Qin Shi Chubian 6B3: Song Dynasty Diaozi and Caonong

QSCB : Song/Yuan previous / next / Listing of diaozi and caonong

Chapter Six: Song and Yuan dynasties ¹
Xu Jian, Introductory History of the Qin, pp. 112-114 ²

第六章﹕宋，元
許健，琴史初編，第112-114頁

6.B. Qin Melodies

3. Diaozi (short songs) and Caonong (instrumental melodies)³

琴曲

調子和操弄

Diaozi are qin songs of a particular structure that were popular during the Northern Song dynasty, whereas caonong generally refers to traditional large-scale qin melodies. Qin players from the Song dynasty were very particular about the distinction between these two formats. Diaozi did not originate in the Song dynasty; Ten Short Melodies in Gong Mode by Heruo Bi ⁴ of the Sui dynasty was an early set of diaozi. Xue Yijian of the Tang dynasty collected from folk culture 300 short melodies, many of which were probably diaozi.⁵ Biji Manzhi⁶ records, "since the Sui, what we call quzi have been on the rise. By the Tang dynasty, they had become rather popular. Now they are innumerable in their vulgarity." Although this discusses quzi, the appearance and developement of diaozi is very similar.⁷ The rise of diaozi is probably also related to ci; the text portions of diaozi were ci, the music was quzi.⁸ To sing while playing the melody creates diaozi. Ci, quzi, and diaozi are connected but different and they developed together during the Song dynasty.

Diaozi originally had lyrics. Zequan Heshang (the Monk Zequan⁹) once used Zuiweng Yin as an example to analyze its rhythmic treatment characteristics (discussed further below). Surviving diaozi often have lost their lyrics with only the melody left.¹⁰ In addition, only the titles remain. The titles of diaozi are also different from those of traditional melodies. Some seem to have been named after phrases of ci, such as Jiangshang Wen Jiao¹¹ and Shasai Wanqing.¹² Some seem to have been folk lyric drama, like Fan Zheng Sui Yudou¹³ and Ding Sheng Hua He.¹⁴

The distinction between diaozi and caonong is reflected in the form of the music, content, style, and performance. Cheng Yujian compared diaozi to pentasyllabic poems, calling them

"elegantly simple yet with flavor, like an olive"

and asserting that when playing diaozi, one must

"warmly play with calm simplicity in the movement of one's fingers, as if writing a pentasyllabic poem".

He also compared caonong to changyun poems, claiming they

"are like the floating wind and rapid rain, accurate in aim and touching one's spirit."

He also pointed out that

"when playing a caonong, one must emphasize lightness and heaviness with rhythm and consistency." (Qinshu Daquan, [pp. 204-7 ¹⁵])."

(In the article from Qinyuan Yaolu mentioned above ¹⁶,) the famous qin player Zequan Heshang from the Song dynasty also emphasized the difference between the two. He especially pointed out:

"Today when people play diaozi, they often play it like caonong without understanding the rhythm".

To clarify the difference between the two, he compared diaozi to manqu (slow melodies) and caonong to daqu (full melodies), saying that

"Playing diaozi is like singing manqu."

And,

"In a daqu there are (sections like) dianqian (prelude), rupo (section where it goes from slow to fast), and xiepai (conclusion), much like the rhythm of a long caonong."

Zequan Heshang further analyzed its rhythmical features:

"When playing diaozi, each phrase first has two slow notes with a few more notes following; then there is a short rest, after which one holds on to a note to connect to the next phrase. This is called 'shuang qi dan sha (double beginning, single ending)'."

He also said of caonong,

"(Whenever playing cao[nong],) begin each phrase with one note, then there is a short rest, then hold on to two notes to connect to the next phrase. This is the opposite of diaozi."

The former's "shuang qi dan sha" is not rare in xiqu (Chinese opera) and quyi (singing narration) and is based on a form of lyrical singing. The latter's "dan qi shuang sha" is a common technique in caonong.

The peak era for diaozi was the Northern Song dynasty. Repertoire lists of this era contained a large number of diaozi and qin dissertations often involved the characteristics of diaozi. By the Southern Song dynasty, qin players of the Zhe school reached a new level in the creation and performance of caonong, so diaozi retreated in status.

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Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Chapter 6 covers these dynasties (dates, capital city [modern name]):

Northern Song (960-1126; Dongjing [Kaifeng])
Liao (907-1125; Dading Fu [Daning?])
Southern Song (1127-1280; Linan Fu [Hangzhou])
Jin (1115-1260; Zhongdu [Beijing])
Yuan (1206-1280-1368; Dadu [Beijing])
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2. Initial translation by 金秋雨 Jin Qiuyu.
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3. (two of the "three styles"?) Diaozi (short songs) and Caonong (instrumental melodies) 調子和操弄 (see also in Cheng Yujian)
The particular meanings of these two terms, as descibed in the text above, does not seem to be used consistently. There are lists of them in Qinshu Daquan, Folio 13, where they are listed by mode, and Cheng Yujian's Qin Lun does not mention lyrics, suggesting they were short melodies connected to modes.

