Zhu Quan mentions perhaps the earliest literary reference, a poem (#184) in the section Xiao Ya of the Shi Jing (Classic of Poetry), which begins, "The Crane Cries in the Nine Marshpools"; Shuang Qing Zhuan has lyrics which include the lines, "The Gibbon and Crane were nurtured together." Scholars liked to have these animals in their gardens, the gibbon because it was human-like, the crane because it was a symbol of longevity (it was also said to be able to fly to the moon).

Whether this sheds any light on the actual date of the respective tablatures is questionable. Reading between the lines of Zhu Quan's account, he found an old tablature but considerably re-edited it.

Van Gulik's Lore of the Chinese Lute has an extensive section on the relationship between the scholar and the crane.

There is one other recording, by Yao Gongbai (his own reconstruction). Yuan He Shuangqing is recorded by Wang Huade

 
Original Preface⁸

The Emaciated Immortal, in accordance with Qin Tradition⁹, says

this is an old tune. Xiao Ya has a section He Ming which says, "Cranes cry in nine (i.e., a row of) marshpools; the sound is heard in the wilderness;" and, "The sound is heard in the heavens." Zhu Xi's (12th c.) commentary says, "A marshpool in the bend of a river is called a gao; the number of marshpools is nine, exemplifying the depth and distance. The crane is a bird with an immortal spirit; its cry is lofty and clear and can be heard for eight or nine li." The meaning of this tune perhaps comes from its comparing the call of the crane and the music of the qin.

Once I raised two cranes in the bamboo grove of my Qin Courtyard. Sometimes they would look at their shadows and dance together; other times they would fly up together and cry back and forth. But it was only at certain appropriate times. As for dancing, when they felt a heavenly breeze they would dance in order to shake their feathers (and clean them in the wind); (as for crying out), when they raise (their heads) and to look at the Milky Way and see the divine,¹⁰ then they would cry out. If it wasn't the appropriate time they wouldn't cry out; if it wasn't the appropriate time they wouldn't dance.

People know that cranes are birds with a divine spirit, and thus someone created this composition.

 
Music
10 sections:¹¹

(00.00) 01. Aiming for Cloud Nine (the top of heaven)
(00.19) 02. Soaring up in the sky
(01.11) 03. Flapping wings to go skywards
(01.30) 04. Sounds are heard in the heavens
(01.47) 05. Fluttering about, looking at the heights
(02.05) 06. (Cranes dance) Dancing in a circle, crying back and forth
(02.46) 07. Crane calls resound in the sky
(03.02) 08. Coming out of the clouds so as play with their shadows
(03.23) 09. Circling Cloud Nine
(04.10) 10. A white crane in the blue-green sky.
(04.37) --- harmonics
(04.52) --- Piece ends

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Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1 48157.155 鶴鳴 he ming; #3 is 詩經小雅 Xiao Ya section of the Shi Jing, with a quote, but no mention of 九皋 jiu gao nine marshbanks. 48157.157 鶴鳴之歎 mentions 鶴鳴于九皋, which is the opening line of Shi Jing poem #184. TKW says "9" implies a long marshbank in the bend of a river, not a series of them. 23231.0 皋 gao gives a quote from the Shi Jing and then a commentary by Jian 箋 "澤中水溢出所為坎" "so called hole from which water is flooding out in a marsh"

A note on the character used for "marshbank" ("gao"). The forms used in Shen Qi Mi Pu and most later handbooks, 30788 (自 over ^二_十^二 [see also 23241, with 白 on top]; the 十 is elongated and sometimes has an extra horizontal stroke; 30788 says "皋之俗字"; 23241 says "與皋同"), is not in my computer. The gao of 1511 is 23241, with the 白 on top. The other handbooks use one of these two except for 1553 and 1557, which have 皋 . 23231.0 皋 gao lists the forms mentioned above, and also 睾 , as alternates, but I cannot find a separate entry for 睾 in 中文大辭典; 漢語大詞典 says this form means 睾丸 testicles. Matthews and Wieger both seem to have all these forms as being interchangeable. There is the same problem with the gao used elsewhere on this site, including in the biographies of Shin-Etsu, Chu Shang Liang and Han Gao. (Return)

2 Standard tuning is also considered as 5 6 1 2 3 5 6. For further information on shang mode see Shenpin Shang Yi and Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature. (Return)

3 Zha Guide 5/51/72 includes two from 1561, but omits 1546 and 1551; see appendix below. (Return)

4 猿鶴雙清 Yuan He Shuang Qing
21054.31 猿鶴 yuan he﹕ 猿與鶴也。（宋史，石揚休傳）平居養猿鶴. Earliest version is 1511, Shuang Qing Zhuan. The two pieces share some musical motifs, but I haven't compared them closely. Van Gulik's The Gibbon in China (1967) is a fascinating essay in animal lore. (Return)

5 Taigu Yiyin adds lyrics to all songs. It does not offer any authorship for He Ming Jiu Gao, but attributes Yuan He Shuangqing to the Song dynasty scholar official Shi Yangxiu - see next footnote. (Return)

6 石揚休 Shi Yangxiu (995-1057); there are biographical notes with Shuang Qing Zhuan. A poem of his about listening to the qin played by the monk Wen Ying is included in 琴書大全 Qinshu Daquan Folio 19B, #87, and discussed in Folio 17, #36. (Return)

7 太音補遺﹕ 臞仙所補，以鶴明九睾喻琴聲之清婉也。 (Return)

8 For the original Chinese text see 鶴鳴九皋. (Return)

9 琴傳 Qin Zhuan: book name? Zhu Quan's sources are problematic. The book of this title attributed to Liu Xiang is too early. (Return)

10 lit. a shenwu: divination object having spiritual powers (Return)

11 For the original Chinese section titles see 鶴鳴九皋. Timings follow my CD. (Return)

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Appendix: Chart Tracing He Ming Jiugao
Based mainly on Zha Fuxi's Guide, 5/51/72.

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/133)	10 sections, titled
2.   謝琳太古遺音       (1511; I/265)	1511; L; 8 sections (marked by circles); related but quite different
3.   風宣玄品       (1539; II/192)	L (diff); 9 sections; related
4.   梧岡琴譜       (1546; I/392)	10 sections; related
5.a. 琴譜正傳       (1561; II/411)	same as 1546
5.b. 琴譜正傳       (1561; II/419)	9 sections; lyrics like 1511, music similar
6.   西麓堂琴統       (1549; III/88)	9 sections, titled
7.   太音傳習       (1553-62; IV/97)	= 1425 compare next
8.   太音補遺       (1557; III/343)	10T; elaboration of 1425; intro says only, "臞仙所補，以鶴明九睾喻琴聲之清婉也". (i.e., amended by Zhu Quan)
9.   琴書大全       (1590; V/487)	10 sections; related

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