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Handbook List 聽錄音 Recordings: 黃鶯吟 Golden Oriole / 調意 modal preludes    首頁
Shilin Guangji 1
A Comprehensive Record of Affairs, compiled by Chen Yuanjing2
事林廣記
1269
A general introduction is below; here is an annotated but partial translation
Pages 1 and 2 of Shilin Guangji are shown at right:
The first column, at upper right, says, "New edition with edited added images and for Shilin Guangji Folio 4."3
  pp. 1 & 2 of Shilin Guangji QQJC I/17 :  
above: title and two introductory essays  
below: qin diagram / Confucius at Xing Tan

Next column (in large type) "文藝類、琴 Wen Yi Lei" (Literature and Arts Category [of the Shilin Guangji; 1269 CE]), Qin section"
This nine page qin section from Qinqu Jicheng (I/17-21) has been numbered here for convenient reference.

(Next column:) 琴譜總說 General comments on Qin-related material 5

Here there are three short essays (the rest of the top half of the illustration at right plus the first three columns at the bottom; compare this with the same in Taiyin Daquanji, Folio 5, Part 1):

  1. Confucius' Household Sayings (illustration, top right) says,6

    When Zilu was playing the qin Confucius heard him and said, When the rulers of antiquity created sounds they relied on balanced tones to moderate them, thus a gentleman's sounds are temperate. While living flexibily, using a nurturing and fostering attitude, this is what is called an aura of providing peace.

    This is the method of making qin. Use wood based on yin and yang, selecting it based on how (the pieces) complement each other, so that they provide harmony. Tong wood is yang so it should be used for the top board; zi is yin so it should be used for the bottom board. The top is round, like the sky, the bottom is flat, like the earth. The length is 3 chi and 6 cun, like the 360 days days (of the year). The 13 harmonic markers (hui) correspond to the (12) music tones and 12 months, with the middle marker as the master, much like an intercalary month. Of old the Qin had only five strings to correspond with the five tones. The Zhou period added two strings, called the wen string and the wu string, thus making seven strings. As some people of Wu were burning wood for cooking, Cai Yong heard the sound of fire crackling and knew (the wood) was good material, so he asked if he could use it to make a qin. The result was that had a beautiful sound though the tail was scorched. As a result it was called the "Scorched Tail Qin".

  2. Qin Shuo: Qin Talk, by Military District Administrator Chen Zhuo (left half of p.1 top right)7 says,

    夫彈琴以和暢為事、清雅為本。....
    Whenever playing qin use harmony and expression as techniques, clarity and elegance as innate principles....
    (Translation incomplete; the complete original text from here in Shilin Guangji, as given below, is almost the same as that of this passage in Taiyin Daquanji.)

  3. Diwang Shiji (excerpt? first three lines at bottom right)8

    The Fire Emperor (Yan Di created the five string qin. The Xin Lun of Huan Tan said, Shen Nong (i.e., Yan Di) was the first to cut wood to make a qin. It also says, (or "it is also said") Wen Wang and Wu Wang of Zhou each added a string. The Li Yi Zuan said Yao caused Mugou to make a five-string qin. The Li Ji says, Shun made a qin with five strings in order to sing Southern Breezes.

The rest of the page has the two illustrations at right (I/17, bottom)

  1. Diagram of a qin showing the top and bottom.9
  2. Confucius playing qin for his disciples at the Apricot Tree Pavilion (Xing Tan) 10

Page 3 of Shilin Guangji: finger technique explanations, as follows:11 (I/18)
    (see upper half of image from QQJC I/18 at right)
pp. 3 & 4 of Shilin Guangji, QQJC I/18 :   
above: finger techiques; below: qin tablature 

  1. Right hand explanations 右手字譜
    22 entries
  2. Left hand explanations 左手字譜
    20 entries
  3. Explanations of clusters 琴譜直解
    Five examples intended to explain how the techniques are put together in clusters. There are printing errors in all five clusters, underlining the difficulty interpreting the ensuing tablature.