Diaozi 調子 36488.6 first describes this as a painting term that concerns perspective, then says it is 音樂中表示所用音階高低之程度 a general music term referring to pitch (though see also "key"). There is nothing related to its particular use here.
Caonong 操弄 13113.21 把持玩弄也: "control and manipulate", with early references but none to music.

Ming dynasty qin handbooks usually organized melodies by "diao", which can mean either "tuning" or "mode", with some of these handbooks further grouping melodies in this sequence:

Modal prelude ("調意 diao yi"): literally "modal definition", a diaoyi can apply to more than one melody, perhaps all of them in that grouping;
Melodic prelude (usually but not always called an "引 yin" [prelude] or a "吟 yin" [intonation]): a short introductory piece in two to four sections;
Main melody usually 6 to 18 sections ("操 cao" is a common generic term).

As yet I have found no explanation for this. However, it is interesting to speculate as to whether there is any connection between this and the Song dynasty discussions of diaozi and caonong. No surviving text explicitly states their relationship, but Cheng Yujian’s discussion of diaozi in his Qin Lun strongly suggests that such pieces were understood not as mere preliminaries to longer melodies but as essential acts of aesthetic and modal orientation, through which the deeper structure of the principal melody could be apprehended and realized.
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4. Heruo Bi
This name is often incorrectly romanized as He Ruobi. There are further details on him in QSCB, 5.a., as well as in his own biographical entry, which includes a list of the Ten Short Melodies in Gong Mode.
These melodies do not seem to be included in the QSDQ Listing of diaozi and caonong
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5. Xue Yijian's collection of 300 short melodies
I am not aware of an actual listing of these names.
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6. Biji Manzhi 碧雞漫志
24916.283 碧雞 Biji (literally "jade green chicken") identifies this as the names of mountains in Sichuan and Yunnan, or as the name of a deity, also called 金馬碧雞 Jinma Biji. There is no mention of a book of this or any similar title.
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7. 曲子 Quzi compared to 調子 Diaozi
I do not know on what basis Xu Jian makes this comparison.
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8. Music of 調子 Diaozi as 曲子 quzi, lyrics as 辭 ci
Again I do not know the basic for this analysis.
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9. Zequan the Monk (則全和尚 Zequan Heshang)
There seems to be no biographical information available about him, in spite of his important writings, in particular Rhythms and Finger Methods, preserved in Qinyuan Yaolu, pages 11/1 - 34/1. Xu Jian discusses this in Chapter 6c6, Rhythm and Finger Technique; the quotes here all come from the section on rhythm (ibid., pp. 29/2 - 34/1).
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10. Xu Jian's conclusion that some diaozi melodies have survived, but without their lyrics, is perhaps based on the fact that some of the titles in the QSDQ Listing of diaozi and caonong are also titles of surviving tablature. However, there is no evidence one way or another as to whether there are any melodic connections.
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11. Jiangshang Wen Jiao 江上聞角
17496.8 only 江上 jiangshang. I cannot find this title in the QSDQ Listing, but it is mentioned in the article by Cheng Yujian. I transliterated 角 as instead of jue under the impression that it refers to a horn not to the musical note.
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12. Shasai Wanqing 沙塞晚晴
17570.158 only 沙塞子 shasaizi, a 曲牌 qupai name. I cannot find this title in the QSDQ Listing, but it is mentioned in the article by Cheng Yujian.
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13. Fan Zeng Sui Yudou 范增碎玉斗
31472.246 only 范增 Fan Zeng, a man at the end of the Qin dynasty who was with Xiang Yu. See QYYL
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14. 3.xxx. Ding Sheng Hua He 丁生化鶴
See QYYL
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15. Cheng Yujian on diaozi
The original of the four original quotes are in QSDQ, Folio 10 (QQJC, V/204) as follows:

貴淡而有味，如食橄欖。 (top left lines 7-8)
吟猱親切，下指簡精，如人作五言詩。 (top left last line)
如飄風驟雨，一發則中，使人神魄飛動。 (top left lines 8-9)
要輕重起伏有節，首尾相貫。 (top left lines 9-10)

For further quotes from Cheng Yujian on diaozi and caonong see QSCB, Chapter 6c7.
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16. Zequan Heshang on rhythm
His article on rhythm is preserved in Qinyuan Yaolu, pages 29/2 - 34/1; see a translation along with the complete original text.
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