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19. Pheasants' Morning Flight
- Standard tuning: 5 6 1 2 3 5 6 played as 1 2 4 5 6 1 2 		雉朝飛
Zhi Zhao Fei 1

The lyrics for the melody here are Zhi Zhao Fei Cao by Han Yu (768-824) in the voice of Du Muzi. Like the poem, the music has just 11 phrases. It seems musically unrelated to Zhi Zhao Fei in Shen Qi Mi Pu, though the accompanying explanation shows that the story is the same.

Yuefu Shiji, Folio 57, #23 says Zhi Zhao Fei Cao is also called Zhi Zhao Gou Cao.2 It has introductions to this from four sources, then has seven different poems. The contents of this entry are as follows.

Yang Xiong, Qin Qing Ying

Relates the story of the governess of a woman of Wei. On her way to marry a prince of Qi, the woman of Wei learned that he had died. She committed suicide "to protect her virginity" and changed into a pheasant. This saddened her governess, who then wrote Zhi Zhao Fei.

Cui Bao, Notes Old and New

Tells the Du Muzi story, adding that in the time of Cao Cao (ca. 200 CE10) a woman in the palace named Ms. Lu, who was good at new sounds, was able to play this piece; she apparently also married late.

Bo Ya, untitled Qin Song

麥秀蔪兮雉朝飛，向虛壑兮背喬槐，依絕區兮臨回池。

Yuefu Jieti

Concerns emperor Jianwen of Liang. He is connected to the aforementioned story of Ms. Lu.

This is followed by seven lyrical settings.

  1. Du Muzi

  2. Bao Zhao

  3. Emperor Jianwen of Liang

  4. Wu Jun

  5. Li Bai

    His lyrics connect the story to spring time. This is perhaps one reason that the prelude to Zhi Zhao Fei in Xilutang Qintong is Chunxiao Yin.

  6. Han Yu (768-824)

    These are the lyrics used in Taigu Yiyin (see below)

  7. Zhang Hu

In addition, the biography of Ms. Lu

A later example of a Zhi Zhao Fei poem is the one by the Song dynasty's Cao Xun in his own collection called Qin Cao. 3

 
Original Taigu Yiyin preface

Translation incomplete.

 
Music and lyrics: One section
A largely syllabic setting, following the structure of the lyrics:
(6 + [4+4] x 3, then [4+6] x 1, then [5+5] x 1)

The pheasants' flight on a morning day,
....(translation incomplete)

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1 42936.20 雉朝飛 (see also 14705.127 朝飛操, which quotes Cui Bao) says "qin melody" and quotes Yuefu Shiji (see p.837), including some of the poems. The monk Ju Yue (Seng Juyue) lists it as "most ancient". See also Xu Jian, pp. 8-9. (Return)

2 42936.xxx 雉朝雊操 Zhi Zhao Gou Cao: Pheasants Call Out in the Morning (Return)

2 (Return)

4 (see Yuefu Shiji, p.837) (Return)

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