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SMQP   ToC   /   Flowing Streams (Liu Shui)   /   For more images: Bo Ya 首頁
05. High Mountains
- Gong mode, standard tuning: 5 6 1 2 3 5 6 2		 高山 1
Gao Shan
Gao Shan Liu Shui illustration from Kuian Qinpu 3
Songfengge Qinpu (1677/82) has a melody called Gaoshan Liushui (High Mountains, Flowing Streams).4 In all other surviving qin handbooks Gao Shan and Liu Shui (#6, Flowing Streams) are separate titles, though usually paired, as here. Gao Shan is somewhat more common, surviving in at least 42 handbooks from 1425 through 1946, as opposed to Liu Shui's 33 for the same period.5 The inclusion of these two melodies in Folio I suggest their antiquity. In the context, though, it is difficult to know how to assess the statement in a Song dynasty melody list that Gao Shan was also named Huailing Cao.6

The words shan (mountains) and shui (water/streams) are also commonly paired: together they mean "landscape". As a famous saying attributed to Confucius says,

The wise enjoy the waters, the benevolent enjoy the mountains.7

Whether as separate melodies or a combined one, Gaoshan Liushui relates one of the most famous Chinese stories: that of the famous Zhou dynasty qin player Bo Ya 8 finding in Zhong Ziqi (today usually described as a woodcutter) a person who could appreciate his music. As highly as Chinese culture respected scholarship, there was also the ideal of the unlettered man of nature who had an instinctive understanding of the world.

The most famous version of this story is the one told here. In somewhat different words it tells the same story as that found in the earliest known account, that of the Lüshi Chunqiu.9 This book, translated as the Annals of Lü Buwei and dated from 239 BCE, adds some comment at the end about the lesson to be learned from the story: just as a qin player may stop playing if he has no worthy listeners, a person need not fully devote himself to his ruler if that ruler is indeed unworthy.10

Another version of this story is told with the melody Ting Qin Fu (Ode on Listening to the Qin). There is no melodic relationship between the two, nor is there with the rather passionate song Boya Diao Ziqi (Boya Mourns Diqi).

The version of the story that Zhu Quan quotes in his preface comes from the 3rd century BCE Daoist text attributed to Liezi. Zhu Quan's added commentary implies that melodies on this theme pre-date the Tang dynasty. There is, however, no direct evidence for this, poetic references from the Tang dynasty proving only that the story was by then almost universally known.

Regarding the surviving music of Gao Shan and Liu Shui, in Fengxuan Xuanpin (1539) and Taiyin Chuanxi (1554) both pieces are the same or very close to the SQMP version (see appendix below). Those in other handbooks, however, seem generally more closely related to rather different versions first published in the 16th century. The surviving Gao Shan seems to have little relationship to the version in SQMP, but its relationship with the 16th century editions can be seen more easily. This further supports the idea that SQMP Folio 1 pieces (further comment) were all old melodies that were no longer played at the time SQMP was published.

Qin melodies tend to get more complex the longer they are played, unless quite a different version is created. This is what may have happened with Gao Shan and Liu Shui. Zhu Quan transmitted an old, highly developed version but, as his introduction to SQMP states, he could find no one who could play it, and its style is quite different from other qin pieces. The other early Ming versions of both Gao Shan and Liu Shui (except the two just mentioned) tend to be shorter and simpler than those in SQMP. Perhaps, inspired by motifs, new versions were developed, which then became the source of the complex works heard today. This would help explain why the versions are so different.

Gao Shan and Liu Shui are two of the seven SQMP first folio pieces not to be divided into sections (in later folios only the modal preludes have no sections). With the other five one can find precise sectioning from later handbooks, but with Gao Shan and Liu Shui such sectioning requires some creativity.

In my transcription I have divided Gao Shan into ten sections, taking eight of the titles from the Xilutang Qintong version. Although the music is quite different, it is easy to spot the opening phrases (sections 1-2, 5-7 and 9) in the SQMP version which have corresponding opening phrases (sections 1-2, 5-7 and 8) in Xilutang Qintong. SQMP sections 3, 4, 8 and 10 begin at what seem to be natural breaks; 3 and 4 take Xilutang Qintong titles, while 8 and 10 have titles adapted from Zhu Quan's preface to the melody.

The SQMP editions also had no punctuation, so the punctuation in my reconstruction follows that of Fengxuan Xuanpin.

