The present article sets forth my objectives, outlines my teaching methodology, and introduces a curriculum for teaching historically informed qin performance to beginning or advanced students of the Chinese silk string zither (qin, or guqin [old qin]). The basic method follows the tradition of having the student copy the teacher. But whereas most other teachers teach using the nylon-wrapped metal strings invented during the Cultural Revolution, I teach using the traditional silk strings. Others teach melodies learned from their teachers - melodies in the modern repertoire (such as I learned from my teacher); I teach early melodies personally reconstructed from Ming dynasty tablature. For players who have mastered the basics there is also the possibility of experimenting with new music.

The discussion here is prefaced with some background information on the guqin. I try to supplement the purely musical aspects of guqin study by helping students become more familiar with its rôle in Chinese culture. Most of the information is available on this website.

"Reconstructing" guqin music (in Chinese, 打譜 dapu²) means learning music directly from qin tablature rather than from a teacher. Since 1976 I have reconstructed over 150 melodies written in qin tablature during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 CE). I have published seven CDs that contain a portion of this music, along with staff notation of all the melodies; and this website has over 70 of the melodies available as MP3 files.

Qin players who reconstruct early melodies often modify them in accordance with modern practice, or by selecting what they like from various early versions of the same title. There is nothing wrong with having such influences; they are, in fact, very difficult to avoid. As for the qins they use, although the exterior physical shape of qins seems unchanged for at least 1,500 years, since the Cultural Revolution most qin sound boxes and top surfaces have been designed for use with the metal strings commonly used today.

In contrast, my own aim has always been, following as carefully as possible all available historical information, to play melodies as closely as possible to a specific original tablature, using original or replicated instruments with silk strings. In English this is called historically informed performance (HIP). There is no established Chinese expression for this, so for now I am using 復古風格演奏 fugufengge yanzou, literally, "returning to old style of playing".³

It should be emphasized that this search for historical accuracy does not conflict with free expression: once definable ancient melodic styles have been identified, HIP can freely interpret within these styles.

It is difficult to divide the current qin repertoire into discrete styles, as most actual music shows a variety of influences. However, at least five quite distinct categories can be defined.

1. Ancient melodies (fugu diao 復古調): melodies reconstructed from old qin handbooks according to the principles of Historically Informed Performance;
2. Recreated melodies (dapu diao 打譜調): melodies from old tablature played in traditional styles as handed down to the present;
3. Traditional melodies (chuantong diao 傳統調): melodies that have been passed down from teacher to student;
4. Conservatory melodies (xueyuan diao 學院調): melodies as taught in modern conservatories;
5. New melodies (xin diao 新調): new compositions, in both old and new styles.

The expression HIP is usually reserved for music that has survived only in written documents. But related to HIP of written qin music would be performances that closely follow recordings of recent qin masters. Today the new conservatory style is blurring the distinctions of the old qin schools. Both for historical and aesthetic reasons it is very important to preserve the distinctive styles of recent leading masters in these old schools. At present this is still possible through recordings as well as through the memories and playing techniques of their students, but a concerted effort must be made soon.

All five categories defined above should be encouraged. Today the conservatory style seems to be in the ascendant. However, an increasing number of qin players (including beginners) are now interested in the HIP category. One day this will be recognized as a "school" (派 pai, also translatable as "group" or "system"). I would suggest that my personal style aims for this category, as it has developed through my exclusive play of melodies according to Ming dynasty sources.
 

The written tradition of qin music

The qin was the instrument of China's literati. The literati liked to write things down, including the music of their most revered instrument. Thus qin music forms one of the few non-Western written music traditions. Unlike much Western music, however, qin music was not composed during the writing process. Melodies were generally learned from teachers by rote method. The written music described not the melody but, in considerable detail, the way a master played a piece.

The literati transcribed this qin music using a shorthand tablature. The tablature groups elements of Chinese characters into clusters. These clusters detail tuning, finger positions, placement and stroke techniques, and ornamentation. The tablature also includes other instructions, but gives little direct information about note values (rhythms).

