The melody in Shen Qi Mi Pu is quite singable using the lyrics found in <1491, though some re-alignment is needed of the words and tablature. In common with the other melodies in Folio I of Shen Qi Mi Pu, the original tablature had no punctuation. 1539 does, and in two places it has phrasing different from that given in <1491. The lyrics, included below with the section titles, give a good idea of the theme of this piece.

I have not found the attribution to "the same person who wrote Qiuyu Zhao Maoting", i.e., Cai Yong or Zuo Si, in earlier surviving qin sources.

Besides my own there are two other recordings, by Yao Gongbai, following his father Yao Bingyan's reconstruction, and by Liang Mingyue on the Taiwan recording Xiaoxiang Shuiyun (SMT or SMCM 1017). Liang plays the Kaizhi as a preface (see comments).

 
Original preface⁵

The Emaciated Immortal says

this piece was written by the same person who wrote Qiuyue Zhao Maoting. The interest of the piece lies in my having cherished thoughts, but no way to tell this to anyone. There are emotions about the present time (being inappropriate), longings for antiquity, or laments (for someone), but there is no way to express any of this. If someone don't understand music, how they share (my feelings)? Once I was thinking of a learned person I knew in the past, and I wanted to tell him (or her about this), but I could not do it, so I wrote this piece. (And) in the past when the wise men said the Dao was not prevailing, this meant they were longing for a sage. Of old it was said, "I think of a good friend and how the world is one place (but we are not together), so I want to go be with him because I cannot forget him." These are (ancient) sayings.

 
Music and Lyrics
Three sections;⁶ titles and lyrics added from Zheyin Shizi Qinpu

1. (00.00) Deep feelings In this poor reed studio the room is filled with with mist and haze,
   how far away are the things which interest me;
   the old plum tree seems exhausted, its flowers about to die,
   the mountains are lonely and I am nostalgic for the good old days.
   The moon shines brightly on this lovely evening,
   from this distance I think of my old friend and wonder where he is.
2. (00.58) Think of old days The green of the mountains never diminishes,
   but before I know it my hair is turning white;
   the moon is waning and flowers are withering,
   old friend, I constantly dream of meeting you.
   How hard it is to recall the joy of a pleasurable meeting!
   With the many mountain ranges,
   and the hidden tigers and coiled dragons,
   I am unable return to (you in) Chang An.
   The road is distant, the tall trees make the road dark, and the world is vast.
3. (01.40) Know oneself I mourn Aquila and Lyra
   (separated [by the Milky Way], like the cowherd and weaving girl),
   on the ground we are separated by 1,000 li ("kilometers"),
   in the sky we are each in a separate place,
   and our strong feelings go to waste.
   There has been no warm correspondence,
   there is restraint to the bright harmony,
   and the flowings streams are swallowed by the setting sun.

   (02.23)   "(The last two lines) can also be played in harmonics" (my recording repeats the lines in harmonics)
   (02.38)   End

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. 山中思友人 8043.xxx. Chinese words do not specify number, so youren can mean either "friend" or "friends". It suggests here people who have been friends a long time, hence the word "old" is usually added in translation. (Return)

2. For Huangzhong mode, slacken 1st, tighten 5th strings each a half step. For more details on this mode see Shenpin Wuyi Yi. For more on modes in general see Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature. (Return)

3. See Zha's Guide 3/33/42. More details are in the appendix below. (Return)

4. 憶故人 Yi Guren (Thinking of an Old Friend)
Yi Guren (11558.xxx), according to the short note with its publication in the Jinyu Qin Kan of 1937, is 亦名山中思友人或空山思故人 also called Shanzhong Si Youren or Kongshan Si Guren (25994.11xxx). However, it uses standard tuning and is musically unrelated to the Shanzhong Si Youren in huangzhong mode published centuries earlier, and the antecedents of the modern version are not clear. The tablature is said to follow the version played by 彭慶壽 Peng Qingshou (b. ca 1890 in Jiangxi), as written in the 理琴軒舊藏本 the old manuscript of Li Qin Xuan. (A modern version of Pu An Zhou is also said to have come from this source.)

The modern Yi Gu Ren is very popular today, with many recordings available. The Jinyu Qin Kan tablature is reprinted in Tong Kin-Woon's Qin Fu, p. 1367. It is also copied in such other publications as the Yinyinshi Qinpu and the Wumen Qinpu. Guqin Quji, Vol. 2, p. 116, has a version as played by 顧梅羹 Gu Meigeng, with staff notation, saying his version comes from the Liqinxuan Qinpu. Other commentaries on these melodies also mention a Liqinxuan Qinpu, but I have found no further information about it, and I am not aware that a copy of such a handbook, or the "old manuscript" mentioned above, actually exists. (Return)

5. For the original Chinese text see 山中思友人. (Return)

6. The original lyrics and titles in Zheyin Shizi Qinpu are as follows:

一、感懷

二、憶舊

(01.40) 三、知我

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Appendix: Chart Tracing Shanzhong Si Youren (plus Yi Guren)
based mainly on Zha Fuxi's Guide, 3/33/42.

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/118)	3; no phrasing indicated
2.  浙音釋字琴譜       (<1491; I/233)	3, titled; adds lyrics; otherwise same as 1425
3. 風宣玄品       (1539; II/373)	3; same as 1425 but with phrasing indicated
4.   重修真傳琴譜       (1585; IV/493)	3; 山中思故人 Shanzhong Si Guren; titled; lyrics as <1491; music related but quite different
5. 琴苑新傳全編       (1670; XI/406)	3; 山中思友 Shanzhong Si You; almost same as 1425, but a few changes; a few phrase indications
6. 今虞琴刊       (1937)	"憶故人，亦名山中思友人或空山憶故人" standard tuning, unrelated to the above; earliest printing of today's version
7. 夏一峰傳譜       (1957/77)	8; like 1937
8. 研易習琴齋琴譜       (1961/Folio 2)	8; like 1937
9. 愔愔室琴譜       (2000/165)	6; like 1937; has gongche pu
10.a. 虞山吳氏琴譜       (2001/116)	from 1937; staff notation
10.b. 虞山吳氏琴譜       (2001/383)	From 1425; staff notation

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