Both the 1539 Dao Yi Qu and the musically unrelated present 1589 melody, Dao Yi, have lyrics. The first Dao Yi without lyrics is the version of the present melody published in 1634. However, there is still the possibility that instrumental versions existed prior to the ones with lyrics, with lyrics added later (and the melody presumably modified accordingly); see also below. Exploring this possibility should begin with a comparison of the 1589 version with the early versions without lyrics that followed it.

Versions of the qingshang melody are often attributed to "Pan Tingjian of the Tang dynasty", a person who has not yet been identified.⁶ Although usually called simply Dao Yi, they are also often called Autumn Waters Melody (Qiushui Nong⁷) and occasionally Autumn Waters Melody (Qiuchu Nong⁸). Other thematically related titles can also be found in some old melody lists, including Hearing Pounding on an Autumn Evening (Qiuye Wen Zhen).⁹ Nothing is known of the music that was associated with the earlier titles.

As for versions of the present qingshang mode melody, although Zha groups them together with the earlier Dao Yi Qu, the two have no apparent musical relationship. And whereas the earlier song occurs only in 1539, versions of this later melody can be found in at least 23 handbooks from 1589 to the present.¹⁰ Qingshang tuning is the same as guxian: from standard tuning raise the 2nd, 4th and 7th strings half a tone each. Interestingly, Dao Yi shares at least one interesting motif with what is perhaps the most famous guxian melody, Qiu Hong.¹¹

Also, although this later melody is unrelated musically to the 1539 Dao Yi Qu, it uses the 1539 lyrics as lyrics for its Sections 11 and 12, with a short addition in the middle. At least five later handbooks use a version of these longer lyrics. Nevertheless, even these versions with lyrics may work also as instrumental melodies, and it is difficult to say how their being paired with lyrics affected the melodies.¹²

There has been some suggestion that the qingshang melody has the flavor of flower drum songs (huagu ge) from northwest China (Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces in particular).¹³ However, to my knowledge no one other than myself has reconstructed any of the early versions of the qingshang mode version, something that would be necessary if one is either to confirm this historically or possibly shed light on early forms of huagu ge. From its current rhythms it is difficult to imagine the modern version sung with lyrics, in particular lyrics such as those of 1589 that are paired according to the standard pairing method. (See below for some specific comments on pairing notes with the note runs at the beginning of several sections.)

Further on pairing: the modern interpretation of the note runs at the beginning of several sections is to play them as individual notes rather than as a quick run. In 1589 these notes are not paired against characters, suggesting they may well have been played quickly rather than as individual notes. However, in my recording I play them as a slow note run (further).

The version of this title most commonly played today is a descendant of the qingshang version found in the Mei'an Qinpu (1931).¹⁴ There are several recordings available.

There is also yet another surviving Dao Yi melody. It uses huangzhong tuning (from standard tuning lower the first string and raise the fifth), has eight sections and has been transcribed as played by Long Qinfang¹⁵ from the "Qianshi Shicao", a handbook dated from 1880.¹⁶

The tablature in the 1589 edition is clearly written with few obvious errors. However, the tablature style at the time causes some problems with potential non-pentatonic notes, in particular the fact that in this handbook positions between the hui are indicated only as "half"; problems with this are mentioned elsewhere. Note also that for some reason in the 1609 edition called Qinpu Hebi the final three lines of Section 9 have completely different tablature from that of the 1589 edition. The 1589 version is odd but playable; the 1609 seems to be garble.

As with Daoyi Qu there are some copying errors that complicate interpretation of this melody.

Preface ¹⁷
The original preface in Yang Lun Taigu Yiyin is as follows

The poem quoted in the middle is Chamber Lament (閨怨 Gui Yuan) by 王昌齡 Wang Changling (ca.690 - ca.756). The full poem is:
          閨中少婦不知愁，春日凝妝上翠樓。忽見陌頭楊柳色，悔教夫婿覓封侯。

Music (Timings follow my recording 聽錄音) ¹⁸
The melody in Yang Lun Taigu Yiyin is arranged into 12 sections; sections 1 and 8 are in harmonics. The original titles are as follows: (thanks to 孫小青 Sun Xiaoqing for helping read the original text; these section titles were not included in the 1609 edition, and presumably for this reason they were also not copied in the Zha Guide)

As preludes one might first listen to Qingshang Diao and Dao Yi Qu

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Pounding Cloth (搗衣 Dao Yi)
This tablature is #28 in Yang Lun Taigu Yiyin (QQJC VII/129ff).
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2. Qingshang Mode (清商調 Qingshang Diao)
The relative tuning for this mode, 6 1 2 3 5 6 1 , is achieved either by raising the 2nd, 4th and 7th strings, or lowering 1st, 3rd, 5th and 6th strings. The tuning is introduced under Shenpin Guxian Yi. Another name is Jiazhong. I do not know of any studies attempting to make modal distinctions within this tuning.

