Additional Commentary ¹
John Thompson

The 38 melodies of Taigu Yiyin are arranged according to a supposed chronology rather than by mode. Little mention is made of mode. In fact, all pieces use standard tuning except three:²

As with Zheyin Shizi Qinpu, this handbook consists of pieces with lyrics. However, they seem more genuinely to represent a sung tradition, as is discussed in the preface by Zha Fuxi. And whereas no earlier source for the Zheyin lyrics has been found,³ most lyrics here can be found in classical sources. These include two from the Shi Jing and at least 20 from the Song dynasty edition of the Yuefu Shiji, including all ten qin pieces of the Tang poet Han Yu.

The foreword by Zhang Peng covers two double pages, but it is missing the top half of the first; the bottom half reads as though the top half included information such as who Xie Lin's teacher was, what pieces he had studied and what tablature he had worked with, adding that Xie improved upon these materials. It goes on to say that this included (tablature for?) the famous poem by Han Yu about hearing a monk play Guangling San, and from hearing this sort of music the author realized the greatness of qin. Zhang told Xie that the experience was like going to heaven and hearing its music, that it must also be like the missing Shao music (of Emperor Shun), and that all music should have been like this. Having this experience allowed him to understand Tao Yuanming's opinion that those who understood qin didn't need actually to put on the strings and play, and he realized that common people would not understand this. Xie Lin agreed with this analysis. However, although it was true that if people had this understanding there would be no need to pass on tablature and pluck the strings, such tablature could also allow the music to improve even more and also allow beginners to learn it, so how could we not hope that the tablature not continue to be available?

The foreword by He Xu (included at the end) includes a poem (fu) about the qin. In introducing the fu he writes that his friend Xie Lin (謝雪峰 Xie Xuefeng) came from a good family and had a good appearance. (So?) when he started devoting himself to qin -- collecting books, playing qin music, and spending a lot of time in his studio going over the materials -- He Xu wondered why Xie was so interested in qin instead of in more popular instruments like the zheng zither and yu mouth organ. Later, however, the famous poet Huangdun (Cheng Minzheng) appreciated Xie's play so much that he wrote the calligraphy Tai Gu Yi Yin, the famous painter Shitian (Shen Zhou) was inspired to make paintings for Xie Lin and give them to Xie, and other scholars also wrote poems of encouragement. After this He Xu realized that his original opinion had been wrong. His appreciation of qin became so deep that he wrote the fu which follows his foreword.

The afterword by He Zhuang says basically that there is a lot of phony music around, but this is the real thing.

On the third page, just before the sketch presumably of Xie Lin, is a comment that the preceding explanation finger techniques is designed for beginners, so it does not include all the techniques to be found in the book.

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. This commentary supplements that in the prefaces by Zha Fuxi (later edited by Wu Zhao).
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2. Tuning and Mode in Taigu Yiyin
As mentioned above, the 38 melodies of Taigu Yiyin are arranged according to a supposed chronology rather than by mode, with little mention made of mode. In fact, all pieces use standard tuning except three:

1. Chu Ge
   Indicates tuning: raise second and fifth strings (2 4 5 6 1 2 3)
2. Zhaojun Yuan
   Indications tuning: lower first, raise fifth (1 3 5 6 1 2 3)
3. Yangguan Qu
   Tuning method not indicated (raise second and fifth strings: 2 4 5 6 1 2 3)

As for the actual music, the modes seem to be used much as they are in other early Ming handbooks (see Modality in early Ming qin tablature).
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3. The instrumental nature of most of the music suggests the possibility that the lyrics were added because of a theory that qin music should be sung, but that in fact no one sang these pieces.
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Return to the annotated handbook list or to the Guqin ToC.