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Zheyin ToC   /   Compare Guan Ju Qu (1511) From my CD listen to a recording 聽錄音   /   首頁
01. Cry of the Ospreys
- Zhi mode, standard tuning: 2   1 2 4 5 6 1 2
關雎 1
Guan Ju
An osprey 3          
The title is from the first poem in the over 2,500 year-old Book of Songs (Shi Jing), but whereas the Guan Ju Qu in Taigu Yiyin (1511) sets the whole poem (and the next four poems) word for word, here they are quite different. Here the lyrics are not so much a love song as political commentary, with the marriage of Wen Wang and his queen symbolizing the harmony of society under his rule.4

Only section six quotes from the Shi Jing poem.5

"Guan, guan," trill the ospreys,
On the island in the creek.
Modest is the gentle beauty,
Fine for the gentleman to seek.

He seeks but cannot get her,
he thinks of her day and night.
Twisting and turning in his plight.
Twisting and turning in his plight.

Other than these four-character phrases the lyrics are in phrases of irregular length.

Though not surviving in the linear (unbroken) tradition, Guan Ju was once one of the most popular qin pieces, found in 54 handbooks to 1894. It was attributed to Zhou Gong, son of Wen Wang and younger brother of Wu Wang, first ruler of the Zhou dynasty (1122-255).6

 
Zheyin Shizi Qinpu Preface7

The Beyond-Sounds Immortal says,

as for this melody, it began with Zhou Gong; later people often added to it, making the current version. The Royal Ancestor's Handbook does not have this melody. It uses Guan Ju, as the first section of the Shi Jing, (from) the southern kingdoms influenced by the culture of Wen Wang, to allude to the enjoyment of peace in the happy marriage and happy relationship of Wen Wang and his queen, since (marriage is), in fact, the first among human relationships, and is essential to the fundamentals of society.

Ah! His happiness - could anything be so great!

 
Music
Nine titled sections, all with lyrics:
8

00.00   1. The prince-like osprey finds a good marriage
01.06   2. Very gentle are (the wives of the royal family of) Zhou and Zhao
02.09   3. Using (a birdcall) as a metaphor for (the queen's virtue)
02.40   4. Praise (her) virtue and acclaim (her) conduct
03.26   5. (Like) the wind (, the queen) guides the world
04.00   6. They mutually call out in harmony to each other
04.19   7. The correct (wedding) ceremony (leads to) a successful marriage
05.19   8. (The king and queen's) virtue (is) as great as heaven and earth
05.59   9.(The king and queen have) eternal worship in the Zhou family temple
06.37     closing harmonics
06.54     end

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Guan Ju references
42402.191 Guan Ju does not mention a qin melody
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2. Zhi mode
Standard tuning is also considered as 5 6 1 2 3 5 6 , but 1 2 4 5 6 1 2 seems to work better here. The music of this version of Guan Ju is more diatonic than pentatonic. The accompanying transcription, by treating the open first string as 1 (C) makes the tonal center here 5 (G), the equivalent of the open fourth string; the secondary tonal center is then 2 (D), the equivalent of the open second string. It is tempting instead to consider the open fourth string as 1 (transposing the tuning to 4 5 7 1 2 4 5). In this case the secondary tonal center would generally be 5 (G). However, 4 (F) would be more prominent than is common in qin melodies. And in this case the scale generally used would then become 1 2 3 4 5 6 7b 1 , with 3 often changed to flatted 3 and flatted 7 sometimes changed to 7. For more information about zhi mode see Shenpin Zhi Yi. For modes in general see Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature. (Return)

