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| Qinshu Cunmu Guqin Melodies Other Qin Books and Tablature | 首頁 |
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Guqin Handbooks
1
An Annotated List |
Volume 1 of Qinqu Jicheng
includes #1-5, 7-12 and 14 |
Qin music is collected in qinpu (qin handbooks). The annotated Catalogue of Qin Books has many that no longer exist, but the ones listed here all do. A few, such as #4 Taiyin Daquanji (see also Other Qin Books and Tablature) have only instructive articles, but most have qin melodies written out in the distinctive qin tablature.
In China in the 1950s Zha Fuxi led a project of locating old qin handbooks, as well as players and instruments. In 1958 the findings were published in his "Guide", and many of these handbooks have since been re-published in the anthology Qinqu Jicheng, several at a time, starting with Vol. I in 1981, and (except for Vol. XV) now up to Vol. XVII.2 (This was in fact a new series, replacing a less complete old series.3) Zha Fuxi intentionally omitted hand-copied books that only included tablature published elsewhere,4 and since then some further handbooks have been discovered,5 In addition there are references to others that may or may not still exist; perhaps most important of these are the early Zhucheng school handbooks.6
The following annotated list includes links for further information about most of the surviving qinpu up through 1590, including ones not in Qinqu Jicheng. The ones on which I have done the most work are also included on a separate list; the other linked volumes here have little more than translations of the prefaces, done hastily while I was examining these later handbooks to compare the melodies with the versions in Shen Qi Mi Pu. None is a finished product.
| Surviving Qin Handbooks （現存琴譜列表） 7 | 古琴目錄 |
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a
separate page)
1.
Guqin handbooks (琴譜 qinpu)
琴譜 21570.191 gives a modern description with example. The earliest reference is 唐書，藝文志 Tang History, Art annals: 劉氏周氏琴譜四卷 Handbook in four Folios of the Liu Family and Zhou Family. The other references are to the Song history and a comment by Pi Rixiu.
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2.
琴曲集成 Qinqu Jicheng (Collection of Qin Melodies) (QQJC)
New series, 中華書局出版發行 Zhonghua Shuju Chuban Faxing, Beijing (Vol. 1 - 8) and Shanghai (Vols 9 - 17, except 15)
Apparently this series was originally planned to reprint all known surviving handbooks in 24 volumes. However, no new volumes have been published since Vol. XVII was printed in 1991, and Vol XV was never completed. What this does mean is that, when put together with handbooks that have been reprinted elsewhere, all qin handbooks up through one of the two published in 1802 have been published in modern editions, with the exception of the following:
These four are among the seven that presumably should have been reprinted in Vol. XV; the other three have subsequently been reprinted elsewhere. Zha's Guide seems to suggest all of these were in the 中央音樂學院 Central Academy of Music.
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3.
琴曲集成 Qinqu Jicheng (Collection of Qin Melodies), Old Series
The old series, also published by Zhonghua Shuju, first appeared in 1963. Apparently just two volumes were planned, but the second volume was never published; it was then superceded by the new series. See details.
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4.
Handbooks Zha Fuxi decided not to index
Zha's Guide Part 4 lists handbooks of which he was aware, but which he did not include in his index. Some were in Taiwan and so not available to him at that time; others were hand-copies with material published elsewhere.
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5.
Handbooks uncovered after Zha's project in the 1950s
These handbooks are marked above as "not indexed". A search for that expression will show that some were discovered in time to be included in Qinqu Jicheng.
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6.
Early 諸城派 Zhucheng School handbooks (Proto-Meian)
These are all discussed together with Meian Qinpu in a footnote to the page on
Longyinguan Qinpu. Zha Guide classifies Meian school players as Zhucheng (see chart of traditional qin schools). Of those listed below I have only seen the first, so cannot comment on the others.
7.
Availability of qin handbooks
As of 2009 most of the existing Qinqu Jicheng (it is missing Vol. X) was available in .pdf format on the website
www.han-people.com (134.5 MB; selecting www.han-people.com/music/guqin_staff.rar should begin an immediate download).
Regarding my list above, volumes included in Qinqu Jicheng or Tong Kin-Woon's Qin Fu are indicated by number. Thus I/2 means this listed handbook is the second one reprinted in QQJC Volume I. QF/2 means the second handbook in Qin Fu.
As for their availability, Qinqu Jicheng (originally planned as 24 volumes) stopped after Volume XVII, but with Volume XV also never published. As a result, it includes most surviving printed qin handbooks through 1802, none later. Although long out of print, Qinqu Jicheng volumes can be found in libraries and as of 2009 all but Volume X was downloadable from the internet in .pdf format (see reference at the bottom of the Wikipedia guqin article).
If one also includes the handbooks published in Tong Kin-Woon's Qin Fu and in the Zhongguo Shudian facsimile editions, discussed below, then the only handbooks through 1802 still unavailable in reprint are:
References to Facsimile Editions
中國書店 Zhongguo Shudian (ZGSD)
Return to the Guqin ToC
A number of qin handbooks are available in facsimile reprint. Most of these are being published by Zhongguo Shudian.
Zhongguo Shudian (China Bookstore) has a shop in Liuli Chang, an area of Beijing that sells books and curios. Their address is: 北京市宣武區琉璃廠東街一一五號 #115 East Street, Liulichang, Xuanwu District, Beijing (entrance on 南新華路 South Xinhua Street). Some of their facsimile reprints include new commentary on the handbooks. They list currently available facsimile reprints of qin handbooks on their website, http://www.zgsd.net/. Most of them can be found by searching under 书名 book name for 琴谱 (simplified characters). However, this search does not find volumes (e.g. Qinxue Rumen) which do not include "qinpu" in their title.
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