Page 4 (and 5-7) of Shilin Guangji: Tablature for the qin melodies12
(Shilin Guangji has one 開指 kaizhi and five 調意 diaoyi)
    (see the lower half of image from QQJC I/18 at right)

First, here is an outline:

  1. Kaizhi (Prelude): Golden Oriole13 (I/18, top)
    The original Chinese lyrics can translate as follows:
      Yellow oriole in gold bursts forth,
      Talking in pairs, peaches and apricots everywhere.
      And following beyond the mist the wandering bees go,
      Singing and dancing merrily.
    There is a more literal translation with my recording below
  2. Gong Mode (I/18)
  3. Shang Mode (I/18)
  4. Jue Mode (I/19)
  5. Zhi Mode (I/19)
  6. Yu Mode (I/19)

Details from pages 4 to 7 of Shilin Guangji
This concerns the bottom half of the previous image at right as well as the three pages directly at right.
pp. 5 - 7 of Shilin Guangji, QQJC I/19-20a :  
Rest of the tablature for all melodies        

Golden Oriole and the Five Modal Preludes
These pages (4 to 7) contain the only tablature in this book. The full title of "Golden Oriole" is "開指黃鶯吟 Kaizhi Huang Ying Yin": "Opening Fingering Golden Oriole"; this marks it as a sort of melodic prelude. And although the titles of Section 4, Numbers 2 through 6 each gives only a mode name, clearly these are all modal preludes (
diaoyi). Modal preludes generally served a group of melodies in that mode. This may be the only difference between them and kaizhi, which seem to have been preludes to specific melodies (as here with Golden Oriole). Unlike in Taiyin Daquanji, there are no lists here of melodies associated with the five diaoyi.

Tablature for Golden Oriole only survives from the present handbook, and the five modal preludes here are all quite different from those included in any other handbooks, including the other surviving Song dynasty collection, the five modal preludes found in the Qin tablature section of Taiyin Daquanji. All six melodies are short, especially Golden Oriole and there are recordings for all linked below,

  1. 開指黃鶯吟 Kaizhi Huangying Yin: Prelude, Intonation of the Golden Oriole
    My transcription and recording are with the lyrics
    below.
    Of orioles Eberhard, A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols, p.221, writes,

    Because of its beautiful song, the oriole is the bird of song and of music. In paintings representing the five human relationships, the oriole symbolises friendship.

    'The swallow harmonises with the oriole' is a form of love-play, for which another metaphor is 'The oriole is randy and the butterfly plucks.' A 'floating oriole' (the Chinese word liu-ying suggests rather 'wandering oriole') is a prostitute: prostitutes were often singing girls into the bargain. A 'wild oriole' is a free-lance prostitute, i.e., non-registered. An 'oriole swallow' is a bar-maid, and 'oriole-flower-halls' are top-rank brothels.

    The present melody survives only in Shilin Guangji (Zha Guide 1/---/4). Xu Jian discusses it briefly in QSCB, Chapter 6b1-8 (p.109), saying it "makes use of the song and dance of yellow orioles amongst flowering shrubs in order to express welcoming spring." "Song and dance" comes from the last line of the poem, perhaps suggesting it could have been a prelude to a melody for song and dance; if so, this would be very unusual for a qin melody.

    Kaizhi are thought (there seems to be no available specific information on this) to have been preludes to specific melodies, in this way contrasting to diao yi, which more generally introduced modes (though some surviving ones seem to be attached to specific pieces). However, because none of the old qin melody lists includes a melody called Golden Oriole, it cannot be argued very strongly that this kaizhi was created for a specific melody.