As for active play, today only the Sichuan school's Gao Shan and "72 gunfu (arpeggio) Liu Shui" are to be heard.11 However, whereas there are at least 25 recordings of this Liu Shui, for Gao Shan there are only the two by Sichuan players Yu Bosun and Wang Huade, as well as the reconstructions from Chuncaotang Qinpu (1744) and Qinxue Rumen (1864) by Yao Bingyan. Besides my own, there are as yet no other recordings of SQMP's Gao Shan.

 
Original preface: 12

The Emaciated Immortal says,

the two pieces Gao Shan and Liu Shui originally were only one piece. At the beginning its motive is in (describing) high mountains, so it is said the meaning is that "people of selfless virtue enjoy the mountains" (Lun Yu). Later its motive is in (describing) the flowing streams, so it is said the meaning is that "people of wisdom enjoy the waters" (ibid). The division into two pieces came during the Tang dynasty; it wasn't further sub-divided into sections. By the Song dynasty Gao Shan had been divided into four sections and Liu Shui had been divided into eight.

According to Qin History,13 Liezi said,14

"(During the Spring and Autumn Period) Boya was good at playing the qin, Zhong Ziqi was good at listening. When Boya's will lay in (describing) high mountains, Zhong Ziqi said, 'How lofty; like Mount Tai!' When Boya's will lay in (describing) flowing streams, Zhong Ziqi said, 'How vast! It is like a great river and the sea.' Whatever Boya was thinking (as he played), Zhong Ziqi saw clearly in his heart. Boya said, 'Awesome! Your heart and mine are one and the same.'" When Zhong Ziqi died, Boya broke his strings and never again played the qin. Thus we have Gao Shan and Liu Shui.

 
Music
Originally undivided; here arranged as 10 sections
1-7 and 9 are from Xilutang Qintong; 8 and 10 are phrases from Zhu Quan's preface to the melody.15

(00.00) 01. Lofty mountains
(00.54) 02. Great heights of Kunlun
(01.23) 03. Sky and solitary cliffs
(01.58) 04. Fog rises among all the peaks
(02.19) 05. Daytime mist gathers in a green expanse
(02.53) 06. Sunset mist condenses in a purple mass
(03.31) 07. Put on straw shoes with thoughts of climbing
(03.56) 08. As lofty as Mount Tai
(04.41) 09. Flapping ones clothing and comfortably intoning
(05.31) 10. People of selfless virtue enjoy the mountains
(06.12) --- Piece ends

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Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Gao Shan sources
46302.31 高山 gives only geography.
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2. For more on gong mode see Shenpin Gong Yi. For modes in general see Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature.
(Return)

3. Kuian Qinpu illustration (QQJC XI/13)
The sole figure is the seated qin player. The dark area in the middle seems to be a pine tree, and there is a solitary stream in the distance to the upper left. The handbook has no Liu Shui, but the inscription on the right side of the illustration says 高山流水 Gao Shan Liu Shui. Underneath that is perhaps the seal of the painter, but it is unclear in the QQJC edition reprint. The inscription to the left is also not clear.
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4. Gaoshan Liushui 高山流水
In his preface to Gao Shan in Shen Qi Mi Pu, Zhu Quan stated that Gao Shan Liu Shui was originally a single melody. It is thus somewhat odd that Zha's Guide 36/--/527 has only one entry for this combined title, in 松風閣琴譜 Songfengge Qinpu (1677/82): see QQJC XII, p.387; this seems to be only a short song. On the other hand, outside of the qin repertoire the combined title Gaoshan Liushui seems to be quite common.

46302.32 高山流水 refers to Liezi and a cipai 詞牌. Xu Jian's Outline History, p. 177, discusses these titles with the 19th century version of Liu Shui attributed to 張孔山 Zhang Kongshan of Sichuan.
(Return)

5. Tracing Gao Shan (Details are in the appendix below)
Zha Fuxi's Guide 2/21/14; for details on the 33 surviving editions that include Liu Shui see its own appendix. Note that Gao Shan is not in Zheyin Shizi Qinpu, and the lyrics of Chongxiu Zhenchuan Qinpu don't fit SQMP.
(Return)

6. Huailing Cao 懷陵操
This is the title of a melody in Qin Cao. The introduction to existing editions says,

Huailing Cao was created by Bo Ya. Bo Ya played the qin and created the sound of 滶徵 arousing (the note) zhi (or arouse zheng: evidence?). The rest missing.

