Meihua Sannong is one of the most popular of all qin melodies, surviving in at least 50 handbooks from 1425 to 1961.⁴ It is also one of the three melodies in SQMP to have survived in a recognizable form (i.e., not by dapu) into the modern repertoire (the others being #6 Liu Shui and #53 Xiao Xiang Shui Yun). The beginning of the SMQP version is quite similar to that of the modern version, but the second half is quite different.⁵

References to Mei Hua as a melody can be found as early as the Jin dynasty (4th century), but the title is not included in surviving music title lists until the Song dynasty.⁶

The earliest source for the Meihua story is Shishuo Xinyu, ⁷ a collection of stories giving much insight into behavior of the times. It mentions Huan Yi⁸ and Wang Ziyou,⁹ both famous 4th century literati; Huan was said to be the best-known musician of his day, while Wang (original name Wang Huizhi) was well known as a recluse. The purpose of the story is to show how such illustrious people could meet each other in a natural way, not requiring the formal introductions common in those days. The earliest versions of the story related here do not actually mention "meihua", only "sannong" (three playings); and Wang Ziyou is said to have been on a boat.

Melodies of this name are found in the repertoire of many instruments, not just the qin and flute. Two poems by Li Bai mention Mei Hua as a flute melody. Some later qin handbooks say that Huan Yi created the melody for flute and/or that Yan Shigu¹⁰ adapted it for the qin. Yan Shigu was a well-known 7th century scholar not otherwise associated with qin, though he wrote about music. However, these attibutions should be seen merely as poetic evocations of how a melody came into the qin repertoire. Perhaps Huan Yi was the first person to popularize a flute melody about plum blossoms, but it is an obvious anachronistic error to think Huan Yi "composed" the original melody; likewise one could imagine that it must have been someone like Yan who arranged this and/or some similar melodies for qin, but there is absolutely no supporting evidence that he actually ever did so.

Because the qin melody has survived since 1425 with recognizable features, one can theorize that the basic meihua melodic motifs are retained from considerably earlier sources. However, there is no direct evidence either to support or disprove this.

In addition, although to my knowledge Meihua melodies on other instruments now tend to be related to the qin melodies, it is not possible to say for certain this has always been the case. Today there are many traditional melodies for other instruments that are completely different musically from melodies of the same title for the qin. The fact that this does not seem to be the case with Meihua may again support arguments for the antiquity of the basic Meihua motifs, but at present such argument is largely speculative.

Van Gulik's Lore of the Chinese Lute has an extensive section on the significance of the plum tree and plum blossom in Chinese culture, to the literati in particular. Like the pine tree, it symbolizes strength and longevity; but it also represents creative power, fertility and female beauty. Paintings often show the scholar and his qin near one or more plum trees, or a vase with plum blossoms on his qin table.

One of Zhu Quan's Palace Poems,¹¹ originally published in 1408, mentions Meihua:

The lyrics accompanying the version in Taigu Yiyin are quite interesting, but I have not yet been able to find out the name of the author.

As for the alternate title Yufei Yin, Yufei is a popular word for plum. Plums (like plum blossoms) represent female beauty, fertility and sex; Yufei was also a general nickname for imperial concubines, Yang Guifei in particular. However, there is no evidence to indicate this was a connotation of the alternate title.

There are numerous modern recordings available of Meihua Sannong, perhaps the earliest being the one made by Zha Fuxi at the Library of Congress. However, I know of none other than my own that follows the tablature as found in Shen Qi Mi Pu.

 
Original Preface¹²

The Emaciated Immortal, following Qin Chronicles,¹³ says:

as for this piece, in former days Huan I and Wang Ziyou (Jin dynasty, 4th C. AD) had heard of each other but never become acquainted. One day they met on the road, put down their umbrellas, got off their carts and had a discussion. Wang Ziyou said, "I have heard you are quite good at the di (flute)." Huan Yi took out his di and played the tune Meihua Sannong. Later someone arranged these three repetitions for the qin.

 
Music
Ten sections¹⁴ :

(00.00) 01. Evening moon over mountains and streams ¹⁵
(00.51) 02. First nong: Calling the moon; the sound penetrates the great mist
(01.26) 03. Second nong: Threading clouds; sounds penetrate the clouds
(01.59) 04. The green bird calls to the soul (of Chang E; "actually, the sound of reading"¹⁶)
(02.41) 05. Third nong: River crossing;¹⁷ from across the river comes a (long) sigh
(03.00) 06. Sounds from a jade xiao (end-blown flute)
(03.53) 07. Cool breezes tap against jade (almost the same as Section 4)
(04.21) 08. Sounds from an iron di (flute)
(04.39) 09. Plum blossoms blown by the wind
(05.14) 10. Wanting to finish this but unable to.
(05.52) --- harmonics
(06.04) --- End of modal prelude

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Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Three Repetitions of "Plum Blossoms" (梅花三弄 Meihua Sannong)
Translation of this title is problematic. "Meihua" could be either singular or plural; "nong" literally means "playing". As can be seen in the section titles of the 1425 version, the "playings" of the meihua melody occur in the second, third and fifth sections. There is no information at all on whether this specific meihua melody by itself ever had an existence separate from the overall composition. The common translation "Three Variations on Plum Blossoms" suggests that each time this melody occurs it is different, but in fact, at least in this earliest version, they are all musically identical except for register (therefore the tablature for each must be a bit different). In addition "variations" might suggest that the material between each of the repetitions is or contains some variation on the meihua melody, but this does not seem to be the case.

