Miscellaneous Explanations of Finger Techniques

Taiyin Daquanji ToC Folio 5 ToC / "Folio 6"

Taiyin Daquanji ¹
Folio 5, Part 1: General Comments on Qin Tablature
Explanations provided by the translator are put either in brackets ( ) or in footnotes.²

太音大全集
卷五，甲﹕琴譜總說

(The first passage here is shortened from the version in Shilin Guangji):

（孔子）家語云（[Kongzi] Jiayu says:），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。（Shilin Guangji also has: 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弦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。）

(Here, following 「之風也」 without any break or other indication, is the same extract from 陳拙參軍琴說 Chen Zhuo Canjun, Qin Shuo found in Shilin Guangji.)

夫彈琴以和暢為事清雅為本琴聲出於木而弦所以揚其聲。嵇康曰﹕摟批擽捋，縹繚瞥冽,所謂指法也大要或高或下或重或輕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。（音釋﹕劈音僻，開分也[事林廣記 had 擘]。）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。（音釋﹕讀音豆，為句中欲斷不斷者也。）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。

(Next, again without a break, is a passage from Shi Ji, Shi Jia, Kongzi [Chapter 47, p. 1925; translated here under the biography of Shi Xiangzi]. This was not in the Shilin Guangji passage.)

史記，世家，孔子學鼓琴師襄子,十日不進。師襄子曰﹕（音釋﹕襄子，孔子琴師也。）「可以益矣。」孔子曰：「丘未得其志也。」有間，曰：「已習其志，可以益矣。」孔子曰：「丘未得其為人也。」有間，有所穆然深思焉，有所怡然高望而遠志焉。曰「丘得其為人，黯然而黑，頎然而長。眼如望羊，（音釋﹕頎音奇，長望羊視也。）如王四國非文王其誰能為此也.」師襄子辟席再拜，曰：師蓋云《文王操》也。」
指法 Finger Techniques

傳云，「琴瑟雖有妙音，而無妙指，終不能發。」甚在！指法之難也。嵇康賦曰﹕「摟批擽捋，縹繚潎冽。」此手法也。（嵇康賦又曰:）「器洽弦調，心閑手敏，觸摠如志。唯（惟）意所擬。」此彈琴之妙致也。惜乎師傳之妙絕不可得。見今世所傳不為無人而高妙者少，俗惡者多。此予所以屢學而屢輟也。夫手之精微非言可傳至指法大要皆可縷數。今具列之並敘彈譜並彈琴法以示初學云。（音釋﹕摟音婁，批[written 扌+毘]音皮，擽音歷，捋音銮，入聲。縹音表，繚音了，潎音偏，入聲，冽音列。數音所）。

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

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