Qingshang Modal Prelude (清商調 Qingshang Diao) (QQJC VII/217)
The 1609 version of Zhenchuan Zhengzong Qinpu includes a melody called Qingshang Diao. Although the title does not directly indicate it is a modal prelude (no "意 yi"), it clearly is one. In 1609 it comes before the melody Feiming Yin, so one might think it is intended as a modal prelude for that piece, but to me it combines better with Dao Yi, not only for melodic reasons but also because it is a 琴歌 qin song with lyrics appropriate to both the 1539 Dao Yi Qu and the 1589 Dao Yi.

This melody was not in 1589 edition, which makes its intention even more problematic. Zha Guide 30/236/442 lists it in four handbooks:

This melody, except last line, is actually much like 1549b, with a few notes added so the lyrics fit by normal pairing. The lyrics, which seem to appear here for the first time (comment), are (not yet translated):

Note the mention in the last line of block and club (砧杵 zhenchu), also mentioned in both the 1539 Dao Yi Qu as well as the present Dao Yi. This, in addition to the actual music, suggests that perhaps these lyrics, and thus the prelude itself, might better relate to Dao Yi than the 1609 Fei Ming Yin (which also has lyrics). A pestle is a kind of club (see Qiuchu Nong as well as the illustration above).
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3. Image of Pounding Cloth (搗衣圖)
This image seems to show ladies, as part of a process of preparing silk, pounding the thread or cloth to soften the fiber: they apparently are not washing it. The image is part of a longer scroll with the short title 搗練圖 Dao Lian Tu. Daolian today means "engaged in work", but "lian" originally referred to raw unfinished silk, hence the title "Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk". The painting has three panels showing Tang dynasty ladies performing several household tasks related to sericulture. This one is on the right side of the painting. The original, attributed to the Tang dynasty painter 張萱 Zhang Xuan (fl. 714–742), is lost; the present painting, attributed to Song emperor Huizong, is in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
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4. Rough fiber
Hemp (葛布 gebu) is not specificially mentioned; section 7 says something about material (not yet translated). My thanks to 李恨冰 Li Henbing for this suggestion as well as for other help with various other aspects of this page.
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5. The singer
Compare Mulberry Lane, where the singer brags of her powerful husband. Note also that images in literati paintings of fishermen usually show them as gentlemen leisurely lounging on a boat. Or images such as that of the woodcutter Ziqi listening to Boya play qin (q.v.).
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6. Pan Tingjian 潘廷堅 (or 潘庭堅)
Commentary in Yang Lun Taiyu Yiyin begins, "按斯曲，乃唐人潘廷堅所作....As for this melody, it is by Pan Tingjian of the Tang dynasty"(QQJC VI). This name, as well as the name 潘庭堅, also pronounced Pan Tingjian but written with a different "ting", is often mentioned in the melody introductions, but none of the compilers seems to have made any effort to identify who this person might have been.

Regarding the first, Pan Tingjian (潘廷堅 Bio/xxx; 18737.xxx), I have not been able to find any information about anyone of this name, whether or not from the Tang dynasty. 9792.77 廷堅 Tingjian is given as a style name or nickname for several people, but none with the surname 潘 Pan. (Note that it is a later usage for 唐人 3714.3 simply to mean "Chinese person".)

As for the second Pan Tingjian (潘庭堅 Bio/2527; 18737.132), although some later versions make the attribution to him, these still say he is Tang dynasty, and so far the only relevant historical records I have found to anyone of this latter name are to two people from the 12th to 14th centuries. One is a 潘庭堅 Pan Tingjian (18737.132), 字叔聞 style name Shuwen, said to be Yuan/Ming; there is some evidence that this Pan, a scholar associated with Zhu Yuanzhang, may have played qin but there is nothing to connect him to this melody or the lyrics. The other reference is to a Pan Fang 潘牥 18737.98 (Bio/2519), style name 庭堅 Tingjian, but his dates are 1205-1246 and, though a scholar official, is not credited in the bio entries with any music or poetry. (9553.58 庭堅 Tingjian has no one else named Pan.)
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7. Autumn Waters Melody (秋水弄 Qiushui Nong; also Qiu Shui Nong; compare Qiuchu Nong)
Qiushui Nong, in addition to being an alternate title for later Dao Yi, has also been used as an alternate title for the musically unrelated 1549 version of Yueshang Cao (the one using guxian tuning, not the version using standard tuning). There may be more justification for this as an alternate title here than there, as the words 秋水 qiu shui can be found both in introductions and lyrics for Dao Yi.