Regarding early references:
15223.78 梅花三弄 "national melody, same as Sanluo (10.1491 三落 no further info); also called Sanliuban (10.186x 三六板])."
More under 15223.77 to .114, but none mentions the story related here. See also next footnote and Xu Jian, QSCB, Chapter 3.B. (pp.37-9).
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2. Other names
Underneath the title Shen Qi Mi Pu has: "又名梅花引、玉妃吟 Also called Meihua Yin and Yufei Yin"

Note that some handbooks write 玉妃 Yufei (literally: jade wife) as 王妃 Wangfei (literally: king's wife). "Jade wife" ("plum") was apparently also a general word for imperial wife or concubine. Rita Yi (see note in the appendix) points out that a poem Meihua Shi by Su Dongpo mentions Yunü (jade woman, with perhaps the same meaning as yufei) as a loyal concubine of the emperor Dong Hun of Qi (? no characters and 1122-265 BC!).

As for 王妃吟 Wangfei Yin, 21295.436 is only wangfei, defined either as "imperial wife" or as Wang Fei, a Tang dynasty singer and dancer given by 穆宗 Muzong (r. 821-5) to 武宗 Wuzong (r.841-7); when Wuzong died she hanged herself. If "Wang Fei" is not a copy error, then the former seems more likely here, with "imperial wife" referring to Yang Guifei (making it the same as Uufei). It might be added, though, that 宣宗 Xuanzong (r. 847-60) named the Wang Fei mentioned here 賢妃 Xian Fei (Virtuous Wife), presumably because of her suicide.
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3. Gong mode (宮調 gong diao)
For further information on gong mode see Shenpin Gong Yi and Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature.
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4. Tracing Meihua Sannong
Zha's Guide 4/37/50. Details are in the appendix below.

Note that some early Japanese handbooks have a melody entitled 梅花 Mei Hua. Apparently new, it has lyrics by Lin Bu and no melodic relationship with the famous meihua melody. See links below.
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5. Some comparisons of the different versions can be seen in the appendix below.
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6. For example, it is the first melody mentioned under the gong mode in the Taiyin Daquanji list. Other such melody lists are linked under the page Guqin Melodies.
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7. 世說新語 Shishuo Xinyu
A work attributed to 劉義慶 Liu Yiqing (404-444; see also under Wu Ye Ti), it also has a story about Wang Ziyou (see below).
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8. Huan Yi 桓伊
Although a military commander, Huan Yi was also known for his flute playing. 15061.17 says 桓伊，晉，譙國銍人，字叔夏 Huan Yi, from Zhi in Qiao country (north of modern Bengbu, Anhui) during the Jin dynasty, had the style name Shuxia. The entry then relates this story of Huan Yi meeting Wang Ziyou and playing flute, giving Jin History 晉書 as its source (see also next footnote), but it says he played "three melodies 三調, not mentioning Meihua.

Giles, saying Huan was "the most skilled musician of the day", relates not the story here but one in which he played flute and zheng before the Jin emperor Xiao Wu Di, in particular selecting a piece which moved the famous official Xie An, then out of favor, to tears because the lyrics by Cao Zhi expressed the difficulties of an upright official.
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9. Wang Ziyou
This is 21295.1950: 王徽之，字子猷 Wang Huizhi, style name Ziyou; from 會稽 Kuaiji (Shaoxing?). The entry relates story that, when his brother died, Wang tried to play his brother's qin at the grave, but couldn't get it to go in tune. (See also Giles.)
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10. 顏師古 Yan Shigu (581 - 645).
Rita I's M.A. thesis says she could find no connection between Yan Shigu and either qin or Meihua. However, although 44545.111 顏師古 makes no mention of them, Yan Shigu did write some studies of music. A grandson of 顏之推 Yan Zhitui, Yan Shigu was a well-known scholar official. He is discussed in Xu Jian, Chapter 3.B. (p.37). His explanation of hui is quoted elsewhere. He wrote a fu poem called 聖德頌 Sheng De Song but it has no apparent connection to the qin melody.
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11. 宮詞 Gongci; 70 have been collected in 借月山房彙鈔 Jieyueshanfang Huichao. The original poem says: 庭樹園園作翠陰，夜涼清話坐更梁。無端感起閒愁思，彈到梅花月滿琴。
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12. Original preface
For the original Chinese text see 梅花三弄.
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13. Qin Chronicles (琴傳 Qin Zhuan)
It is not certain that this is actually a book or essay title: it could also mean simply "qin traditon". Zhu Quan's sources are problematic here as elsewhere. The book of this title attributed to Liu Xiang is too early.
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14. Music
The original section titles are:

1. 溪山夜月
2. 一弄﹕叫月；聲入太霞
3. 二弄﹕穿雲；聲入雲中
4. 青鳥啼魂（即讀書聲）
5. 三弄﹕橫江；隔江長嘆聲
6. 玉蕭聲
7. 凌風戛玉
8. 鐵笛聲
9. 風蕩梅花
10. 欲罷不能
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15. 溪山 mountains and streams
Or a proper name: 溪山 Xi Shan; 18426.xxx, but modern atlases have a Xi Shan (mountain) southwest of Guangzhou.
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16. It's the Sound of Reading (即讀書聲 ji Dushu Sheng
For 讀書聲 11/460xxx; however, although 36928.23 - .57 has no entry called dushu sheng, .23 du shu includes 讀書聲 du shu sheng in a quote from 李商隱，雜纂，富貴相 Appearance of Wealth and Nobility, from Miscellaneous Notes by Li Shangyin (813?-858).

Some other mentions of this phrase include:

Coming to qin, in addition to the mention of du shu sheng here in Meihua Sannnong this phrase is also applied in the melody Xing Tan to its Section 6. There was also apparently once a setting of Da Xue called Du Shu Sheng, and there are also surviving tablatures for melodies called 讀書引 Du Shu Yin (1730, lyrics) and 讀書吟 Du Shu Yin (2: 1556 and a quite different version in 1590). See also the related comment with Du Yi.

Meihua Sannong Section 7 repeats the music of this section, but it has a different title and does not mention the sound of reading. Later versions of Mei Hua which have this phrase include

• 1547, also as a subtitle to The green bird calls the soul
• ca. 1551, as the title for its Section 6, which has quite different music
• 1557, as with ca. 1551
• 1585, title for section after The green bird calls the soul
• 1589 梅花邊讀易 Reading the Yi Jing by Plum Blossoms (??; not VII/172)
• 1618 聽讀書聲 Listening to the Sound of Reading Books (VIII/183; similar passage)
• 1670 like 1425 (XI/323)
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17. River Crossing (橫江 Heng Jiang)
Hengjiang may also be the name of a river: 15897.30 = 橫江浦 , in Anhui, not far from Huangshan.
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Appendix: Chart Tracing Meihua Sannong;
Based mainly on Zha Fuxi's Guide, 4/37/50.

In addition, many versions of Meihua Sannong were traced and analyzed in:

Abbreviations: QQJC: 琴曲集成 Qinqu Jicheng; QF: 琴府 Qin Fu; T (Section titles): 小標題; L (Lyrics): 歌詞
                         MHSN: 梅花三弄; MHQ: 梅花曲; MHY: 梅花吟; MH: 梅花; YFY: 玉妃引; WFY: 王妃引