    As for Intonation of the Golden Oriole, intonations (吟 yin) are themselves often short melodies (see a list). And "Golden Oriole" itself seems to have been found in various artistic forms (I have not found any dance references). As for references:

    Entry 48904.1347 does not give much detail about the cipai form; for this see, e.g., the examples to poems in this form included in Baidu to illustrate the structure of the cipai of this name. Clearly the ci form called Huang Ying Er requires text much longer than that for the present short melody called 黃鶯吟 Huang Ying Yin.14

    48904.1347 also does not include the following, also said to be 黃峨(黃秀眉)的散曲黃鶯兒 Huang Ying'er. It is a sanqu written by Huang E (Huang Xiumei, 1498-1569; Wiki) to her husband.

    黃鶯兒(黃峨)
        積雨釀輕寒。
        看繁花    樹樹殘。
        泥途滿眼登臨倦。
        雲山幾盤,江流幾灣,
        天涯極目空腸斷。
        寄書難,無情徵雁,飛不到滇南。

    The translation in The Red Brush, p.290, begins, "The ceaseless rain brews up a light chill...." As for its form (5; 3,3; 7; 4,4; 7; 5), it does not seem to be related to that of the lyrics of the existing qin melody, but it is also unrelated to poems included in Baidu to illustrate the structure of the cipai of this name.

    There is also a poem almost exactly in the form of Huang E's included in the novel Jin Ping Mei (q.v.), as follows:

    黃鶯兒(金瓶梅版本)
        書寄應哥前。
        別來思,不待言。
        滿門兒托賴都康健。   (+1 字 compared to previous)
        舍字在邊,傍立著官,
        有時一定求方便。
        羨如椽,往來言疏,落筆起雲煙。

    Translated in Roy, III/187-8.

    These sanqu melodies still do not neatly fit with the suriving qin melody. However, they are closer in length than is the cipai. If the surviving melody can indeed be made to fit the longer lyrics what significance would that have? Could such creative explansion be considered as a valuable new creation based on Chinese tradition?

    Music and lyrics for Huang Ying Yin (see my transcription; listen to my recording) (QQJC I/18)
    The melody is short and simple, with its lyrics applied one character for each note:

    黃鶯,黃鶯,金喜簇。
    Huáng yīng, huáng yīng, jīn xǐ cù.
    Golden oriole, golden oriole, golden cry bursting forth.

    雙雙語,桃杏益深處。
    Shuāng shuāng yǔ, táo xìng yì shēn chù.
    As a pair they call out; peaches and almonds bring great benefit.

    又隨煙外遊蜂去,
    Yòu suí yān wàiyóu fēng qù,
    And following beyond the mist where bees wander off,

    恣狂歌舞。
    Zì kuáng gē wǔ.
    Wildly unrestrained we sing and dance.

    There is another translation above.

    Golden Oriole is followed by the five modal preludes:

  2. 事林廣記﹕宮調 Gong Diao in Shilin Guangji       (my transcription and recording 聽我的錄音) (QQJC I/18)
    The second half of this melody is quite similar to the latter half of the 1425 melody Zhao Yin. Perhaps this indicates that this Gong Diao was originally a prelude to Zhao Yin. Unlike the shorter Gong Yi in Taiyin Daquanji, Gong Diao has few phrases in common with the Shenpin Gong Yi of 1425. However, the modal characteristics are similar.

  3. 事林廣記﹕商調 Shang Diao in Shilin Guangji       (my transcription and recording 聽我的錄音) (I/18)
    This melody is quite different from the Shang Yi in Taiyin Daquanji, as well as the Shenpin Shang Yi of 1425. However, it shares with them similar modal characteristics, in particular the inclusion of both standard mi with flatted mi.

  4. 事林廣記﹕角調 Jue Diao in Shilin Guangji       (my transcription and recording 聽我的錄音) (I/19)
    This melody is very similar to the second half of the melody Lienü Yin, suggesting that it perhaps was originally a prelude to that melody. Lienü Yin survives only in Xilutang Qintong (1525), but this is perhaps evidence supporting suggestions that some or many of the melodies of Xilutang Qintong were copied from Song dynasty sources. Jue Diao seems unrelated to the modal preludes Jue Yi in Taiyin Daquanji, and Shenpin Jue Yi of 1425. Perhaps its modal characteristics are similar to those of Shenpin Jue Yi, but on this see the comments under Lienü Yin.

