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03. Moon over the Immortals' Mountain
- jiao mode ( 5 6 1 2 3 5 6 ) 2 		仙山月1
Xian Shan Yue

This melody, surviving only in Wusheng Qinpu (1453), is the only melody in that handbook found elsewhere: it is also in Xilutang Qintong (1549).3 The preface there says,4

"Humbly looking at the Lazy Immortal's Qin Mysteries, Five Pieces, one can see that his learning is very abstruse and distinguished, not the sort of thing one can disdain nowadays. It includes the jiao mode melody Xian Shan Yue in Nine Sections. This melody cannot be found in other new or old qin books, so it must be original. As a result I have included it here."

The melodies in Wusheng Qinpu are generally attributed to its author, the Lazy Immortal. However, the afterword in Wusheng Qinpu to Xian Shan Yue suggests that Xian Shan Yue was revised from an old melody. Xilutang Qinpu does not seem to accept this, but the fact that it is the only melody with any commentary suggests that this might be the case.

Xilutang Qintong also makes some corrections.

 
Original Preface
None, but there is an afterword, as follows5

This melody should be transmitted personally, and cannot be learned without much effort. It is an old jiao mode melody here newly revised. Its beauty is beyond the mere fingering.

 
Music
Nine Sections (untitled)

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1 391.33 仙山 mountain where immortals live

   1/1140 has more references (q.v.), but nothing about the moon.
(Return)

2 ? (Return)

3 Zha's Guide 10/109/--/ (Return)

4 伏觀懶仙所著琴訣五篇，其學玄邃卓絕，非近世淺夫所能睥睨。中載角音仙山月，九段，古今琴書所闕，其來必有自也，故錄之。 (Return)

5 此曲必須手傳，非勉而可能焉。古角調中曲，今鮮作者，良由不得其旨也。 (Return)

 
Return to the Wusheng Qinpu ToC or to the Guqin ToC.