Boya Diao Ziqi

This is a song in the form of a lament by the famous qin player Bo Ya upon the death of his one true friend, Zhong Ziqi (today usually described as a woodcutter). The story itself is very well-known,⁴ but the present melody is much less so. Xilutang Qintong is the third of only five surviving handbooks to have this lament.⁵ All have lyrics, but the lyrics and melody here are somewhat different from those in the other handbooks.⁶

Here the afterword begins by calling Bo Ya by the name Yu Duan.⁷ The surname Yu for Bo Ya can be found in some old sources, making his name Yu Boya. However, this surname is not commonly used.

The afterword in Xilutang Qintong makes no mention of musical skills, the focus being totally on the friendship of Boya and Ziqi as it fills in the circumstances of Boya learning of Ziqi's death. The lyrics, however, (see below) do mention playing music, and the background story is obviously the same as that for the melodies Gao Shan and Liu Shui (High Mountains and Flowing Streams). For this Shen Qi Mi Pu quoted Liezi⁸ as follows:

According to Qin History, Liezi said,

(During the Spring and Autumn Period) Boya was good at playing the qin, Zhong Ziqi was good at listening. When Boya's will lay in (describing) high mountains, Zhong Ziqi said, 'How lofty; like Mount Tai!' When Boy's will lay in (describing) flowing streams, Zhong Ziqi said, 'How vast! It is like a great river and the sea.' Whatever Boya was thinking (as he played), Zhong Ziqi saw clearly in his heart　 Boya said, 'Awesome! Your heart and mine are one and the same.'

When Zhong Ziqi died, Boya broke his strings and never again played the qin. Thus we have Gao Shan and Liu Shui.

Some commentaries have Boya living during the Jin dynasty (365-420 CE). This does not accord with the most common stories, which have him living in the state of Jin (same Chinese character) during the "Spring and Autumn Period" (i.e., some time between 722 and 484 BCE), adding that he was actually from the state of Chu, to the south of Jin.⁹ Note that the stories connecting Boya to the state of Chu usually have his meeting with Ziqi take place near the confluence of the Yangzi and Han rivers, both of which are mentioned in the first verse of the lyrics below. This meeting place connects the story to the Boya Qin Terrace discussed in the entry on Boya.

Original preface ¹⁰

Yu Duan (Boya) met Zhong (Zi)qi along the banks of the Clear River. They made friends then parted. More than 10 years later (Boya) came to pay a visit, but (Ziqi) had already died. So he wrote this to describe his sad thoughts.

Music and Lyrics: Three sections (聽錄音 Listen to my recording: 2.42)
- Setting follows the syllabic structure of the lyrics (see the original Chinese¹¹)

1.
Last year I rowed to a Qing River landing,
and with a true gentleman unexpectedly became emotionally attached.
Suddenly, upon now arriving at the river,
I don't see my music friend and so am empty and sad.
Heartbreak, heartbreak, more heartbreak!
The Yangzi and Han rivers just make me gloomy.
I have such strong feelings I can't bear to go to your grave,
(so here I must) sprinkle the wine in drops, becoming empty as I pour.

2.
We each came from a separate part of the world,
but by the clear river that moonlit night our feelings were unforgettable.
I returned to visit you, but you had died,
causing all to be aggrieved, hearts perturbed.
Ziqi, Ziqi, Ziqi, Alas!
Listen to my qin's words of allusion.
The melody is elevated, the song is sad, the sound is wailing.
Just thinking of you brings tears like rain.