Qiu Shui is also listed as the name of a melody in five handbooks beginning with the Huiyan Mizhi (1647), where it is said to have as an alternate title Shenhua Qu, mentioned here under Shenhua Yin.

Nevertheless, 25505.27 秋水 qiu shui, although it has many meanings, none is related to any of the themes here. 25505.28 to .36 also seem to have no connection.
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8. Qiuchu Nong 秋杵弄 (Autumn Pestle Melody)
25505.xxx A 杵 chu is specifically a pestle (club) used for pounding cloth; see block and club. To my knowledge his title is not found in any of the old melody lists.
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9. Qiuye Wen Zhen 秋夜聞砧 On an Autumn Evening Hearing Pounding (on Stone)
This melody (25505.134xxx; 29749.xxx), the title of which may refer to cloth being pounded, seems to survive only in the same early Ming melody list mentioned above. Could it be related to one of the Dao Yi?
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10. Tracing 搗衣 Dao Yi and 搗衣曲 Daoyi Qu)
Zha Guide 15/162/356 combines both, though the first, the Daoyi Qu published in 1539 (shang mode; one section; see above), is in fact musically unrelated to the rest (mostly called Dao Yi but also Qiushui Nong and Qiuchu Nong (qingshang mode; some with lyrics; all in 12 sections).

The Zha Guide entry has Dao Yi surviving in 21 handbooks from 1589 up through 1931 (Mei'an Qinpu), with six having lyrics. It seems to have been particularly popular in the 19th century. Zha lists the first twelve as follows:

1. 1589; QQJC VII/129 (attributed to "唐人潘廷堅 Pan Tingjian of the Tang dynasty" - see below)
   12 sections, all titled and with lyrics; "即秋水弄 same as Qiushui Nong"; see "1589 preface" plus "1589 music and lyrics"
   Although this melody is unrelated to that of Daoyi Qu, the lyrics of Sections 11 and 12 are the same as those of the 1539 melody, adding a short section in the middle (q.v.).
2. 1623; QQJC VIII/438; Zha Guide: "two versions, the second called Qiu Shui Nong", but I cannot find it
   12 sections, untitled but with same lyrics and music as 1589; preface shorter, but has same attribution as 1589 and also says "即秋水弄 same as Qiushui Nong". On the other hand, the lyrics and music are paired inaccurately: elsewhere if there is a cluster calling for two right hand strokes there will be two characters paired: here only one character is paired, with the result that at the end of most sections there are a number of characters with no lyrics paired against them.
3. 1634; QQJC IX/353
   12 sections; no commentary or lyrics. Related to 1589 but quite different; some parts seem closer to the modern version.
4. 1647; QQJC X/211
   12 sections; called 秋杵弄 Qiuchu Nong, "same as Dao Yi"; no commentary
5. 1692; not in QQJC
   Same as 1647
6. 1670; QQJC XI/432
   12 sections; called 秋杵弄 Qiuchu Nong, "same as Dao Yi"; afterword
   Brief comments at front say "據梧唐藏本 based on Wutang volume" and "唐潘庭堅作，叙征婦怨也 by Pan Tingjian of Tang; relates the lament of a wife". (Note character for "Ting" but still said to be from Tang)
7. 1722; QQJC XIV/571
   12 sections; preface as 1589; lyrics also as 1589, but placed at end and don't match the tablature
8. 1760; QQJC XVI/274
   12 sections; "錢塘項尹周傳 as transmitted by Xiang Yinzhou of Qiantang"; comment at end says "别有詞 has lyrics elsewhere"; this handbook has two versions but the second, which has the lyrics (slightly modified from 1589), is missing from this QQJC edition
9. 1760; QQJC XVII/193
   12 sections; no commentary
10. 1802; QQJC XVII/505
    12 sections; no commentary
11. 1833; QQJC XXIII and facsimile reprint folio 4
    12 sections; afterword
12. 1833; QQJC XXI
    12 sections; Zha Guide 359 says "lyrics as 1589" but on p. (197) 155 does not mention them

Later versions not yet examined. Note that the melody of this title published in 1893 also has lyrics (in sections rather different from the above); I do not know anything about the melody.

