Several mountains in China have claimed a connection to Xu You's Mount Ji.⁷ The biography of Xu You says, "Today on the mountain top there is still a mound," but it does not indicate to which Ji Shan it refers.

The title Dunshi Cao survives in six handbooks from 1425 to 1670.⁸ The version published in 1585 has quite a different melody, but its lyrics can with small adjustments be sung with this 1425 version.⁹ The version dated 1670 is basically a reprint of the present version.

Xilutang prefaces Dunshi Cao with a short piece called Dinghui Yin¹⁰ (Fixed on Mental Pursuits), which concerns Xu You being so focused on higher philosophical thinking that he washed his ears after the kingship was offered to him, and threw away a gourd because the sound of the wind whistling through it pleased his senses too much.

Besides my own, one other recording is available of Dunshi Cao, a reconstruction by Cheng Gongliang of Nanjing.¹¹

 
Original Preface ¹²

The Emaciated Immortal says

this tune was composed by Xu You. Of all the lofty and pure tunes mentioned in Qin History,¹³ this one is the loftiest and most ancient. According to what is written in Zhuangzi: ¹⁴

 
Music
10 sections:¹⁷

(00.00) 01. Walking alone in the haze and mist
(00.37) 02. The woodcutter tells him which road to take
(01.18) 03. Climbing up to Mount Ji
(02.22) 04. Monkeys howl in the bright moonlight
(03.00) 05. Clouds gather and the dragon can hide itself
(03.22) 06. The sun shines down on the cliffside¹⁸
(03.43) 07. Deer as friends
(04.05) 08. A fisherman and woodcutter exchange pleasantries
(04.24) 09. Sighing about the insecurity of life
(04.45) 10. Not caring about year or month. 19
(05.30) --- Piece ends

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Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. (Lament on) Withdrawing from Society Dunshi Cao 遯世操)
39972.4 遯世﹕避世如逃遯然，故曰遯世 hiding from the world/society as if escaping by concealing oneself, so it is called "withdrawing from society". References to 易、乾 the first chapter of the Yi Jing (Qian) and 禮記、中庸 the Zhongyong chapter of the Book of Rites. No musical references, and this title is not in any early lists. 遯 is sometimes written 遁 dun; 39893.6 遁世 dun shi says same as 遯世 but gives two different references, 孔叢子，記義 and 文選，陸機，演連珠 (Lu Ji, Expanse of Connected Pearls), both of which refer to 遯世之士 gentlemen who have withdrawn from society.

For 操 cao see diaozi and caonong plus various lists such those in as QSDQ, Chapter 11 and Chapter 13. See in particular 箕山操 Jishan Cao (also below).
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2. Manjiao Diao 慢角調
11385.xxx; 7/xxx. In Folio I pieces are grouped by mode with the name of the mode written below the first piece in each group. In Folio Three this mode is called biyu: see Shenpin Biyu Yi. For more on modes see Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature.
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3. Xu You 許由
36125.50 許由，字惡仲 Xu You, style name Ezhong, is said to have been a famous philosopher-hermit; the legendary emperor Yao (23rd c. BC) wanted him to rule, but he preferred hiding at Mount Ji in Henan province; in Section 61 of Shi Ji Sima Qian says he visited Xu You's grave there; other references are in Zhuangzi, Huainanzi, etc. Qin Cao (琴操 21570.92; by Seng, or by Cai Yong?) gives a somewhat differant account than here.
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4. In his preface Zhu Quan says he has changed the names of some melodies without saying which ones.
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5. Zhu Quan here mentions "qin history" (琴史 qin shi). Qin Shi is the title of a famous collection of biographies by Zhu Changwen (朱長文, 1041-1100), but Zhu Quan may not be referring to this title: the Qin Shi Xu You biography of Xu You mentions only Jishan Cao, not Dunshi Cao.
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6. Jishan Cao: (箕山操 26722.10)
Section 3 of Dunshi Cao is called 陟彼箕山 Ascending Jishan, but there is no way to know whether Dunshi Cao has a melodic connection to any versions of the famous early title Jishan Cao. In addition to the Xu You quote above from Qin Shi, Jishan Cao is discussed in various collections of information on qin cao. See, e.g.,

Qinshu Daquan, Folio 11 (V.230, commentary) and Folio 13 (V.281 and V.283, lyrics).
Cai Yong, Qin Cao, Hejian Zage, #1
Qinyuan Yaolu, Melody list, #21.
Seng Juyue, Qinqu Pulu, Most Ancient, #21