  5. 事林廣記﹕徵調 Zhi Diao in Shilin Guangji       (my transcription and recording 聽我的錄音) (I/19)
    As with the Zhi Yi in Taiyin Daquanji, the tuning here seems to be considered as 5 6 1 2 3 5 6. However, in Shenpin Zhi Yi, as well as Zhi Yi and the three zhi mode melodies of 1425, my interpretation is 1 2 4 5 61 2. For me the zhi mode has seemed the most complex. (For more on this see Modality in early Ming Qin tablature.) Thus, although all three preludes end on the open 4th string, or open 2nd and 4th together, the modal characteristics do not seem to me to be quite the same. As for the melody itself, it is also very different from those of these other two preludes.

  6. 事林廣記﹕羽調 Yu Diao in Shilin Guangji       (my transcription and recording 聽我的錄音) (I/19)
    This prelude has more notes than any other modal prelude published in 1425 or earlier. The modal characteristics are similar to those of the Yu Yi in Taiyin Daquanji, and Shenpin Yu Yi of 1425, but otherwise the melodies seem unrelated.

Details from pages 8 and 9 of Shilin Guangji pp. 8 & 9 of Shilin Guangji, QQJC I/20b-21  

(彈琴宜忌 Things to avoid when playing qin) 15
In the present edition of Shilin Guangji there seems to be no title for this section, but this one is sometimes used elsewhere.

Whether or not there is an overall title for the content of these two pages, they consist of 13 sets of guidelines for playing qin, the title of each section highlighted in black. These are perhaps the earliest surviving version of rules that were often included in later handbooks. However, the fact that almost the same set of rules appear in another book from around the same time (see Taiyin Daquanji #s 10-21) suggests that such rules had been around for some time already. Here the titles are:

  1. 調琴指要 Essential points for qin play (I/99)
  2. 彈琴五切 Five precisions when playing qin (I/99)
  3. 十善 Ten positive things (I/99)
  4. 五能 Five skills (I/99)
  5. 九不詳 Nine (methods) lacking precision (I/99)
  6. 五病 Five ills (I/99)
  7. 十疵 Ten defects (I/99)
  8. 五謬 Five gross errors (I/99)
  9. 五不彈 Five times not to play (Shilin Guangji #9 [original])
  10. 大病有七 There are seven major flaws when playing qin
  11. 小病有五 There are five minor flaws when playing qin
  12. 論十二病總括 Discussion of 12 flaws
  13. 整琴要訣 Shortcomings in arranging the qin (I/100)
Content not yet translated.

Here you can find the translation of a set of 10 rules with a similar intent, called 琴言十則 10 Rules, from Qin Talk. Attributed to 吳澄 Wu Cheng (1240-1331), they were translated by Van Gulik in Lore, pp. 73-76.

Addendum: Materials from the Taiding edition of Shilin Guangji Another edition of Shilin Guangji, QQJC I/22 

Qinqu Jicheng, in addition to the edition above, includes the excerpt at right from the Taiding edition. There are in fact at least three known edition; these can be referred to as the Taiding, Chunzhuang and Zhengshi editions (details), with the latter two said to be identical (though see the footnote below). The Chunzhuang edition is above, the Taiding edition is shown at right. Versions of the section of Shilin Guangji that quotes passages attributed to Chen Zhuo are discussed at some length in the book by Yang Yuanzhen discussed under Chen Zhuo's surviving writings. This also includes a folio page from the Zhengshi edition, shown below.

This page from the Taiding edition includes (see at far right of the lower half) what seems to be a more correct version of the tablature for Golden Oriole (Huang Ying Yin). The corrections in measures 3 and 12 of my transcription come from this other edition (listen).

