Zhong Yi 鍾儀

In his Outline History of the Qin (QSCB, p.2) Xu Jian writes of Zhong Yi of Chu as the "first recorded qin specialist." The significance of this could be especially interesting in light of the arguments over whether the qin type instruments found in the Chu region are significant ancestors of the classical qin or a largely unrelated oddity.

The claim of Zhong Yi being the first named qin player is based on the story told here but originating in the classic work Zuo Zhuan (Wiki), China's "first great work of history", traditionally dated from the 6th-5th centuries BCE. Modern scholarly interpretation suggests it actually was mostly compiled in the 4th-3rd c. BCE. But it is thought that, as commentary on a Confucian classic (Spring and Autumn Annals), it probably survived intact the book burning ordered by the Qin emperor in 213 BCE. So even if the later third century date is accurate it still concerns a period from which the only surviving "qin-type instruments" that survive are the ones from Chu. But these instruments have a design that does not seem to allow playing melodies of any significance, hence the arguments about the true history of the qin.

In the 左傳 Zuo Zhuan passage⁴ Zhong Yi is referred to as the "Prisoner Capped like as Southerner (南冠圖). It tells of Zhong Yi as a man of 楚 Chu captured by 鄭 Zheng and sent to prison in 晉 Jin, where he impressed 景公 Duke Jing (who seems to be the same person as 晉侯 the Marquis of Jin) by 操南音 playing southern airs (nan yin) from Chu, his homeland. Xu Jian's Outline History also relates the same story.

According to the Qin Shi biography of Zhong Ziqi, both he and Zhong Yi were from Chu and were related. Some stories that say Bo Ya himself was also from Chu, then go on to say that he, like Zhong Yi here, spent time in Jin, though not as a prisoner and it was at least 24 years later, during the rule of Duke Ping (r. 557 - 531 BCE).

The story of Zhong Yi told here is set in 581 BCE. It is not quite as detailed as the story in Zuo Zhuan, Duke Cheng (r. 589 - 572), 9th year (Legge, p. 371); see in Qinshu Daquan Folio 11 #67 and Folio 16, #6. Cheng was Duke of Lu, in Shandong province, but he had formed an alliance with the rulers of several other states, including Jin, to defend against an attack by 楚公子嬰齊 Gongzi Yingqi of Chu (Legge, p. 362). Because of this story Zhong Yi came to represent people who, though required to live elsewhere, never forgot their homeland.

The original entry in Qin Shi . The complete original text is here. Here is a translation:

Zhong Yi was a man of Chu who was imprisoned in Jin. (In 581 BCE) when the Marquis of Jin was visiting the military camp he saw Zhong Yi and asked what his work clan was. Zhong Yi said he was a "common musician". The (marquis) then gave (Zhong Yi) a qin, and he played some southern airs (nan yin, not nan feng). The marquis said, "You are a gentleman. The lyrics show esteem for your ancestors, but don't turn their back on its sources. The music has regional flavor, not forgetting its antiquity. So the marquis ordered that he be sent home. During times of disorder virtuos people might have to work as common musicians. And if they come to be detained by a powerful state, they are still able to to preserve their principles and exercise self-restraint. Compare the Zuo Zhuan version.⁴

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Zhong Yi
鍾儀 41566.132 (ref. 尚友錄) and .133 (鍾儀楚奏, ref. 左氏成九) both tell of Zhong Yi as being a man of 楚 Chu captured by 鄭 Zheng and sent to prison in 晉 Jin.
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2. Qin Shi entry #35 (中文)
4 lines. See translation by Luca Pisano.
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3. Image
Online searches for Zhong Yi images yield only pictures of Zhong Ziqi with Boya. As for the instrument shown here, it is said to be an ancestor of the classical qin but no one has been able to demonstrate how to play it, so perhaps it was a ritual object. This is discussed further here.
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4. Zuo Zhuan passage
As copied from CText, with translation by ChatGPT The passage, from 左傳，成公九年 Zuo Zhuan, Duke of Cheng, ninth year, is as follows:

晉侯觀于軍府，見鍾儀，問之曰：「南冠而縶者，誰也？」
The Marquis of Jin reviewed troops at his military headquarters, and saw Zhong Yi. He asked: “That man in the southern-style cap, bound with fetters — who is he?”

有司對曰：「鄭人所獻楚囚也。」
An official replied: “He is a prisoner of Chu whom the people of Zheng have offered up.”

使稅之，召而弔之。再拜稽首，問其族。對曰：「泠人也。」
The duke ordered his bonds loosened, summoned him and consoled him. Zhong Yi bowed twice and prostrated himself. The duke asked his lineage. He replied: “I am but an ordinary musician.”

公曰：「能樂乎？」
The duke said: “Are you skilled in music?”

對曰：「先父之職官也，敢有二事。」
He replied: “It was the official duty of my late father. How dare I neglect it?”

使與之琴，操南音。
The duke had a qin brought to him; he played southern airs.

公曰：「君王何如？」
The duke asked: “What sort of ruler is your king?”

對曰：「非小人之所得知也。」
He replied: “That is not something a petty man like me can presume to know.”

固問之。
The duke pressed him again.

對曰：「其為大子也，師保奉之，以朝於嬰齊，而夕於側也，不知其他。」
He answered: “As for the crown prince: his tutors and guardians attend him, in the morning at Yingqi court, in the evening in his chambers. Of other matters, I know nothing.”

公語范文子。
The duke related this to Fan Wenzi.

文子曰：「楚囚，君子也。言稱先職，不背本也。樂操土風，不忘舊也。稱大子，抑無私也。名其二卿，尊君也。
Fan Wenzi said: “This prisoner of Chu is a true gentleman. By speaking of his late father’s office, he does not abandon his origins. By playing his native airs, he does not forget the old ways. By referring to the crown prince, he shows he has no selfishness. By mentioning his king’s two ministers, he honors his ruler.

不背本，仁也。不忘舊，信也。無私，忠也。尊君，敏也。
Not abandoning one’s roots is benevolence. Not forgetting the old is trustworthiness. Having no selfishness is loyalty. Honoring one’s ruler is diligence.

仁以接事，信以守之，忠以成之，敏以行之。事雖大，必濟。君盍歸之，使合晉楚之成？」
With benevolence one undertakes affairs, with trustworthiness one guards them, with loyalty one brings them to fulfillment, with diligence one carries them out. However great the task, it will succeed. My lord, why not send him home, so that Jin and Chu may conclude peace?”

公從之，重為之禮，使歸求成。
The duke assented. He honored him further, and sent him back to seek a treaty.

End of this passage.
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