Jiang Yebo.
This Zhang Ji is apparently known for only one poem, the very popular
Night Mooring near Maple Bridge, included amongs 300 Poems of the Tang Dynasty
See his Qin Shi Xu bio. Seven poems he wrote mentioning qin are listed at www.shicimingju.com; these include,
淵明膝上桐，一絲不肯掛。
彈聲聒天地，無人知此話。
謂琴只這是，世間何用絃。
謂在有無中，其然豈其然。
曲廊桐樹綠陰陰，檐佩風來奏玉琴。
但有疎簾知獨立，更無塵事惱閒心。
雪霜鬢畔誰能免，城府胸中枉自深。
二六時辰真快樂，坐禪才罷即行吟。
著眼飛鴻外，欹巾韻磬邊。
半忘今古操，豈校有無絃。
自適何須妙，能聽也則賢。
如何劃然裏，猶露祖生鞭。
Bio/1205. His poem Great Master Xinyang Enjoys Playing Qin is included here.
The second half of this poem seems to have been used as a ci pattern
for the tenth section of Li Yun Chu Si
惜春更選殘紅折，
雨輕風色暴，梅子青時節。
永豐柳，無人盡日花飛雪。
天不老，情難絕。
心似雙絲網，中有千千結。
夜過也，東窗未白孤燈滅。
References to Zhang You often actually mean Zhang Hu
(previous, as in the commentary with a
Tang Yin painting.
Zhang Yue, style name 道濟 Daoji or 說之, was also 燕文貞公 Duke Wenzhen of Yan. He was a senior government official as well as a respected literary figure. He is mentioned in the biography of Fan Gong. Zhang Yue's poetry with connections to qin includes,
煙壑爭晦深，雲山共重複。
古來風塵子，同眩望鄉目。
芸閣有儒生，軺車倦馳逐。
青春客岷嶺，白露搖江服。
歲月鎮羈孤，山川俄反復。
魚遊戀深水，鳥遷戀喬木。
如何別親愛，坐去文章國。
蟋蟀鳴戶庭，蠨蛸網琴筑。
Zhang Zhongsu (10026.322; Bio/1272), style name 繪之 or 繢之 Huizhi, was a Hanlin scholar and accomplished poet; YFSJ has 11 entries, including
Chun Jiang Qu (but note
this confusion)
Bio/1643; see
this summary as well as references in
Zhang Chen, p. 50, etc. Poems he wrote connected to qin can be found
here and
here. Others include:
成都共逸為琴心，豈不嘗聞賦麗淫。
重聘茂陵今已晚，不須多賦白頭吟。
筍迸階石欲落，樹成窗影疑深。
未能作有畫句，聊且弄無絃琴。
松柏有正性，風霜無橫侵。
南方異搖落，眾木共青森。
曲士應懷悅，我曹嘗感心。
詩成誰和者，絃絕未忘琴。
抱病俱不飲，清言醒肺肝。
山空知室迥，念靜失憂端。
縱筆詩還作，無弦琴廢彈。
庵居已清絕，況及夜微闌。
Zheng Yunduan (Bio/xxx; 40513.xxx), style name 正淑 Zhengshu (16611.xxx), was from a prominent family in Suzhou. Women Writers, p. 131, introduces her. Pages 136-7 translate her poem Listening to the Qin (聽琴 Ting Qin). In it the narrator is entranced by listening to a song three times. This may suggest an aesthetic concerning short melodies or songs.
Zhu Jing'an, also known as 朱令文 Zhu Lingwen, was originally 朱仲嫻 Zhu Zhongxian (Bio/; ) was from 海寧 Haining, northeast of Hangzhou. Her poem 染甲 Ran Jia Coloring My Fingernails (Women Writers, p. 156) mentions se, not qin (because of the rhyme).
Bio/571; Women Writers, pp. 100 - 106. A female poet contemporary to Li Qingzhao, she was of "arguably equal importance" (Edwin Van Bibber-Orr, Ph.D. dissertation 2013); the major collection of her poetry is called Heartbreak Collection (斷腸集 Duanchang Ji; one copy was in Tieqintongjianlou Shumu)
Her poetry that mentions qin includes:
No translations as yet.
獨行獨坐，鬢里暗銷春。
《斷腸詞》，淚涔涔。
古來女兒苦，夢亂醉千尊。
與愁共舞，不敢約黃昏。
空樓弄，斷絃琴。
易驚誰羨葉公室，入夢當為傳說霖。
變化一聲雷霆遠，騰凌千裡海波深。
臥廬曾比崇高志，肯憶當時梁父吟。
舜豈無心阜民俗，熏熏歌入五弦中。
潤煙生硯底，涼氣入堂中。
翠鎖交竿竹，紅翻落葉楓。
撫琴閒弄曲，靜坐理商官。
漠漠暖煙生草木，熏熏和氣動園林。
詩書遺興消長日，景物牽情入苦吟。
金鴨火殘香合盡，更調商羽弄瑤琴。
寫字彈琴無意緒，踏青跳菜沒心情。
卻嗟流水琴中意，難向人前取次彈。
詩誦<南陔>句，琴歌<陟岵>音。
承顏故國遠，舉目白雲深。
欲識歸寧意，三年數歲陰。
庭闈勞夢寐，道路壓埃塵。
詩禮聞相遠，琴樽誰是親？
愁看羅袖上，長搵淚痕新。
Zhu Xiaolian (Bio/xxx; YFSJ has only this one entry)
Lyrics for Bai Xue Ge
31795.xxx; 2798.xxx; Bio/610xxx; no further info (but there are 5 YFSJ poems)
Lyrics for Yang Chun Qu
(Bio/xxx)
Lyrics for Xiang Furen
40445.51; Bio/1117: 鄒祇謨字許士號程村 Zou Zhimo, literary name Xushi, nickname Chengcun; from 江南武進 Wujin (today's 常州 Changzhou in Jiangsu) in Jiangnan; jinshi in 1658. He was "one of the most important and acknowledged masters of Ci-lyrics in the early Qing dynasty." (李有强 Li Youqiang) Three of his poems are lyrics for melodies in Japanese handbooks:
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a
separate page)
1.
The plan is eventually to centralize onto one webpage all biographical entries for poets.
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