3. Image
See full image with further information
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4. Lyrics
See complete lyrics below.
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5. Original Shi Jing lyrics
The original Shi Jing poem has 20 four-character phrases arranged as five verses of 2 four-character couplets each ([{4+4}x2] x 5). Lines from this original poem can only be found in the present Section 6, which has the first and third verse, but in the latter omits the first half of the second couplet, instead repeating the four-character phrase of the second half (i.e., it has four-character phrases #1-4 then 9,10,12,12).
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6. Tracing Guan Ju
See Zha Guide 11/109/179 Guan Ju Qu. In all, nine early handbooks include lyrics for Guan Ju:

Zheyin Shizi Qinpu (present version)
Taigu Yiyin (1511), lyrics are Shi Jing poems 1-5
Faming Qinpu (1530); different new lyrics
Xilutang Qintong (1539); Section 5 is set to the opening 4x4 verse
Longhu Qinpu (1571); like 1511, but sectioning is different
Chongxiu Zhenchuan Qinpu (1585): lyrics quite similar to those in ZYSZQP
Lixing Yuanya (1618): two versions, #1 like 1585, #2 like 1511 but 5 strings, only poem 1
Lixuezhai Qinpu (1730): again new lyrics
Lüyin Huigai (1835); like 1618, #2
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7. Original preface
The original Chinese preface can be seen under 關雎.
(Return)

8. Music and lyrics
The original Chinese section titles and lyrics are as follows,

  1. 王睢善匹
    江沱汝漢河洲,赤沙碧草地偏幽。看並立王鳩,雌雄聲應也氣求,關關相友和柔。雙宿食,雙並游,鳩無相狎愛姿優那游。水禽鳥,難為儔,鳧鷖狀類,德不相侔。摯而那有別,關睢冠於毛傳首,思憶憶,周文王后妃有聖德,宜相好逑。
  2. 大閒周召
    大閒那周召,睢鳩與有定偶,那死生同命,詩人托物的那於以起賦比興。周南召南的那諷誦弦歌之聲,相應和鳴。后妃聖德,纓閒貞靜也,有以宜配文王。亦若那睢鳩的那陰陽定偶,關關然相應如寶友。思憶憶也,周文王后妃有聖德,宜相好求。
  3. 即物興人
    即鳥聲之和,與女德之和。致貞淑,南北弦歌。美成內治,普德而多,善匹善處而如何,而如何。宗廟之主,綱紀而呵,統理天下萬物而呵,被之管弦,房中之樂。
  4. 興德稱行
    關睢后妃,德舉全體。貴而勤,葛覃志行在己,樛木螽斯德惠及人,福履綏之矣。合太和,致中和,茂德音呵,關睢流水之河,相與和樂,相與和樂,和樂。於是德化大成,於內相從,汝漢江沱。被之管弦,而為房中之樂。
  5. 風化天下
    女德在貞淑,女行在昭德。慎固纓深,太姒也風化天下,正位於後宮,其儀不忒。關睢風化南而北,民俗歌謠,的那閨門鄉黨而邦國。上天作合非偶然,誦詩三百。 
  6. 相與和鳴 
    關關睢鳩,在何之洲。窈窕淑女,君子好逑。求之不得,寤寐思服。展轉返側,展轉反側。
  7. 禮正婚姻 禮正婚姻,禮正婚姻,優哉游哉,配匹之際,生民之始,萬福之原,萬福原,宜配君子焉。感於性,以發於情,而宰於心。成為詩,形於聲,響諸音樂,皆得乎和平。婚禮也宜其時,興於桃夭,形於江漢,其為誰,其為誰。
  8. 德侔天地
    賢其賢,賦性而全乎天。太姒體坤承乾,至靜至健,賢其賢。文王也,后妃也,德侔天地,開分萬化之原。三綱以正,六紀俱全,賢賢,張理上下,整齊人道,你那倫理綿綿。思無邪也,詩冠乎三百篇。
  9. 配享宗周
    王政呵,閨門始,身化天下,文王所致。關睢之詩,內系賢助相維之,內系賢助相維之。玉葉繼金枝,樂享宗周傳世系,好合那兮,得其那宜也,萬古名垂。
    (
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