In addition, the Gao Shan entry in Qin Shu: Qu Ming says it can also be called Huailing Cao.
(Return)

7. Confucius on water and mountains
The original quote (see 論語 Analects, VI.23) is

知者樂水，仁者樂山。

See also the quote from Xunzi in which Confucius is said to explain why gentlemen like to contemplate water flowing east.
(Return)

8. Bo Ya 伯牙
The full name of Bo Ya (538.18 伯牙) is sometimes said to be 俞伯牙 Yu Boya, but the surname Yu is rarely used. See also Boya Diao Ziqi (Boya Mourns Ziqi) and Ting Qin Fu (Listening to the Qin), which recounts a different version of this story. The present story is also told with the biography of Zhong Ziqi.
(Return)

9. The Lüshi Chunqiu of Lü Buwei (呂不韋﹕呂氏春秋 239 BCE)
Lü Buwei (see Wikipedia), while serving as Prime Minister to the king of Qin (later the first emperor of unified China, Qin Shihuang), apparently ordered the compilation of this volume in the year 239 BCE. For an English translation see Knoblock and Riegel.
(Return)

10. The story of Bo Ya and Zhong Ziqi according to Lüshi Chunqiu
The original Chinese text and the following translation are from Knoblock and Riegel, op. cit, p. 308 (their incorrect translation of qin as lute is here reversed).

Whenever Bo Ya played the qin, Zhong Ziqi would listen to him. Once when he was playing the qin, his thoughts turned to Mount Tai. Zhong Ziqi said, "How splendidly you play the qin! Lofty and majestic like Mount Tai." A short time later, when his thoughts turned to rolling waters, Zhong Ziqi said, "How splendidly you play the qin! Rolling and swelling like a rushing river." When Zhong Ziqi died, Bo Ya smashed the qin and cut its strings. To the end of his life, he never played the qin again because he felt that there was no one in the world worth playing it for. This applies not only to the qin, but to worthiness as well. Although a man is worthy, if he is not received by a ruler with due courtesy, why should he devote his full loyalty to him? It is like the fleet-footed horse that will not go a thousand li by iteself when the driver is not skilled.

伯牙鼓琴，鍾子期聽之，方鼓琴而志在太山，鍾子期曰：『善哉乎鼓琴，巍巍乎若太山。』少選之間，而志在流水，鍾子期又曰：『善哉乎鼓琴，湯湯乎若流水。』鍾子期死，伯牙破琴絕弦，終身不復鼓琴，以為世無足復為鼓琴者。非獨琴若此也，賢者亦然。雖有賢者，而無禮以接之，賢奚由盡忠？猶御之不善，驥不自千里也。

This story has been used to suggest that Bo Ya was making up the music as he played, or, since the story is not considered to be historical, that it relates the concept of immprovisation. This may be the case, and the idea is reinforced by the translation saying, "when (Bo Ya's) thoughts turned to....". However, the original only says that is where his thoughts were, and there is nothing particularly to say he wasn't playing an existing melody, perhaps of his own creation.
(Return)

11. For 袞拂 gunfu, fingers of the right hand run from the 7th to 1st, then 1st to 7th strings. The 72 gunfu version of Liu Shui depicts the water flowing over the rocks so evocatively that one need not be a Zi Qi to realize it. Traditional qin music, though commonly programmatic, tends to be more subtle.
(Return)

12. For the original Chinese text see 高山.
(Return)

13. 琴史 Qin Shi: book name, or just the history of qin? Zhu Quan's sources are problematic. It is not a quote from Zhu Changwen's Qin History, which tells this story under Zhong Ziqi, not under Bo Ya.
(Return)

14. A. C. Graham, The Book of Liezi, pp. 109-110. Elsewhere it is explained that the reason Bo Ya never played again was his conviction that in life you are lucky to find one person with such deep understanding, and you could never hope to find two.
(Return)

15. The Chinese titles are as follows:

(00.00) 01. 嵩嶽崢嶸
(00.54) 02. 崑崙巀嶪
(01.23) 03. 天空獨嶂
(01.58) 04. 霞起群峰
(02.19) 05. 晴嵐積翠
(02.53) 06. 暮煙凝紫
(03.31) 07. 躡履思登
(03.56) 08. 巍巍若泰山
(04.41) 09. 振衣懷嘯
(05.31) 10. 仁者樂山
(06.12) --- 終
(Return)

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Appendix: Chart Tracing Gao Shan;
based mainly on Zha Fuxi's Guide, 2/21/14.