The Jishan Cao published 1676 in Japan is unrelated. So are Qishan Cao (岐山操) and Jizi Cao (箕子操). And the music of all these is unrelated to that of Jishan Qiu Yue, though some of the prefaces to the latter mention Xu You and Emperor Yao.
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7. 箕山 Ji Shan (26722.5/1 Mount Ji; see also Jishan Cao and Jishan Qiu Yue)
Mount Ji is by tradition the mountain where Xu You became a recluse. Xu You's home was on top. The beauty of the mountain is said to be like that of a winnowing basket, hence the name. This entry says it is in 河北省，行唐縣西北 Hebei province, western Xingtang district. Other entries say mountains in Shandong, Shanxi and Henan claim this connection to Xu You. Nienhauser (GSR VII, p.2, fn.12), says it is in southeastern 登封 Dengfeng county of Henan province, by the Songshan mountain range.
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8. See Zha Fuxi's Guide 2/9/11. Further details are in the appendix below.
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9. This perhaps suggests that Dun Shi Cao was originally included in a complete Zheyin Shizi Qinpu.
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10. Dinghui Yin 定慧引 (Fixed on Mental Pursuits)
Dinghui Yin (7256.188 定慧 name of a temple in Jiangsu; Buddhist term) is "also called Cast Aside the Ladle" (棄瓢吟 Qipiao Yin; 15251.67 棄瓢巖 Qipiao Cliff says it is a place in Henan where Xu You lived). These titles connect to the story in Qin Cao which says Xu You focused on high philosophical thoughts, washing his ears after the kingdom was offered to him, and throwing away a gourd because of the pleasant sound caused by the wind passing by it, interrupting his intellectual concentration.
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11. Cheng Gongliang: Autumn Aria, ROI RA-941004C, 1994. Cheng changes flattened thirds to natural thirds whereas I don't. His interpretation of the technique quanfu (see, for example, several notes from the beginning) is also different from mine; this is an archaic technique (found often in Folio I) which has several conflicting and sometimes unclear explanations. Cheng plays freely and sensitively, taking full advantage of the ability of metal strings to sustain notes (his version times at 7.50 compared to my 5.30).
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12. For the original Chinese preface see 遯世操.
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13. 琴史 Qin Shi: book name, or just the history of qin? Zhu Quan's sources are problematic.
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14. See Zhuangzi and the Qin. I consulted the translation in James Ware, Zhuangzi, Chapter 1, Let Fancy Roam
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15. bin (賓 "guest"; meaning is similar to ke (客 guest); in Qin Kuang (琴況 , cf. Qin Fu, p.288 bottom, l.2) the qin player is warned against having "guest sounds" when one plays a note: only include what is necessary.
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16. shizhu (尸祝); shi was a boy who stood motionless on the altar, later replaced by a tablet or statue; the zhu recited prayers
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17. For the original Chinese of these section titles see 遯世操.
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18. Cliffside = jiong (扃 = 戶+同 ). The original character in Shen Qi Mi Pu was shang (戶 + 向 ; 12024. 戶耳也 doorbell), apparently a mistake, unless it also implies a cliff dwelling.
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19. This section adds the instructions cidi tan (次第彈 play slowly and steadily); for this see also _______
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Appendix: Chart Tracing Dunshi Cao;
based mainly on Zha Fuxi's Guide, 2/9/11.

琴譜     (year; QQJC Vol/page)	Further information (QQJC = 琴曲集成 Qinqu Jicheng; QF = 琴府 Qin Fu)
1.  神奇秘譜       (1425; I/98)	10T; note: last section has instructions: 次第彈 "play continuously"; 2nd edition adds some phrasing
.  浙音釋字琴譜       (<1491; I/--)	Not included in surviving edition, but lyrics from 1585 can be made to fit 1425, so perhaps it was originally included
2. 風宣玄品       (1539; II/230)	10T; listed under 商角 shangjiao mode ? ; basically same as #1 but tablature updated
3. 西麓堂琴統       (1549; III/192)	12T; "太簇 taicu mode"; section titles 3 and 5 diff; related, but gradually more different; preceded by Dinghui Yin, also concerning Xu You
5.   重修真傳琴譜       (1585; IV/421)	10T; lyrics; music related but very different; see <1491
6. 琴苑新傳全編       (1670; XI/414)	10T; same as SQMP? has phrasing
. 和文注音琴譜       (<1676; XII/220)	(Japanese); 1; called 箕山操 Jishan Cao; shangjiao -- standard tuning; short; no apparent relation

Return to top, to the Shen Qi Mi Pu ToC or to the Guqin ToC.