1. Huo Lin (Captured Unicorn)
   A unicorn is captured at Da Ye, near Qufu. This is thought to be a lucky omen, indicating a good prince is at hand, but Confucius reveals that in fact it was unlucky, because no such prince is at hand. (Illustration)

2. Yi Lan (Lonely Orchid)
   Confucius, after being rejected at many courts, returns home to Lu. He finds a lovely orchid alone in a field, and compares it with himself. (Illustration)

3. Nanxun Ge (Song of Southern Breezes)
   Nanfeng Ge, in Kongzi Jiayu,³ says,
   The breezes coming from the south are mild;
   They can solve my people's worries.
   The breezes coming from the south are timely;
   They can bring abundance to my people's property.

4. [Wen Wang] Si Shun ([Wen Wang] Thinks of Shun); also called Wen Wang Cao (Wen Wang's Melody)
   The Shi Ji writes that Confucius learned Wen Wang Cao from Shi Xiang. (Illustration)

5. Wen Wang Qu (Wen Wang's Tune)
   Lyrics are poems 236, 237 and 238 in the Shi Jing, by tradition compiled by Confucius.

6. Jiang Gui Cao (About to Return Melody)
   Confucius, on his way to Jin, hears an advisor there has been executed, so he returns home. (Illustration)

7. Guishan Cao (Turtle Mountain Melody)
   Confucius leaves the city and thinks of this mountain because the duke of Lu has accepted a gift of dancing girls from Qi, and is ignoring his official duties. (Illustration)

8. Yasheng Cao (Melody of the Secondary Sage)
   This piece invokes Yan Hui, the favorite student of Confucius. Yan Hui was also known as Yasheng, secondary sage.

9. Xing Tan (Apricot Tree Forum, or Ginkgo Tree Forum)
   Xing Tan is said to be the place in Qu Fu where Confucius taught his students. (Illustrations)

10. Mingde Yin with
11. Kongsheng Jing
    Musical setting of The Great Learning and a commentary by Zhu Xi; used for Confucian ceremonies?

12. Pei Lan (Orchid Ornament)
    According to Confucius Household Sayings, Confucius said that when you first go into a room you notice whether the smell is good or bad, but after a while you get used to it; so a good person should always find good surroundings. An orchid worn at the belt symbolizes this. (There is also a Chu Ci reference.)

13. Xue Chuang Ye Hua (Evening Talk by a Snowy Window)
    The sung version (1539) has a Confucian text; I play the purely instrumental version, which is more about snow itself

14. You Lan (Lonely Orchid)
    Same theme as #2 Yi Lan, but unrelated melodies (there are several versions).

15. Shiba Xueshi Deng Yingzhou (18 Scholars Ascend Yingzhou)
    The lyrics concern the role of the Hanlin Academy

16. Sheng De Song (Hymn of Grand Moral Virtue)
    The lyrics of this melody quote or paraphrase many Confucian principles

17. Moufu Kuang Jun (Moufu Admonishes his Lord)
    This melody, also called Qizhao Shi (Good Advice Poem, from the Zuo Zhuan; Watson, p.167) concerns 祭公謀父 Duke Moufu of Zhai (on Yellow River north of Zhengzhou, Henan) giving good Confucian advice to an early Zhou king.

18. San Cai Yin (Three Talents Intonation)
    The version in Japan is a setting from the Doctrine of the Mean, Chapter 26.

19. Da Zai Yin (Hail Greatness Intonation)
    The version in Japan is a setting from the Doctrine of the Mean, Chapter 27.

1. Confucius plays qin while teaching students
The above painting is by 白雲立 Bai Yunli. For further images of Confucius see also:

The above listed images are copyrighted here. On the internet there are many other images of Confucius playing the qin.
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2. Later melodies on the theme of Confucius
Melodies with a Confucian theme that I have not yet tried to reconstruct were mostly published beginning in the Qing dynasty. Here are some comments:

1. 韋編 Wei Bian (Leather Bindings)
   44069.176 韋編 wei bian quotes 朱熹 Zhu Xi; 44069.177 韋編三絕 weibian sanjue quotes 孔子世家 Kongzi Shijia in the 史記 Annals of History. There the relevant story is as follows (translation by Yang, p.22):

   "In his old age Confucius loved to study the Book of Changes, the order of the hexagrams, definitions, appendices, interpretations, explanations and commentaries. He studied this book so much that the leather thongs binding the wooden strips wore out three times. "Give me a few years more," he said, "and I shall become quite proficient!"

   Zha Guide lists Wei Bian as only in 琴書千古 Qinshu Qian'gu (1738), where it has 7 sections and no commentary or lyrics. A recording by Yue Ying called Leather Bindings Broken Thrice (韋編三絕 Weibian Sanjue) is identified on the CD only as from 抄本琴譜 hand copied tablature; and the recording is transcribed in Guqin Quji, Vol. 1, p. 265ff, where its source is identified only as 賈闊峰傳譜 tablature transmitted by Jia Kuofeng, who was Le Ying's teacher. However, commentary on p. 10 says the melody was in the hand-copied 1738 handbook, adding that it does not appear in any historical printed handbooks. It goes on to say the theme is the same as that of Kongzi Du Yi of 1739 (see next), but that the melodies are unrelated. (In fact the Du Yi of 1739 and the unrelated Kongzi Duyi of 1876 both seem to be unrelated to this Weibian Sanjue). Meanwhile, the transcription of Weibian Sanjue divides the melody into only three sections, and so without seeing the 1738 tablature for Wei Bian it is not possible to know exactly how they are related.

2. 讀易 Du Yi (Reading the Yi Jing)
   Zha's Guide lists five handbooks from 1739, giving Confucius Reading the Yi Jing (孔子讀易 Kongzi Du Yi) as an alternate title. However, the introductions to Du Yi do not mention Confucius, and the version called Kongzi Du Yi, in 1876, is an altogether different melody. The version in 1739 is in yu mode (羽音 yuyin), with four titled sections and an afterword. Although from the title it would seem that the theme of Du Yi might be similar to that of Wei Bian and Kongzi Du Yi, the original Du Yi afterword speaks of a friend 秋夜讀易 reading the Yi Jing aloud on an autumn evening, the sound inspiring the writer to create this melody (see also du shu sheng). Du Yi thus should probably not be included in a program with a Confucian theme, though Kongzi Du Yi could be so included.

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3. Confucius' Household Sayings (孔子家語 Kongzi Jiayu)
See under Confucius: a collection of stories attributed to Confucius but most probably dating from the Han dynasty. Quoted variously on this site: see especially the six selections from four books.
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