This is the only piece Shen Qi Mi Pu ascribes to Xu Tianmin, the famous Song dynasty qin teacher and colleague of Mao Minzhong. Xu is better known as a collector and teacher of old qin pieces.⁴

The original reference to a fisherman by a marshbank comes from the chapter The Fisherman in the book of Zhuangzi.⁵ Here a passing fisherman makes a comment about Confucius' failings. Confucius goes down to the marshbank and receives a lecture before the fisherman rows off.

Perhaps this story was a model for the story related here, which can be found in a poem in the Chu Ci, the Songs of the South.⁶ The Chu Ci collection has several stories along these lines, all concerning (or perhaps written by) the unemployed scholar-official Qu Yuan (340?-278 BCE), but the section titles of Zepan Yin directly connect it with the poem called Chu Ci poem Yu Fu, The Fisherman. This poem presents a conversation between Qu Yuan and a fisherman on a marshbank; when Qu Yuan speaks of his grief, the fisherman responds by getting into his boat and singing a Canglang Song, ⁷ the meaning of which is that when government is clean it is fine to work with it, but when it becomes dirty one should be happy to leave it.

This story is related in detail in Qu Yuan's biography in The Book of History,⁸ which quotes another Chu Ci poem, Embracing Sand (Huai Sha, one of the Jiu Zhang), adding that after reciting the poem Qu Yuan jumped into the Miluo river and drowned himself, an event still commemorated by the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.

Other melodies connected to Qu Yuan's grief include the Li Sao (#57), which relates Qu Yuan's fanciful search for a worthy sovereign; and Qu Yuan Wen Du, which also depicts an encounter between Qu Yuan and a fisherman (or boatman).

Zhu Quan in Nanchang, although as a prince he could be considered an official, was in fact in a form of exile for having been associated with a rival competitor to the emperor, and so he had to steer clear of any official controversy. The lyrics added to this melody in Zheyin Shizi Qinpu also includes a reference to Canglang.

There is also a recording of this piece by Yao Gongbai, his own reconstruction, not Yao Bingyan's.

 
Original Preface⁹

The Emaciated Immortal says

this piece is said to have been composed by Xuejiang (Xu Tianmin). It depicts Qu Yuan's upright service to his lord, being out-of-step with his (evil) times and thus sent into exile, then wandering along the banks of a river, having the heart of a man loyal to his lord and loving his country, resulting in his appearance seeming withered and melancholy. Furthermore, this connects with his meeting a fisherman and telling him (this story) in order to get rid of his feelings of depression at being covered with the dust (of society), not realizing that the old fisherman would disagree, then row his boat off by himself. (Qu) Yuan, having no one to whom he could speak his accusations, could do nothing and had to stop. This idea of there being nothing one can do cannot help but cause listeners to be moved to sadness, cry bitterly and shed tears, and be unable to stop sighing.

 
Music
Four sections:¹⁰

(00.00) 1. Wandering along the bank of the river
(00.42) 2. Meeting an old fisherman as he travels
(01.32) 3. Unfairly treated by society
(02.18) 4. Paddling the boat and singing.
(02.58) -- play harmonics of this mode
(03.14) -- Melody ends

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Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. 澤畔吟 18858.33 zepan: Quotes the story from Zhuangzi. See also comments by Xu Jian, p.107. Normally I don't translate such words in the title as "yin" and "cao", but in this case the related story also involves a song. (Return)

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

3. Zha Guide 9/89/137; chart not yet online. The later handbook is 1670. (Return)

4. For further information on Xu and his contemporaries see Historical Notes on the Silk String Zither. (Return)

5. Zhuangzi, Section 31 Yu Fu, beginning. See translation by James Ware. (Return)

6. 楚辭 Translated by David Hawkes (Penguin, p.206); see also Xu Yingchong, Poetry of the South, Hunan Publishing Co. p.163 (dual language). The conversation takes place along a marshbank. (Return)

7. The lyrics added to this melody in Zheyin also include a reference to Canglang. See #52 Fan Canglang), grouped under the previous (ruibin) mode. (Return)

8. See The Grand Scribe's Records, William Nienhauser, ed., Vol. VII, p.299. (Return)

9. For the original Chinese text see 澤畔吟. (Return)

10. For the original Chinese titles see 澤畔吟. (Return)

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