The version in Meian Qinpu (1931) and the more recently discovered Longyinguan Qinpu (1799?) is discussed further below. Regarding the versions (also) called Qiushui Nong see below as well as Zha's Guide 15/162/356. There is considerable variety among the versions of this melody, but they all seem to be related and many prefaces have the same attribution to Pan Tingjian.
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11. Shared motif with Qiu Hong
This 7-note motif ( 6 6 1 1̅ 2 1 1̅ ) is hinted at in Dao Yi 1589 Section 1 (end) then occurs in its full form at the end of Sections 8 and 12 (end of piece).
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12. Pairing lyrics and music: how did they influence each other?
The origins of qin melodies is a major unanswered question. Sometimes they are called "compositions", as though specifically written by a single person. Most surviving tablature probably reflects melodies evolved through play by one or more masters, over time, then were transcribed, and if popular often revised, by masters or students. Mention has been made above of the idea that Dao Yi has its origins in flower drum songs. The 1589 version, with lyrics, seems (from my own attempts at reconstruction) as though it could be primarily an instrumental melody, with lyrics added later. But how was the pairing actually done? The standard pairing method reminds one of the pairing of ci lyrics. And just as pairing according to ci patterns might be done impromptu at an elegant gathering, perhaps the same could have been done with Dao Yi. On the other hand, could someone have improvised such music to fit the lyrics? To evaluate such possibilies one must take into account the fact that in some places the pairing of words and music seems quite awkward, and the quality of the lyrics may not be particularly high. In addition, quite likely there would have been modifications made during the process of writing the result down.

Several specific aspects of the melody may be relevant here. First, the lyrics of Sections 11 and 12 of the 1589 edition can be found in the melodically unrelated version of 1539, perhaps suggesting that the lyrics came first. In addition, several sections include couplets structured 7+7x2: was this inspired by some aspect of the music in those spots? For some of these the music seems to form a corresponding musical couplet, but for others this is not so evident. Furthermore, the awkward connection of lyrics and music in certain places, in particular with the note runs at the beginning of Sections 2 and 9, perhaps suggests that the lyrics were at least in some places rather casually paired to the music: if it was the music being created for existing lyrics, one might expect a better pairing. Or perhaps this suggests that the 1589 version was created by modifying pre-existing versions of either the music, or lyrics, or both.

The modern interpretation of the note runs at the beginning of several sections (e.g. Section 1: 拂一至六) is generally to play them as individual notes rather than as a quick run: this is quite uncommon today. If in an early version these individual notes were each paired to a word, this might explain how this custom arose. However, in Sections 2 and 9 of the 1589 edition (as well as the others with lyrics that I have been able to examine) these notes are not clearly paired against characters: the pairing in some cases suggests no words on a note run, in other cases one or two words; in no case is there a word for each note.

This whole issue requires further research.
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13. Flower Drum Songs (花鼓歌 Huagu Ge)
The commentary on this that I have seen is 嚴曉星，《「搗衣」作者潘庭堅考》，發表於2010年第6期《書品》, which quotes correspondence with 李楓 Li Feng). It in particular suggests that this melody as played in Mei'an Qinpu has the flavor of flower drum songs.
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14. Dao Yi in Mei'an Qinpu
There is extensive discussion and a transcription (without tablature) in Fredric Lieberman, A Chinese Zither Tutor, p.131ff. It translates the Mei'an afterword (not in Zha Guide), which describes the woman thinking of her 親人 husband/lover "河畔搗衣時 while pounding cloth by the river". This has led some commentators to interpret "pounding clothes" as washing them in the river. The proto-Meian Longyinguan Qinpu (1799?) has a nearly identical version as its 8th melody; no commentary.
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15. Dao Yi in Huangzhong Mode
A transcription of this melody as played by 龍琴舫 Long Qinfang is in Guqin Quji I, pp.260－264 (commentary on p.9). There is also a recording of this version. It is said to follow the version of 錢壽占 Qian Shouzhan as found in his handbook Qianshi Shi Cao (next footnote).
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16. 10 Melodies of Mr. Qian (錢氏十操 Qianshi Shicao, 1880)
This is presumably the same handbook as the Qin Handbook of Qian Shouzhan, 10 Melodies (錢壽佔琴譜十操 Qian Shouzhan Qinpu Shicao published in 2010). Note that 錢壽佔 Qian Shouzhan is written 錢壽占 with the Dao Yi in Guqin Quji (see previous footnote) and 錢綬詹 in Xu Jian's Outline History (see under Tianwen'ge Qinpu).
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17. Original preface
The original Chinese preface is:

Not yet translated
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18. 1589 Dao Yi section titles and lyrics
These lyrics (not yet translated) are paired to the tablature by the standard pairing method in all 12 sections. These lyrics are as follows (note inserts of 7x4 poems in sections 7, 8, 9 and 10; there are more in sections 11 and 12, which seem to have been taken from 1539 Dao Yi Qu, except as noted):

To my knowledge there are have been no recordings or transcriptions of this 1609 version other than my own.
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