The earliest surviving written qin melody has been reliably dated from about 650 CE. Entitled You Lan (Hidden Orchid) and preserved in Japan, it describes in over 200 lines of longhand tablature a melody of about 700 notes. Historical records suggest that scholars wrote down qin music before that time, and that during the Tang dynasty (618-905) they produced qin handbooks collecting melodies written in short-hand tablature. However, these were all hand-copied and none has survived. The only other qin melodies surviving in sources printed before the 15th century are a few short pieces in 13th century publications.

The first surviving major handbook, Shen Qi Mi Pu (Handbook of Spiritual and Marvelous Mysteries, 1425 CE), is also the first known printed one. It has 49 titled melodies and 15 modal prefaces, all purportedly copied from earlier sources. This handbook was the original focus of my research. Since completing my Shen Qi Mi Pu recordings and transcriptions onto six CDs and three ring-bound volumes of transcriptions I have also been learning numerous melodies from 16th century handbooks.
 

Traditional qin schools (pai)

It is difficult to categorize by school much of the qin music played throughout history. The high reverence bestowed on qin meant that many people studied it as part of their general education. Most learned only a few melodies that they might continue to play throughout their lives, often with a musical skill not easily apparent to listeners. Many musically skilled players probably also developed very personal styles: successful literati often had to spend years away from their teachers. And in spite of the great efforts to write down the music, it was still in many ways an oral tradition.

As for known qin schools, historical records provide varying amounts of detail. Schools seem to originate with a particular master; generations of students then modify the style and repertoire. Schools mentioned today are often associated with a specific region.

However, by the mid-twentieth century these schools had already lost much of their individuality. Players from different regions study each other's melodies and styles. The introduction of metal strings during the Cultural Revolution, and their general acceptance since the 1970s, has led to stylistic developments which at present are not very well defined.

However, the survival of more than 100 qin handbooks published between 1425 and 1937 makes it possible to form a new school based on scientific re-creation of music from this old tablature. If appropriate principles are followed, this should lead to a larger and more varied contemporary repertoire. This will be especially true if it can also lead to a fuller understanding of the differences that distinguished the various historical qin schools.
 

Tablature as teacher

Throughout history qin players, like Chinese painters, have often tried exactly to repeat existing or previous creations. They have also developed new versions of these as well as creating completely new compositions. In 1957 Zha Fuxi published an index of 104 surviving qin handbooks dating from 1425 to 1946. It includes 659 melodies in thousands of versions. So far I have personally reconstructed over 150 of these. Since about the year 2000 there seems to be an increasing interest in China in reconstructing more of these old melodies. However, as yet I know of no other systematic efforts being made to do this in a manner that might be considered as historically informed performance.

When learning old melodies I have tried strictly to follow specific old tablatures. This process has revealed some of the changes in style that took place over the years. The clearest changes are in modality; many early melodies are less pentatonic than are pieces played today. Some structural differences seem to be discernable as well.

The information in qin tablature is rather different from the information provided in early Western music notation and tablature, but there is comparable detail. Even after over 100 years of effort it is impossible to determine the accuracy of Western historical music reconstruction. To date much less effort has been made towards presenting historically informed early qin performance. In both cases the reconstruction efforts have been useful from an historical perspective, but it is the beauty of the resulting music that makes continuing efforts most rewarding.
 

Objectives, methodology and curriculum

The major objective of an Historically Informed Qin Performance School should be to recover and/or preserve the qin performance practice of various periods. My own focus is on music in handbooks surviving from the Ming dynasty.

My teacher, Sun Yuqin, had me learn by copying his play exactly. It is my understanding that this was the traditional teaching method, and that only advanced students should play in a more creative manner the music they had learned by rote.

The HIP school also follows this principle when learning melodies from old tablature. School members begin by using the traditional rote method to learn a number of short melodies already reconstructed in accordance with their Ming dynasty tablature. These pieces introduce qin playing techniques and early melodic styles. The historical and cultural associations of the melodies are discussed (the melodies were created by the same class of people who produced Chinese poetry, literature and fine art), and there is analysis of the principles of historically informed performance.

This method enables people to learn without having to read or speak Chinese. The tablature system, although complex, is sufficiently limited in scope that the symbols can easily be deciphered by people who, because they can execute the movements from memory, already know what the symbols mean.