Although there are also some other differences, the Taiding edition includes mostly material the same or very similar to that in the Chunzhuang edition. It ends with the 琴譜直解 explanation of clusters mentioned above (also see this closeup), but the most obvious difference is the addition of the illustration at right (closeup below; expand) of a gentleman playing the qin. For an unexplained reason this seems to have replaced (or been replaced by) the picture of Confucius playing for his students, just to the right of a diagram of the front and back of a qin (see above).16


Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

 

1. Shilin Guangji 事林廣記 (QQJC I/15-22 [11-16 in earlier edition])
(244.xxx?) Zha Fuxi's preface says Chen Yuanjing (see next footnote) 編纂 compiled it. Zha does not discuss its possible relationship to another work attributed to Chen, 歲時廣記 Suishi Guangji.

According to the introduction by Zha Fuxi, Shilin Guangji was compiled by Chen Yuanjing during the Southern Song dynasty, then was revised several times during the Yuan dynasty. Three editions are known to have survived:

  1. Part of the 事林廣記 泰定本 Taiding edition of Shilin Guangji, printed in 1699 but apparently found in Japan, has qin materials in the seventh volume;
  2. A re-print by the Zhonghua Shuju of the 椿莊書院本 Chunzhuang Shuyuan edition, originally printed during 1330-33;
  3. One in the Peking University Library, compiled by the Zheng family or clan (鄭氏 Zhengshi) and printed during 1335-41.

The third edition (Zhengshi edition) is identical to the second, so Qinqu Jicheng prints only the first two (though see this footnote with one folio page from the Zhengshi edition). QQJC I/17-21 has 9 folio pages from the Chunzhuang Shuyuan edition; I/22 has 2 folio pages from the Taiding edition.

Perhaps because much of the surviving editions of Shilin Guangji were added during later editions, Zha spends some time describing characteristics of the tablature in Shilin Guangji, to show they do date from the Song dynasty.

An essay (.html from .pdf) by Wang Chenghua, Art and Daily Life: Knowledge and Social Space in Late-Ming: Riyong Leishu, says,

"The daily-use encyclopedias (日用類書 Riyong Leishu) form an altogether different collection of writings on everyday life during this period and appear to be more comprehensive and detailed than Zhangwuzhi (長物志 Treatise on Superfluous Things, by 文震亨 Wen Zhenheng, 1585-1645). (Daily-use encyclopedias) first made their appearance at the end of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279), and the inceptive Shilin guangji 事林廣記 continued to be re-edited and re-printed in later dynasties. (A footnote adds:) The first version of Shilin guangji has traditionally been attributed to Chen Yuanjing 陳元靚, an obscure figure of the late Southern Song period. To my knowledge, there are several versions of Shilin guangji collected in the libraries of China and Japan. The earliest one is very likely to have been printed in the late Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) since a note of 1325 indicates that new materials were added, including a list of Mongol characters of one-hundred surnames. See Nagasawa Kikuya 長澤規矩也, "Jieti," 解題 in Nagasawa Kikuya, ed., Hekeben leishu jicheng 和刻本類書集成, vol. 1 (Shanghai: Shanghai Guji chubanshe, 1990), pp. 3-4. See also Sakai Tadao, "Mindai no jitsuyo ruisho to shomin kyoiku," pp. 62-74.

A preliminary essay by Lowell Skar, "Charting a New Itinerary of Perfection in Medieval China: The Formation and Uses of the Diagram on Cultivating Perfection (Xiuzhen tu" (2000), says as follows,

"A final widely distributed depiction of what has become known as the Diagram of Cultivating Perfection appears in an expanded edition of an encyclopedia compiled by the late Southern Song scholar Chen Yuanjing with the hopes of rectifying the mores of the common people. Although no longer extant in it original form, there exists at least two expanded and illustrated editions of this work printed in the first part of the Ming dynasty. The earlier of these editions (dated to 1478) was the Newly Illustrated and Amplified Encyclopedia of the Hordes of Writings [known as] the Comprehensive Records of the Forest of Affairs (Xinbian Zuantu zengxin qunshu leiyao Shilin guangji), while the later edition (dated to 1496) bears the title Newly Compiled Comprehensive Record of the Forest of Affairs, an Illustrated and Amplified Encyclopedia of the Hordes of Writings (Zuantu zengxin qunshu leiyao Shilin guangji xinji)."

