Xie Juanzi

Qin Shi Bu identifies Xie Juanzi as a man of 魯 Lu, perhaps suggesting the Warring States period. However, it seems more likely that he was a man of the 晉 Jin dynasty from the Lu area of modern Shandong,³ perhaps related to the family that included Xie Kun. Given his joint biography with Liu Juanzi of Qi (next to Lu) this seems to make more sense.

Xie Juanzi's qin called Dragon's Waist (龍腰 Long Yao) is shown in qin illustration 17 of Taiyin Daquanji.

The other qin mentioned below in his biography is one called Green Silk (Lü Qi), the famous qin said in illustration 28 to have belonged to Sima Xiangru.

As for the woman by the river, if she was really 姜北陵之女 the daughter of Jiang Beiling (6335.xxx; 2615.249xxx) that would have meant she was related to Shen Nong, explaining Xie Juanzi's surprise. A melody called 清江引 Qingjiang Yin (18003.94) survives only in Chongxiu Zhenchuan Qinpu.

Other references to Xie Juanzi include:

Zangchunwu Qinpu (1602): says Xie Juanzi wrote Tianfeng Huanpei.
QSCM #1: his monograph 琴心三篇 Qin Xin Sanpian, also attributed to Juanzi.
QSDQ Folio 17, #5: biographical note mentioning three-string qin

The original biography in Qin Shi Bu is as follows.

Xie Juanzi, a man of Lu, had a qin called Dragon's Waist. The qin's waist had in it the shape of a half-moon. Its three strings were like the sound of seven strings. Once when wandering in Huai he played the qin by the river. Here he met a woman carring a small qin named Green Silk. She then played a melody with 非常俗 an other-worldly sound. Juanzi exclaimed to her, 姜北陵之女 Daughter of Jiang Beiling! Thus he received the melody Qingjiang Yin.

. ⁴

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1 謝涓子 Bio/xxx; 36661.xxx. The sources given in Qin Shi Bu for both Xie Juanzi and Liu Juanzi are the Ming dynasty compendium 廣博物志 Guangbowu Zhi (as also with #16), and 琴疏 Qin Shu (perhaps the Gu Qin Shu by Yu Ruming; there is also an anonymous Gu Qin Shu). (Return)

2 5 lines; 4 of them for Xie Juanzi. (Return)

3 Confucius was from 魯 Lu (Return)

4 (Return)

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