Once a sufficient level of play has been mastered, freedom of interpretation is encouraged, as well as the creation of new pieces either within or beyond the early styles as presently understood. Advanced members may also attempt their own reconstructions.

Until the 1970s qin melodies were played almost exclusively on qins with silk strings. Since silk strings require different playing techniques than do the metal strings in common use today, HIP requires playing early melodies exclusively on silk string qins.

Efforts will be made to help students find qins appropriate for play with silk strings.
 

Beginning repertoire

For the first melody, which is rather like an exercise, several different versions are learned. All other pieces are learned according to their earliest surviving publication. Early versions of familiar melodies have significant differences from versions played today. Comparing them can give insights into early qin styles, so even students with previous qin experience should begin here.

Although knowledge of written or spoken Chinese is not a requirement for learning, qin players should at least be able to pronounce correctly Romanized Chinese (pinyin). The first five melodies can be sung in Chinese; the notation provided includes the translated lyrics, pronunciation in pinyin (the Chinese Romanization system), and the original Chinese characters. The singing of melodies before playing them serves both as a memory aid for the melodies, and (where necessary) as a tool for learning the Romanization system.

Typical beginning melodies include:

1. Caoman Yin (操縵引 Strum Silk Prelude) and its descendent
   Xianweng Cao (仙翁操 Melody of the Transcendent Venerable One)
   Xianweng Cao is the first melody I learned. Comparing it to various versions in Ming dynasty handbooks shows change and continuity in the repertoire. All the versions are good exercises in the form of melodies, and several are to be played until the basics are learned.

2. Xiangfei Yuan (湘妃怨 Lament of the Xiang River Concubines)
   This is learned according to the version in Taigu Yiyin (1511). The melody is closely related to the Xiangjiang Yuan (Xiang River Lament) played today. The lyrics printed in at least one edition of the modern version are almost the same as here, but it is rarely sung.

3. Wenjun Cao (文君操 Wenjun Melody)
   This is played according to the version in Fengxuan Xianpin (1539). Sima Xiangru (179-113 BCE) is said to have seduced Zhuo Wenjun by singing this.

4. Yangguan Sandie (陽關三疊 Three repetitions of "Yang Pass")
   This is learned from Faming Qinpu (1530). Again, it is similar to the modern version but there are significant differences; e.g., it uses qiliang tuning (raised second and fifth strings) whereas the modern version uses ruibin (raised fifth string). Lyrics expand on a famous poem by Wang Wei.

5. Shanzhong Si Youren (山中思友人 In the Mountains Thinking of an Old Friend)
   Learned from Shen Qi Mi Pu (1425), this melody introduces the huangzhong tuning (raised fifth, lowered first strings). The idea of the piece is similar to that of the modern melody Yi Guren (Thinking of an Old Friend), but the two are melodically unrelated.

6. Zhongqiu Yue (中秋月 Mid Autumn Moon)
   This melody, from Songxianguan Qinpu (1614), is learned rhythmically and then freely. This illustrates my understanding of the rhythmic structure of early qin music; no lyrics.

7. Yin De (隱德 Hidden Virtue) and
   Qiujiang Yebo (秋江夜波 Autumn River Night Anchorage)
   These two related melodies, the former from Shen Qi Mi Pu (1425), the latter from Songxianguan Qinpu (1614), beautifully illustrate changes in the qin repertoire during the Ming dynasty.

After these have been mastered, melodies are selected based on student interest and capability, as well as the teacher's current inspiration.

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Plans include making some short video files of basic techniques.
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2. Dapu 打譜
"Dapu" is suggests reconstructing rather than simply "playing" or "sight-reading" because of the information the tablature omits: the lack of direct information on note values means considerable work needs to be done in order to turn the finger positions and stroke techniques into actual music.
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3. Translating "Historically Informed Performance"
The translation 復古風格演奏 was suggested to me by 中央音樂學院教授余志剛 Prof. Yu Zhigang of the Central Conservatory in Beijing. He has also suggested as another possibility 古風表演 gufeng biaoyan". Before that I was using the expressions fugutan (復古彈, literally, "return-to-antiquity play"), and fugu biaoyan (復古表演 "return-to-antiquity performance"). This issue is discussed further in a footnote under Some Issues in Historically Informed Qin Performance.
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