"Silk Road" is the name given to a variety of trade routes entering and leaving China from the deserts to its north and west. Along with trade came cultural exchange, but Chinese literati culture has little mention of this.¹ Instead, north and central Asia generally evoked loneliness, desolation and fear. The qin melodies connected to this area all reflect this attitude.

As with Chu, most melodies associated with this region share certain modal characteristics: use of the tuning 1 3 5 6 1 2 3 (from standard tuning lower the first string and raise the fifth). This mode is usually called Huang Zhong (Yellow Bell), but also Wu Yi and Ying Zhong. Li Ling Si Han doesn't use this tuning, but it has similar modal characteristics and still calls the tuning Huang Zhong. Yangguan Sandie, which does not mention nomads, uses a tuning more associated with the Chu region.

1. Da Hujia (1425); Cai Wenji abducted by nomads
       A melodically unrelated version called Hujia Shibapai, published in 1597, is set to the lyrics attributed to Wenji herself.
2. Xiao Hujia (1425); same as previous.
3. Longshuo Cao (1425, also called Zhaojun Yuan); Wang Zhaojun married off to nomads
4. Huangyun Qiusai (1425); later versions also connect this to Wang Zhaojun
5. Li Ling Si Han (1549); Li Ling captured by nomads
6. Han Jie Cao (1549); Su Wu also captured by nomads
7. Yangguan Sandie: The earliest surviving version mentions places on a trip west from Weicheng (near Chang'an, modern Xi'an) to Yang Guan (near Dunhuang): Mount Wu (western Shanxi), Shatou and Anxi (both Gansu). Tuning: 2 4 5 6 1 2 3.

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1 The main exception to this is Buddhist matters. Although many Chinese rulers and literati were Buddhists, the religion was often considered foreign and therefore unacceptable. Only one qin melody with a Buddhist theme survives in tablature dating from before 1875. (Return)

 
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