A backgammon website has an illustration from Shilin Guangji showing two backgammon players.

The FIFA website says that Shilin Guangji "gives details of the technical elements of conventional football", including a woodblock illustration.

Pian's Sonq Dynasty Musical Sources and their Interpretation transcribes, in addition to these qin melodies, the Seven melodies on popular notation from Shilin Guangui.
(Return)

2. Chen Yuanjing 陳元靚 (1200 - 1266)
Chen (42618.105; Bio/1364; N.D.), according to the afterword by 劉純 Liu Chun (Bio/622? early Ming) to Chen's 歲時廣記 Suishi Guangji, was a reclusive gentleman. He signed himself 廣寒仙裔 Guanghan Xianyi (Lunar Descendant of Immortals?). 16686.67 歲時廣記 says Suishi Guangji had four sections divided according to four time periods. It is not clear how much of the book still exists, or whether Shilin Guangji was a part of it. (Return)

3. First line of the illustration
The original says, 新編纂圖增類書類要事林廣記卷之四
(Return)

5. Shilin Guangji, General Comments on Qin Tablature 事林廣記,琴譜緫說
Consists of the essays discussed in the following three footnotes. Compare this with Taiyin Daquanji, Folio 5, Part 1.
(Return)

6. (Confucius') Household Sayings (孔子) 家語 (Kongzi) Jia Yu
The original text here in Shilin Guangji is as follows (see also here):

子路鼓琴,孔子聞之,曰﹕先王之制音也,以中聲為節,故君子之音溫。柔居中,以飬生育之氣,所謂治安之風也。

是以造琴之法。木用陰陽,取其相配,以召和也。桐木屬陽以為琴面,梓木屬陰以為琴底。面圓象天,底方象地。長三尺六寸象三百六十日合。十三徽以應律呂象十二月,中徽為君,以象閏也。古之琴止五絃以應五音。周之世添二弦,曰文弦、武弦,乃為七絃。吳人有燒桐爨者:蔡邕聞火烈聲,知其良材,請以製琴。果有美音而尾猶焦。故曰「焦尾琴」。

Translation above. Note that many of its details are also elsewhere. Regarding the added passage, for example, elsewhere (e.g., in 高濂 Gao Lian?) the information about yin and yang wood is the same, but placed at the front, "琴取桐為陽木、梓為陰木。是以造琴之法。...." Regading the type of wood, translating 桐 tong and 梓 zi is problematic as they are uniquely ancient Chinese; the important factor is heavy (dense) wood vs light wood.
(Return)

7. Chen Zhuo Canjun, Qin Shuo 陳拙參軍琴說
The original text is as follows (Taiyin Daquanji has an almost identical passage, changing its text after the * added near the end):

夫彈琴以和暢為事、清雅為本。琴聲出於木,而絃所以揚其聲。嵇康琴賦﹕ 「摟批擽捋,縹繚瞥冽」所謂指法也。大要或高或下,或輕或重,亦湏看古人命,意作調弄之趣,下指或古淡、或清美、或悲切、或慷慨,変態無常,不可執一。故彈操弄者,舒張緩急。要成段節,若前緩而後急,乃妙曲之分佈。中急而後緩,乃節奏之停歇。或疾打則聲如擘竹。 緩挑則韻似風生。或聲正厲而以指按,響巳絕而意猶未儘。是以彈調引者,貴乎詳緩句讀,取子中有意思。 如孤雲之在太虛。因風舒捲,久而不散。此調引之妙操也。然彈不在多,以精為妙,使指與絃相契,得之於手,應之於心。不知其所以然者則善矣。* 南中李氏善作悲風曲時人號曰李悲風以此得名可謂精矣苟知聲而不知音彈絃而不知意雖多何益哉。

