Guanghan (or Guanghan Gong), is said to be the name of a palace on the moon.⁵ From what Zhu Quan wrote in his preface, it seems that the melody uses the image of the moon to evoke a rather abstract theme.⁶ However, Zhu Quan would certainly have been aware of its association with a romantic story about the Tang emperor Minghuang (685-762).⁷

In fact, some later handbooks do connect this melody directly with the Tang Minghuang story;⁸ they may also use the title Qingdu Yin (Heavenly City Tune⁹). Perhaps Zhu Quan ignored or rejected these stories because of their folkloric, romantic, or foreign associations.¹⁰

In the scene Qin Tiao from the 16th century opera Jade Hairpin when the novice nun Chen Miaochang plays a melody called Guanghan You her wooer Pan Bizheng comments that it is a melody often played by nuns. Since Miaochang seems not at all unwilling regarding his advances, perhaps this melody was known to have this double meaning.¹¹

According to some historical sources, once when Tang Minghuang was viewing Ladies' Mountain¹², in He'nan, he imagined himself flying to the moon and seeing the beautiful women said to live there.¹³ Returning to his palace he created music to describe the imaginary trip. He wrote about half, then the rest was finished by palace musicians; in this there is said to have been influence from Indian Buddhist music, in particular a Brahman Melody. The result was a dance piece called Nishang Yuyi (Rainbow Garment).¹⁴

Later versions of this story, particularly in Chinese opera, had Minghuang actually going to the moon, hearing a celestial melody, memorizing it, and then teaching his court musicians to play it; or his famous concubine Yang Guifei creating the dance from a dream, then enthralling the emperor so much that after she died he was miserable until he, too, died and was able to join her on the moon and see her dance it again.¹⁵

So far I have found no musical connections between the qin melody Guanghan You and operas that relate this story.

 
Original Preface¹⁶

The Emaciated Immortal says

this is an old tune. Its meaning is elevated and profound, its interest broad and deep. You have thoughts of effortless solitary steps in the Heavenly Net. The flavor is of ascending emptiness and riding the winds, grabbing a shimmering essence as it brightly flows in the Great Void; moreover, its aim is pure, imperceptible and profound, and I cannot get it well enough to describe it. It causes a person who listens to it intuitively to feel comfortably cool (in hair and bones), and to straighten up his body as if he were in a palace of broad coolness and clear void.¹⁷

 
Music
Nine sections (untitled; titles here are from Chongxiu Zhenchuan Qinpu)¹⁸

(00.00) 1. Mist and fog on the mysterious road
(01.19) 2. Riding an immortal's log through the Milky Way
(01.30) 3. Melodious music of the immortals
(02.23) 4. The cool jade cup is dark and shiny
(02.42) 5. Ax of Wu Gang¹⁹
(03.54) 6. Palace of Heng E²⁰
(04.14) 7. Meeting of Wind and Clouds
(04.39) 8. Happiness is finalized, so return
(05.17) 9. Perform songs and laugh while dancing
(05.50) -- harmonics
(06.04) -- Piece ends

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Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Guanghan You 廣寒遊
9693.xxx (but see .200 廣寒 Guang Han, etc). 3/1267 Guang Han adds that this can also refer to the northern palace for Daoist immortals. (Return)

2. For further information on gong mode see Shenpin Gong Yi and Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature. (Return)

3. Zha Fuxi's Guide, 3/36/48.

The Guide does not include Buxuxian Qinpu (1556), as that part is missing from the Qinqu Jicheng edition; Van Gulik, Lore, translates the 1556 section headings, which are different from here. The versions dated 1585 and 1620 have lyrics (identical, though the music is different; they begin 晚免雲開，煙霞藹藹。素影動金波，清光涵碧海....). The handbooks dated 1547, 1552, 1557 and 1647 have a melody named Clear Emptiness Intonation 清虛吟 Qingxu Yin (see below; it is sometimes said to be an alternate name for 玄默 Xuan Mo!) preceding or following Guanghan You. (Return)

4. 桃園(源)春曉 Taoyuan Chunxiao, Zha's Guide 23/198/--. The handbooks are dated 1670 (Peach Garden) and 1802 (Peach Spring). The unrelated melody Taoyuan Chunxiao is discussed separately. (Return)

5. Guang Han (Gong)
Literally, (Palace of) Spreading Frigidity. 9693.200 says,

The "Palace of Spreading Frigidity" is also mentioned in the seduction scene of the opera Xi Xiang Ji.
(Return)

6. Zhu Quan also gives an abstract explanation for #25 Guanghan Qiu; compare its associations with popular stories. (Return)

7. Zhu Quan also wrote a famous book on Yuan dynasty opera. (Return)

8. In particular the handbooks dated 1557 and 1585 (see section headings under Music, above) (Return)

9. Qingdu Yin
See 18003.485 清都 (heavenly capitol)，天帝之宮闕帝都也 (Return)

10. Some of these are discussed in footnotes below about fairy ladies, the [in]famous concubine Yang Guifei, and the Indian Buddhist connection. In his preface Zhu Quan says he changed the name of some pieces. (Return)

11. See 琴挑 Qin Tiao in 玉簪記 (Jade Hairpin) by Gao Lian 高濂 (fl. 1573-1581). (Return)

12. 6170.2 女ㄦ山 Nü'er Shan, about 75 km southwest of Loyang, the old Zhou and latter Han capital; also called 石雞山 Stone Chicken Mountain. (Return)

13. Some famous inhabitants of the moon are mentioned in the section titles (q.v.). (Return)

14. Rainbow Garment and Brahman Melody
楊蘟瀏，中國古代音樂史稿 Yang Yinliu's History of Ancient Chinese Music, 1980, p.222 ff. 霓裳羽衣 Nishang yuyi describes the rainbow-colored long gowns worn by fairy immortals; the Brahman melody (婆羅門曲 Polomen Qu) was said to come from within the court. (Return)

15. Yang Guifei 楊貴妃
Yang Guifei was one of China's "four great beauties". She is sometimes said to have learned the 霓裳羽衣 Rainbow Garment dance during a trip to the moon. Two opera titles related to this story are 唐明皇遊月宮 Tang Minghuang You Yuegong and 長生殿 Changsheng Dian.

16. For the original Chinese text see 廣寒遊. (Return)

17. For Clear Void (清虛 Qingxu) see the chart tracing Guanghan You (N.B., not yet online): Guanghan You is often preceded by a Qingxu Yin. (Return)

18. The preface to the version in Chongxiu Zhenchuan Qinpu (1585) relates the story of Tang Minghuang. The titles in Chinese are:

19. 吳剛 Wu Gang (See also under Guanghan Qiu)
Wu Gang spends all his time trying to chop down a tree which keeps growing new leaves; however, he was able to stop long enough to defend Heng E. (Return)

20. 姮娥 Heng E (See also under Guanghan Qiu)
Heng E is the original name of 嫦娥 Chang E (or Chang O), a beautiful woman who stole the elixir of immortality which had been given to her husband, Hou Yi 后羿 the Archer). She then had to flew up to the moon to escape his wrath. (Return)

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