Zhao Yeli

Zhao Yeli (563 - 639) is particularly important for his surviving explanations of finger techniques.⁴ He is said to have been one of the inventors of qin tablature (it is not clear whether this refers to the original longhand tablature or to the shorthand tablature which developed from it; for more on the latter see Cao Rou).

Qinshu Cunmu, Folio 2, #5 - #8, has information about four works attributed to him:

Folio II, #5: 琴敘譜九卷 Qin Xu Pu Jiu Juan 9 juan
Folio II, #6: 彈琴手勢譜一卷 Tan Qin Shoushi Pu 1 juan
Folio II, #7: 彈琴右手法一卷 Tan Qin Youshou Fa 1 juan
Folio II, #8: 胡笳五弄譜二卷 Hujia Wunongpu 2 juan

Although these are all apparently lost, some of the explanations have been preserved in Japan, where they were incorporated into the (You Lan Finger Technique Explanations) as (or as part of) the,

Qinyong Zhifa

The original entry in Qin Shi has been translated by Yang Yuanzheng as follows:⁵

Zhao Yeli was from Jiyin of Cao. Out of admiration for Taoism, [he] took refuge in seclusion. [Zhao’s] mastery of the qin was unrivalled. Prominent personages of his time therefore respected him and called him Master Zhao. His rectified [edition] of fifty or so erroneous [qin] pieces, having made [these works] rejoin [the repertoire of] elegance [by] removing their vulgarities, was handed down in handbooks. [He] often said, “The sound of the Wu [school of qin music] is clear and sweet like that of the broad flow of a long river, [characterized by its] continuousness and long decays, suggesting the lofty personality of national heroes. The sound of the Shu [school of qin music] is vigorous and quick like that of a surging wave or a sudden thunder, representing yet another contemporary style.” He also said, “[When the] flesh and nail [of a finger] simultaneously pluck [a qin string], the sound is warm and sleek. The sound of [a] pure-nail [stroke] is sad and shrill; while that of [a] pure-flesh [stroke] is blunt and dull.” [The Master] once taught the son of the magistrate of his hometown qin [playing], and therefore he compiled two scrolls of notation for such a purpose, which survive to this day. The prefacer [of the two scrolls of notation] praised Yeli [and] stated, “At an early age already, [Zhao was] clever and bright, and had mastery of most the arts and crafts. After the age of fifteen, [he became] self-taught. [Zhao could remember] whatever text without [reading it] twice. [He] lived a simple life and did nothing to contradict [the guidance of] the Tao. His calligraphy grasps the thesis of Zhong [You (151-230)] and Zhang [Zhi (?-ca.192)]; his qin artistry is comparable with Ma [Rong (79-166)] and Cai [Yong (133-92)].” In the thirteenth year of Zhen’guan (636), [Zhao Yeli] died in Cao at the age of seventy-six. There is no evidence to show that Zhao Yeli had been recruited [into any official institution] when Emperor Wen rejuvenated music. [I believe that] this is due to [Zhao’s] indifference to fame. It is said that Cai Yong composed Youchun, Lüshui, Youju, Zuochou and Qiusi. [These works] were passed on to Shan Yang, head of the imperial scribe office. [Then,] after seventeen generations, [they] were handed down to Yeli. Yeli imparted them to a certain Ma of Pu prefecture, and thereafter to Song Xiaozhen. [When] Xiaozhen died, the Master’s tradition became extinct.

(Copied from 楊元錚 Yang Yuanzheng, but with his footnotes omitted.)

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. 趙耶利 Zhao Yeli
38015.xxx; Bio. xxx; Xu Jian, QSCB, Chapter 5. A. (p.54).
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2. Qin Shi entry
12 lines
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3. 趙耶利指法 Zhao Yeli fingering instructions
The image is of the first page from Folio 8 of Qinshu Daquan; the preface on that page is translated in the entry for Yongmen Zhou. Although Zhao is famous for these instructions, they do not commonly occur in old Qin handbooks. The mention of them here in the first line (next to the red mark) suggests perhaps that various handbooks incorporated them into their finger technique instructions but without specific credit.
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4. Finger techniques of Zhao Yeli
See comment on the image. Apparently 26 of his finger technique explanations have been preserved in Japan. For this see 楊元錚 Yang Yuanzheng's Masters Thesis at HKU, Early Qin music: manuscript Tōkyō, Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan TB1393 and manuscript Hikone, Hikone Jōhakubutsukan V633 [pdf, 2005]. On pp53-4 he mentions "26 patterns" in the 彈琴有手法 Qin Fingering Techniques for the Right Hand, signed by 五不及道士趙耶利師選 Master Zhao Yeli, the Daoist monk Wubuji (five not achieved).

In this work Yang also discusses the manuscript history of You Lan.
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5. Original text
The Chinese text for the Qin Shi Zhao Yeli entry is as follows:

趙耶利，曹州濟陰人。慕道自隱，能琴無雙，當世賢達，莫不高之，謂之趙師。所正錯謬五十餘弄，削俗歸雅，傳之譜錄。每云：吳聲清婉，若長江廣流，綿延徐逝，有國士之風；蜀聲躁急，若激浪奔雷，亦一時之俊。又言：肉甲相和，取聲温潤；純甲其音傷慘；純肉其聲傷鈍。嘗以琴誨邑宰之子，遂作譜兩巻以遺之，今傳焉。其序者稱耶利云：弱年穎悟，藝業多通；束髮自修，行無二遇；清虛自處，非道不行；筆妙窮乎鐘、張；琴道方乎馬、蔡。貞觀十三年卒於曹，年七十六。當文皇興樂之時，而耶利不見收擢，蓋不求聞達故也。或云：蔡邕撰《遊春》、《渌水》、《幽居》、《坐愁》、《秋思》，以傳太史令單颺；自颺十七傳而至耶利；耶利傳濮人馬氏，又傳宋孝臻；孝臻亡，師資遂絕。 (Return)

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