Not yet translated
(Return)

8. 《帝王世紀》曰 Diwang Shi Ji says,
(The original text is as follows:

炎帝作五絃之琴。桓譚《新論》曰:神農始削桐為琴,繩絲為弦。又曰:周文王、武王各加一絃。《禮儀》纂曰:堯使母句作琴五絃。《禮記》曰:舜作五絃琴,歌《南風》。 The same information is also here.
(Return)

9. Illustration 圖: top and bottom of a qin
The names for the parts of the qin are translated elsewhere on this site.
(Return)

10. Illustration of Confucius at the Apricot Pavilion (Xing Tan
This is where Confucius is said to have taught his disciples. This site also has other illustrations of Confucius playing qin for his students. Sometimes it seems that Xing Tan could also be translated as Gingko Tree Pavilion (further).
(Return)

11. Finger technique explanations
There is no general title for this part, which has the three sections only titles for each of the three subsections, left, right and clusters. A more complete example of such explanations can be seen in such resources as Taiyin Daquanji, for example, here and here.
(Return)

12. Tablature for the 琴譜 qin melodies (QQJC I/12-14)
The recording for the Kai Zhi is linked here while those for the five modal preldues are linked here.
(Return)

13. Kaizhi (Prelude): Golden Oriole (QQJC I/19)
The specific commentary begins above.
(Return)

14. 詞牌黃鶯兒 Ci structure: Huang Ying Er
Not yet studied carefully. Two typical patterns, 95 and 97 characters each, are outlined in Baidu. The two patterns outlined there are:

96: 48+48 (?)
7.4,4,4,4.
6,5.6,4,4.
2,5,5.4,4,6.
6,5.6,5.

and

97: 50+47
7.6,6,6.
6,5.6,4,4.
2,5,5.4,4,6.
5,5.6,5.

(Something is wrong with the count.)
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15. 彈琴宜忌 Things to avoid when playing qin
13 sets of rules for playing qin (original text)
These rules are found in a number of early handbooks (see, for example, in Taiyin Daquanji, Folio 6, which seems verbatim but for some reason does not include #13). The entries are numbered here for convenience.

  1. 調琴指要
    一心不散亂, 二審辨音律, 三指法向背, 四指下蠲凈, 五用指不疊, 六聲勢輕重, 七節奏緩急, 八高低起伏, 九絃調平和, 十左右朝揖。

  2. 彈琴五功
    指法合宜, 敲擊不雜, 吟猱不露, 起伏有序, 作用有勢。

  3. 十善
    淡欲合古, 取欲中矩, 輕欲不浮, 重欲不麄, 拘欲有權, 逸欲自然, 力欲不斍, 縱欲自若, 緩欲不斷, 急欲不亂。

  4. 五能
    坐欲安, 視欲專, 意欲閑, 神欲鮮, 指欲堅。

  5. 九不詳
    不撫正聲, 泛按失度, 不調入弄, 五音繁雜, 指曲不直, 緩急失度, 不辨吟猱, 不察草草, 不按法度教人。

  6. 五病
    布指拙惡, 挑摘渾殽, 取予不圓, 節奏不成, 走作猖狂。

  7. 十疪
    太淡而拙, 多取而雜, 其輕如摸, 其重如攫, 其拘如怯, 其逸若蹶 用力而艱 縱指而闌 其緩若昏 其急若奔

  8. 五繆
    頭足搖動, 妄肆瞻視, 錯亂中輟, 精神散慢, 下指疏懶。
    (右彈琴者當立「五功」,行「十善」,習「五能」,去「九不詳」,治「五病」,洗「十疵」,戒「五繆」,然後可與言琴矣)

