Shen Qi Mi Pu (1425 CE) is the oldest surviving qin handbook,⁴ earlier surviving tablature including only a single melody or short modal preludes.⁵ Shen Qi Mi Pu, by contrast, has 64 pieces; none has lyrics.⁶ Its full title is Qu Xian Shen Qi Mi Pu, The Emaciated Immortal's Handbook of Spiritual and Marvelous Mysteries. Emaciated Immortal was a nickname of Zhu Quan, a son of the first emperor of the Ming dynasty. Translation of the entire text is linked from the Shen Qi Mi Pu Table of Contents; for transcriptions and recordings of all the music see My recordings and transcriptions.

For further information about Shen Qi Mi Pu, see: (請看中文)

• General introduction to the Shen Qi Mi Pu
• Shen Qi Mi Pu Table of Contents, with links to annotated translations of all of Zhu Quan's original commentary, beginning with his own Preface
• Chinese lyrics from Zheyin Shizi Qinpu that can be applied to Shen Qi Mi Pu melodies
• My Shen Qi Mi Pu Project, begun in 1976 (short version)
• My recordings and transcriptions
• Music Timings, for all the pieces on my recordings
• Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature and Qin Tunings, Some Theoretical Concepts
• Zha Fuxi, Preface, from Qinqu Jicheng
• Zha Fuxi, Afterword, from 1956 facsimile edition.
• Tong Kin-Woon, Afterword, from Qin Fu
• Tong Kin-Woon, Important Notes on the Text, from Qin Fu
• Biography of Zhu Quan (see also his Ming Shi bio)
• Discography of CDs with music of SQMP

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Shen Qi Mi Pu 神奇秘譜127
25211.127 only 神奇.

Copies of Shen Qi Mi Pu are quite readily available (see also the comment on original editions in the footnote below). Modern reprints include the following:

1. 神奇秘譜，北京，音樂出版社，1956. Facsimile reprint of Shen Qi Mi Pu 3rd edition.
2. 琴曲集成，北京，中華書局，1963. Qinqu Jicheng first series; has SQMP 2nd edition.
3. 唐健垣（編）﹕琴府。台北，1971 (reprinted 1981). Qin Fu; has SQMP 3rd edition.
4. 琴曲集成，北京古琴研究會，文化部文學藝術研究院音樂研究所（編）﹕   北京 \ 上海，中華書局出版社，1981. Qinqu Jicheng, Vol. I; has SQMP 3rd edition.

The 1956 facsimile edition has also been reprinted.
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2. Handbook of Spiritual and Marvelous Mysteries
There have been a number of other translations of the title. Some of these are discussed in the General introduction.
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4. Date of Shen Qi Mi Pu original editions
Modern reprints are discussed above. As for originals, there have been three known editions of Shen Qi Mi Pu;

1. First edition: published 1425
2. Second edition: published during Jiaqing (1522 - 1567)
3. Third edition: published during Wanli (1573-1620).

According to the analysis of Tong Kin-Woon, the three editions should be virtually identical, some even using printing plates from earlier editions. However, the second and third editions do have some punctuation added to the first folio (see comment).
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5. Qin tablature published before 1425
Some tablature published after 1425 was probably copied from earlier tablature, but what survives in actual pre-1425 publications consists of:
        You Lan,
        Gu Yuan,
        Shilin Guangji (kaizhi plus five short modal preludes), and
        Taiyin Daquanji (five short modal preludes).
Of these, You Lan and Gu Yuan are single melodies so their publications are not handbooks; the latter melodies are so short that they are considered melody collections.

In addition, this statement assumes that the first edition of Shen Qi Mi Pu (none survive) was identical to the surviving second and third editions (virtually identical to each other). Surviving 2nd edition originals are in Tokyo (Naikaku bunko) and Taipei (National Library; Bell Yong, Celestial Airs of Antiquity mistakenly places this in Beijing). A surviving 3rd edition is in Shanghai (City Library?).
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6. Number of melodies
The 64 pieces consist of 15 titled melodies and one kaizhi (a type of modal prelude) in folio 1, plus 34 titled melodies and 14 modal preludes in folios 2 and 3.
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Return to the annotated handbook list or to the Guqin ToC.