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Liu Xiang
- Qin Shi #70 |
劉向 1
琴史 #70 2 |
劉向 Liu Xiang (77-6 BCE), a descendant of a younger brother of Liu Bang, founder of the Han dynasty, and a distant relative of Liu An, was in and out of office during his official career. At one time he was almost executed, but he later rose to high rank within the imperial palace. The biographical entry here mentions his writings on qin but does not directly say that he himself played it.
Liu Xiang is known mainly as a bibliographer and anecdotal historian, benefitting in particular from his access to the imperial library. But he was also a poet and writer of prose lamentations. The following works attributed to him are mentioned here and/or elsewhere on this site:
The biographies listed below do not themselves all mention the qin, the connections sometimes coming from elsewhere. The relevant biographies8 include:
| - Xiang Fei | (Scroll 1, #1; see the melody Xiang Fei Yuan) | |
| - Fan Ji | (Scroll 2, #5; see the melody Lienü Yin) | |
| - Ban Jieyu | (Scroll 8, #14; see the melody Han Gong Qiu). | |
| - Queen Jiang | (Scroll 2, #1; no surviving melody; Qin Shi Bu said her daily qin play made King Xuan of Zhou a better ruler.) | |
| - Wuling Qi | (Scroll 2, #15; wife of Wuling Zi [於陵 ＝ Wuling, not Yuling]; she had "左琴右書 qin to her left, books to her right" [see Guanyuan Cao, not surviving]) | |
| - Zangsun Mu | (Scroll 3, #9; mother of Zangsun Chen [see Xing Tan but no apparent connection]; the biography says "琴之合，甚思之 The harmony of the qin, how I long for it!" [Kinney]) | |
| - Governess of Boji | (Scroll 4, #2 is Boji; Boji Yin [Prelude #2], attributed to the governess, does not survive) | |
| - Wife of Qi Liang | (Scroll 4, #8; Lament of the Wife of Qi Liang does not survive) | |
| - Maiden of Agu | (Scroll 6, #6; illustration shows Zigong with a qin, but no surviving melody; text mentions 琴 qin three times) | |
| - Zhao Feiyan | (Scroll 8, #15; her two melodies do not survive) | |
| - Liang Hong Fu | (Scroll 8, #18; "誦書彈琴 chanted verse and played qin" with her husband, Liang Hong; no melody mentioned) |
In addition, 魯母師 Mother-Teacher of Lu (Scroll 1 #12) is mentioned elsewhere in connection with a possible early name for hui.
ICTCL, p.566, says it had "seventy brief hagiographies of Daoist adepts", adding that the attribution to Liu Xiang is probably erroneous since some of these adepts must date from as many as several centuries later. In fact, many of the currently available images of "exemplary immortals" clearly come come from still later editions, though often still attributed to a "Lie Xian Zhuan".
列仙全傳 Liexian Quanzhuan (1921.xxx)
Images of people found only in later editions such as Liexian Quanzhuan include those of,
Liexian Quanzhuan also has images of people who are in what is said to be the original Han edition (about which see also this footnote).
This website has Liexian Zhuan references in the commentary on a number of qin melodies, in particular:
With 581 entries, the 李攀龍 列仙全傳圖 illustrated Liexian Quanzhuan Tu
(Complete Biographies of Exemplary Immortals with illustrations, attributed to Li Panlong (1514—1570; ICTCL, P.545), is perhaps the most notable of the later Liexian Zhuan editions. Its original date is unclear, but it apparently was first published in 1600, i.e., after Li Panlong's death, by 汪雲鵬 Wang Yunpeng (? 17593.xxx). Many of the images shown on this site were copied from internet pages that did not clearly identify their sources, but most of them can be found in later editions of this work, in particular:
Qinshu Daquan, Folio 16, #20; YFSJ, Preface
Qinshu Daquan, Folio 16, #33 (QQJC V, p. 352); YFSJ,
Yang Chun
Complete translation (2021) by Eric Henry as Garden of Eloquence
http://www.chinaknowledge.de; ICTCL: "moral tales and political persuasions"
Qinshu Daquan, Folio 16, #34 (QQJC V, pp 358-9) quotes four passages
The standard edition of Shuo Yuan had 20 chapters but some editions, including the China Text Project edition, add a 21st chapter called 佚文 Yi Wen: "fragmentary or apocryphal essays", collected from other sources that attribute them to Shuo Yuan. Shuo Yuan, Yi Wen includes a quote concerning Sun Xi.
One mentions a large number of qin players in Pi, over a century after Shi Zhong (Xu Jian
Chapter 2.A., p.12).
In addition, Xu Jian, Chapter 2.A. (p.13) quotes him from Qin Shi (original source unmentioned) making a comment about the qin player Long De.
The original biographic entry on Liu Xiang in Qin Shi is as follows.10
Translation tentative.
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a
separate page)
1.
Liu Xiang 劉向 (Qin Shi bio #70; 3 lines)
2270.260; ICTCL, p.583; Xu Jian, Chapter 2.A. (p.13);
Wiki.
Born 劉更生 Liu Gengsheng; courtesy name 子政 Zizheng. See also his relative 劉安 Liu An.
Liu Xiang's biographical sketches such as are collected in Lienü Zhuan and Liexian Zhuan are best known today in their illustrated versions. References to these books may speculate on their earliest printing dates, but usually do not discuss the history of the illustrated versions. Books with woodblock print illustrations rarely date from prior to the Song dymasty.
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4.
Qin Praises (琴頌七篇 Qin Song), 7 entries
The entry in Qinshu Cunmu begins with a brief account of Liu Xiang himself before mentioning Qin Song. The full text is as follows,
Not yet translated. (漢書，藝文志 refers to 劉向賦三十三篇. CTP [李善注]卷三至卷四 seems to have three or four references to 雅琴賦 Ya Qin Fu in the Li Shan note to Wen Xuan.)
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5.
琴錄 Qin Lu (Qin Records)
The main text of the entry in Qinshu Cunmu mainly quotes seven rules for playing qin attributed to Liu Xiang. This text is as follows.
Not yet translated; the QSCM adds some further commentary on the sources. Could these seven also be considered as 七頌 seven praiseworthy aspects, i.e., the same as the praises above?
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6.
琴傳 Qin Chuan (Qin Traditions)
???
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7.
列女傳 Lienü Zhuan
1921.16 列女傳 also mentions a Ming dynasty 古今列女傳 Gujin Lienü Zhuan. Further detail also at China Knowledge.
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8.
Indirectly relevant biographies
Lienü Zhuan biographies of women mentioned on this site, but apparently with only an indirect qin connection, include:
| - Wei Ji | (Scroll 2, #2; she was the wife of Duke Huan of Qi) | |
| - Mu Ji | (Scroll 2, #4; she was the wife of Duke Mu of Qin) |
Scroll 8 is called Xu Lienü Zhuan (續列女傳 Continuation of LXZ). Its 20 entries are said to have been added after Liu Xiang, but the general attributation of the rest to Liu Xiang has also been questioned.
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9.
列仙傳 Liexian Zhuan (Liexianzhuan: Biographies of Exemplary Immortals) (original text;
CTP illustrated version)
1921.25 says Liexian Zhuan includes 71 people but most sources say 70. ICTCL, quoted above, also mentions other later collections with more people and longer entries, including the 列仙全傳 Lie Xian Quanzhuan by Wang Shizhen (王世貞 21295.294; 1526 - 90), with 640 entries.
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10.
Liu Xiang biography in Qin Shi
The original text is as follows:
Tentative translation above.
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Return to QSCB, or to the Guqin ToC.