  9. 五不彈
    疾風甚雨不彈,廛市不彈,對俗子不彈,不坐不彈,不衣冠不彈。 右五者所以尊其道而盡琴之理也

  10. 大病有七
    坐無規法,搖頭動足,一也;開口努目,似驟志氣,或覷視上下,瞻顧左右二也;眼目疾速,喘息氣麄,進退無度,形神散慢,三也;面色変易,或青或赤有如羞慚,四也;有攻之歲久,取聲雜亂,不盡五音,雖能取聲,不解用指,手勢煩雜,歇指不當,五也;調弦不切,聲韻不律,動失正意,聽無真聲,六也;彈琴之時,吟猱過度,節奏失宜,音韻繁雜,自以為能,有失古意,七也。

  11. 小病有五
    彈琴之時身側欲偏, 彈琴之時身側欲偏,手勢繁亂,打絃用指輕重不鈞,一也;若左右緫用甲其聲焦枯,雖有悲思,全無韻聲,不鈞平,二也;左右手用肉多,其聲濁鈍,音韻不清,取聲繁重,散其清爽,三也;左右用甲多肉少,音韻不鈞,取聲輕重重疊,句度急燥,不較音韻,四也;取聲遲遟,緩音律不續,句度不成,調弄無味,五也。

  12. 論十二病揔括
    蘇翰林易簡曰:凡彈琴蓋以寓意調性,適一時之意,以閑暇簡靜為本,句度節奏不得過多,取聲倫比不欲隔越,用指甲肉相兼,則其聲清美。右手去弦不得太高,亦不能絕音而拋琴曲,亦不能按著別絃。兩手必欲相附如雙鵉,對無舛兩鳳同翔,使徽不可誤按,彈絃不可錯鳴,吟猱不可不盡起伏,不可無法段疊,不可不曉句讀,不可無節;置琴於前,身湏卓然,先定神氣,兩手視之若無琴;然取予作用,湏作精神,心志絕慮,情意專註,不得用力努張精神,不得令筋骨寬緩,肩甲手擘悉欲調暢,按弦用力,勿令人知,輕重急慢不得斷續,用指手勢悉依法度,取予疾徐皆湏得體;目視左手,耳聽其聲,目不別視,耳不別聽,心不別思,志不雜註,無問有人無人,又須尊嚴如對長者,一則聲韻雅正,二則感動幽明;苟亂作太勞,精神疾遽,不若置琴而默坐。古人謂但識琴中趣,何勞弦上聲是也。彈琴戒謹之病極多,諸家琴書互載之矣。攻琴君子若能精思絕此十二病,擇其善而去其失,即得絕妙也。若夫天性聦明,取聲奇異,性出於聲,聲出於心,此殆神妙又不可論此也。

  13. 整琴要訣
    古琴冷而无聲者,用布囊炒砂罨;候冷,易之數次。而又作長甑,候有風日,以甑蒸琴,令汗溜,取出吹乾,其聲仍舊。琴无新舊,常宜置床上近人氣,被中尤佳。琴弦久而不鳴者,綳定一处,以桑葉捋之,鳴亮如初。大凡蓄琴之士,不論寒暑不可放置風露中及日色中,止可於無風露陰煖处置之。
For a quite different type of rules see 冷謙 Leng Qian (?), Sixteen Rules for Qin Tones (琴聲十六法 Qinsheng Shiliu Fa).
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16. Materials from the 泰定本 Taiding and 鄭氏 Zhengshi editions of Shilin Guangji (QQJC I/22 and Yang/297-300) Compare above and at top  
The illustration at right showns one folio page from the Zhengshi edition of Shilin Guangji. It was copied from Yang, pp. 299-300. Comparing it to other editions one can see it has omitted the passage from Diwang Shiji. The left hand page begins "引者貴乎...."; this can be found in this text version of Qin Shuo, where it is punctuated "引者,貴乎".
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Return to the annotated handbook list or to the Guqin ToC.