      琴譜
    (year; QQJC Vol/page)		 Further information: (QQJC = 琴曲集成 Qinqu Jicheng; QF = 琴府 Qin Fu)
Right aligned commentary is for later versions of Gao Shan; compare Liu Shui chart
  1.  神奇秘譜
      (1425; I/108)		 Original has no sectioning (but compare above) or phrasing indicated;
lyrics of 1585 don't fit
  2. 風宣玄品
      (1539; II/84)		 Same as 1425 but adds phrasing
 
  3. 西麓堂琴統
      (1549; III/74)		 8T; quite different: more elaborate
 
  4. 太音傳習
      (1552-61; IV/53)		 Phrasing but no sectioning; similar to 1425
 
  5. 新刊正文對音捷要
      (1573; --)		 Same as 1585?
This handbook does not include Liu Shui
  6.   重修真傳琴譜
      (1585; IV/315)		 4 titled sections; lyrics; melody is very different
 
  7. 玉梧琴譜
      (1589; VI/14)		 4; another very different version again
 
  8. 藏春塢琴譜
      (1602; VI/308)		 4; identical to 1589
 
9.a 真傳正宗琴譜
      (1589; VII/153)		 6, titled; also different
(楊倫太古遺音)
9.b 真傳正宗琴譜
      (1609; VII/--)		 same as 1589?
(楊倫太古遺音)
10. 古音正宗
      (1634; IX/274)		 6; related
 
11. 徽言秘旨
      (1647; X/35)		 8; related
 
12. 徽言秘旨訂
      (1692; X/251)		 9; related
 
13. 愧庵琴譜
      (1660; XI/13)		 related, no section titles, but an illustration!
Inscription at right of picture says "gaoshan liushui", but handbook has no Liu Shui
14.a. 琴苑新傳全編
      (1670; XI/315)		 11; related but different from 1425
 
14.b. 琴苑新傳全編
      (1670; XI/474)		 8; also related but different
 
15. 和文注音琴譜
      (<1676; XII/226)		 1; lyrics; related
 
   . 松風閣琴譜
      (1677/82; XII/387)		 Gaoshan Liushui: unrelated
 
16. 德音堂琴譜
      (1691; XII/485)		 6; related
 
17. 蓼懷堂琴譜
      (1702; XIII/176)		 8; related
 
18. 一峰園琴譜
      (1709; XIII/512)		 6; related;
 
19. 五知齋琴譜
      (1722; XIV/430)		 8; related; no Liu Shui
 
20. 存古堂琴譜
      (1726; XV?)		 no Liu Shui
 
21. 治心齋琴譜
      (1739; ?)		 no Liu Shui
 
22. 春草堂琴譜
      (1744; ?)		 no Liu Shui
see recording by Yao Bingyan
23. 琴劍合譜
      (1749; ?)		 ???
 
24. 穎陽琴譜
      (1751; XVI/66)		 6; related
 
25. 蘭田館琴譜
      (1760; XVI/195)		 related; no Liu Shui
 
26. 自遠堂琴譜
      (1802; XVII/295)		 8; related
 
27. 小蘭琴譜
      (1812; ?)		 no Liu Shui
 
28. 琴學軔端
      (1828; ?)		 ???
 
29. 鄰鶴齋琴譜
      (1830; ?)		 no Liu Shui
 
30. 悟雪山房琴譜
      (1836)		 Two versions
???
31. 槐蔭書屋琴譜
      (1840)		 ???
 
32. 琴學尊聞
      (1864)		 ???
 
33. 琴學入門
      (1864)		 no Liu Shui
Recording by Yao Bingyan?
34. 以六正五之齋琴譜祕書
      (1875)		 no Liu Shui
 
35. 天聞閣琴譜
      (1876)		 three versions (only one Liu Shui):
one follows 1744, one follows a Mr. Xu's, one follows a Mr. Zhang's
36. 天籟閣琴譜
      (1876)		 no Liu Shui; Zhang Kongshan pu?
 
37. 希韶閣琴譜
      (1878)		 ???
 
38. 雙琴書屋琴譜集成
      (1884)		 ???
 
39. 枯木禪琴譜
      (1893)		 ???
 
40. 琴學初津
      (1894)		 no Liu Shui
 
41. 詩夢齋琴譜
      (1914)		 no Liu Shui
 
42. 沙堰琴編
      (1946)		 Sichuan school handbook:
see recordings by 俞伯蓀 Yu Bosun and Wang Huade
43. 夏一峰傳譜
      (1957)		 #10 has staff notation of a Gaoshan Liushui:
see in Liu Shui chart
44. 研易習琴齋琴譜
      (1961)		 8 sections
 
46. 虞山吳氏琴譜
      (2001)		 Staff notation; based on 1722
 

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