3.
Thinking of you is bitter, my emotions seem foolishly doting.
The qin sounds are urgent and share the misery.
Sharing the misery, the heart becomes sad.
As for people who understand music, who else is there?
As for people who understand music, who else is there?

end

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Sources of Boya Diao Ziqi
The source of the lyrics is unknown. As for the story, 538.18 - .23 all have related information, but none specifically refers to this title or lyrics. 9918 has only .18 Diao Qu Yuan (弔屈原文) Mourning for Qu Yuan. A Song dynasty melody list says this was the common name of 感志吟 Gan Zhi Yin. See also the entries for Boya and Zhong Ziqi in Qin Shi (琴史). There are brief mentions in Liezi, Xunzi and Huainanzi. (Return)

2. For further information on yu mode see Shenpin Yu Yi and Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature (Return)

3. Hakuga: Boya in Japan (For another axe story see Dai Kui.)
The picture above is from an online illustration of a float (called a "mountain" [山 yama]) from a parade during the 祇園祭 Gion Matsuri (Gion Festival), which takes place every July 17 - 24 in Kyoto. The story of Boya and Ziqi was also once well-known in Japan.

In Japan Boya is pronounced Hakuga (or Haku Ga), and Zhong Ziqi is Shoshiki (or Sho Shiki). A net search for these names gives mostly information connected to Gion Matsuri float, as described here. In modern Japanese the traditional character for koto (箏 zheng) is generally replaced with the character 琴 qin, the actual qin (Japanese "kin") being little known in Japan. As a result many of these sites either mistranslate "qin" as "harp" (organologically the qin is a zither) or call it a "koto"; the qin is also not a "lute".

In another story from Japan Boya is called Peiwoh.
(Return)

4. Other melodies on the same title are listed at the top. (Return)

5. Zha's Guide 14/149/256. Xu Jian, Qinshi Chubian, p.146 says the title Boya Huai (懷) Ziqi is pre-Ming. Boya Yi (憶) Ziqi is #87 in Qin Shu, and #92 in 僧下古 the "Less Ancient" section of Seng's list.) This suggests the melody might have originated in the Song dynasty. Unfortunately, there is no way at present to know how close any of the surviving printed versions might be to the earlier ones. The five surviving versions are as follows:

1511
1539
1549
1585
1828 (Diao Ziqi)
(Return)

6. See previous footnote: 1511 and 1539 are identical to each other but very different from here, though there are common motifs (see especially m.11-12 with the lyrics Shang xin, shang xin, fu shang xin (傷心，傷心，復傷心 ). 1585 is similar to them; 1828 is unexamined (three sections). (Return)

7. Yu Duan (俞端 ; also 俞瑞 Yu Rui) and Yu Boya 俞伯牙
More in a footnote under the Bo Ya biography. (Return)

8. The story in the Book of Liezi focuses on the musical skills. See Graham, pp. 109-110; 王強模，列子, p.188. Here the preface is shorter, focusing on friendship. Elsewhere it is explained that the reason Boya never played again was his conviction that in life you are lucky to find one person with such deep understanding, and you could never hope to find two. See also Qin Shi Fol. II, #12, Bo Ya and #13 Zi Qi. (Return)

9. 晉 Jin: dynasty or state?
The Jin dynasty (365-420 CE) and Jin state from the earlier Spring and Autumn Period (ca. 722 to 484 BCE) are both written with the same character. The version of Boya Diao Ziqi in Taigu Yiyin groups it with Jin dynasty pieces. Online Japanese references also seem mostly to mention the Jin dynasty rather than the Jin state. I do not know the significance of this confusion other than underlining Boya's legendary status. It should be pointed out that although some scholars suggest that the book of Liezi in fact dates as late as the 4th c. CE, there is apparently other early mention of the story of Boya and Ziqi (for which see above). (Return)

10. Original Chinese not yet online. (Return)

11. The Chinese original is as follows (聽錄音 Listen to the recording):

1.
昔年倚棹清江頭；與君邂逅情綢繆。
豈料，而今到江上；不見知音空自愁。
傷心，傷心，復傷心！江漢為我生愁陰。
含情不忍委壘墓；酹酒淋灕空滿斟。

2.
別來各處天一方；清江月夜情難忘。
重來訪君，君物故；令人鬱抑心徬徨。
子期，子期，子期兮！聽我琴中也睨擬語。
調高，曲怨，聲呼號；只為思君淚如雨。

3.
思君苦兮情如癡；琴聲切切相凄其。
相凄其，心轉悲；與世知音更有誰？
知音更有誰？
(Return)

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