琴譜 Qin Handbook   (year; QQJC Vol/page)	曲名 Title	段數目 Sections	解說詞 Further comments
1.  神奇秘譜       (1425; I/122)	MHSN	10T	"also MH, YFY"; Sections 6-10 quite diff from modern version; Section 7 largely repeats 4 but down an octave; Section 8 largely repeats 6 but down an octave;
.  浙音釋字琴譜       (<1491; I/xxx)			See 1585
2. 謝琳太古遺音       (1511; I/284)	MHQ	10TL	Melody recognizable but changed to fit lyrics, e.g., Meihua motif 1st time is "梅花臨水..." (compare 1585) but diff lyrics on the two repeats seem to change the motif itself (comment).
3. 發明琴譜       (1530; I/360)	MHSN	10	Quite similar to 1425 but less punctuation
4. 風宣玄品       (1539; II/74)	MHSN	10T	Quite diff. from 1425
5. 梧岡琴譜       (1546; I/377)	MHY	10T	"Also MHSN"; rather diff. from 1425
6.a. 琴譜正傳        (1561; II/402)	MHSN	12T	?
6.b. 琴譜正傳        (1561; II/406)	MHY	10T	Same as 1546
7. 西麓堂琴統       (1549; III/69)	MHSN	10T	"Also YFY"; more elaborate that 1425; sections diff.
8. 步虛僊琴譜       (1556; III/xxx)	MH	10	Similar to 1425, but splits Sec. 2 in two & omits Sec. 9
9. 太音傳習       (1552-61; IV/35)	MHSN	10T	"also MHY, YFY"; quite diff. from 1425
10. 太音補遺       (1557; III/314)	MHSN	10T
11. 龍湖琴譜       (1571; 琴府/226)	MHSN	10TL
12. 新刊正文對音捷要       (1573; --)	MHSN	12TL	Lyrics related to 1511; same as 1585? (not in QQJC)
13. 五音琴譜       (1579; IV/197)	MHSN	14
14.   重修真傳琴譜       (1585; IV/305)	MHSN	12TL	"Also WFY"; same as 1573? Meihua motif ("梅花臨水...") begins sections 2, 4 and 7 Lyrics related to 1511 but they don't fit 1425 so probably not in <1491
15. 玉梧琴譜       (1589; VI/17)	MHSN	10
16. 琴書大全       (1590; V/471)	MHSN	13
17. 文會堂琴譜       (1596; VI/186)	MH	13
18. 綠綺新聲       (1597; VII/18)	MHSN	13L	Meihua theme lyrics: 時聞鐵笛.... (it uses 梅花臨水 at the beginning of Section 6, different music)
19. 藏春塢琴譜       (1602; VI/311)	MHSN	10	"Also WFY"
20.a 真傳正宗琴譜       (1589; ???)	???		Only in the QQJC 1609 editon, not its 1589 edition, but perhaps it was in other 1589 editions
20.b 真傳正宗琴譜       (1609; VII/172)	MHSN	13	#4 in Boya Xinfa
21. 琴適       (1611; VIII/25)	MHSN	13L	Like 1597
22. 理性元雅     (1618; VIII/183 & 271?)	MHSN	11T	VIII/183 melody and lyrics very similar to 1585 QQJC VIII/271 is Meihua 15 Nong; it has lyrics and seems melodically unrelated
24. 樂仙琴譜       (1623; VIII/373)	MHSN	15	Related
23. 太音希聲       (1625; IX/135)	MHSN	11TL	Meihua theme lyrics begin, 瘦影橫窗....
25. 古音正宗       (1634; IX/283)	MH	10
26. 義軒琴經       (late Ming; IX/401)	MHY	10T
27. 琴苑新傳全編       (1670; XI/323)	MHSN	10T	"Corrected" from 1425?
28. 誠一堂琴譜       (1705; XIII/337)	MHSN	10
. 東皋琴譜       (1709; in XII.2)	MH	1	Subtitled (?) 瑤芳引 Yao Fang Yin: unrelated melody set to lyrics by Lin Bu. See the Japanese handbooks dated ca. 1676 (QQJC XII/199) and 1709 (1898?; QQJC XII/258).
29. 立雪齋琴譜       (1730; XV?)	MHQ
30. 春草堂琴譜       (1744; ?)	MHSN	10
31. 自遠堂琴譜       (1802; XVII/316)	MHSN	10
32. 裛露軒琴譜       (>1802; ?)	MHSN	10	"From 1705; afterword
33. 琴譜諧聲       (1820; ?)	MHSN	10	Includes gongche; afterword
34. 峰抱樓琴譜       (1825; ?)	MHSN	13
35. 琴學軔端       (1828; ?)	MHSN	10
36. 律話       (1833)	MHSN	10	Includes commentary on 律呂 mode plus annotations
37. 悟雪山房琴譜       (1836)	MHSN	13
38. 一經盧琴學       (1845)	MHSN	12	"From 1802; has afterword
39. 琴學尊聞       (1864)	MHSN	10
40. 蕉庵琴譜       (1868)	MHSN	10	Has commentary
41. 天聞閣琴譜       (1876)	MHSN	10	"From 1744"; has 眉批 commentary
42. 希韶閣琴譜       (1878)	MHSN	10	"Also called YFY"; has afterword
43. 綠綺清韻       (1884)	MHSN	12	Has afterword
44. 希韶閣琴瑟合譜       (1890)	MHSN	?	3 sections plus closing section and coda? "tradition of 鐵笛道人 the iron flue Daoist"
45. 枯木禪琴譜       (1893)	MHSN	10	Has preface
46. 琴學初津       (1894)	MHSN	11	Has two afterwords
47. 鳴盛閣琴譜       (1899)	MHSN	10	Has afterword
48. 琴學叢書       (1910; 琴府/968)	MHSN	10	Has rhythmic indications; said to come from printed qin and xiao tablature
49. 山西育才館雅樂講義       (1922)	MHSN	10	Combined edition with flute part, gongche notation "舞胎仙館原定本"
50. 研易習琴齋琴譜       (1961/Folio 1)	MHSN	10	Has commentary
51. 愔愔室琴譜       (2000/ p.149)	MHSN	10	Has gongche and an afterword
52. 虞山吳氏琴譜       (2001/p.16)	MHSN	10	Has staff notation

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