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TGYY  ToC  /   Compare Huangzhong Yi and Shenpin Wuyi Yi 首頁
24. Yellow Bell Mode
- Standard tuning:2 5 6 1 2 3 5 6 played as 1 2 4 5 6 1 2
 
黃鐘調 1
Huangzhong Diao
 
Huangzhong, the Yellow Bell, is the first the
Twelve Tones. In other Ming dynasty handbooks Yellow Bell Mode is usually the name used for the tuning 1 3 5 6 1 2 3 (slacken 1st string, tighten 5th; see in Shen Qi Mi Pu, where pieces in this tuning are grouped under Wuyi mode: see Shenpin Wuyi Yi. It is also used for 1 2 3 5 6 1 2 (lower the 3rd string, see Huangzhong Yi, #99 in Xilutang Qintong). The reason it is used here for a melody in standard tuning is not clear. Since huangzhong is associated with the 11th month (see chart) one might look there for a connection to the lyrics.

Since the lyrics seem to be connected to a those of a poem by Li He about the 9th month, the association with huangzhong thus remains unclear. On the other hand, the mode that is actually associated with the 9th month is wuyi (again see chart; wuyi is also the name of the 10th bell), and the wuyi tuning is usually considered to be the same as that of huangzhong. Does this have some relevance here?

Although the author or title of the lyrics for Huangzhong Diao are not identified in Taigu Yiyin they are, as just suggested, virtually identical to the poem Ninth Month by Li He, one of his 13 Songs of the Twelve Months. All 13 poems are included in Yuefu Shiji at the end of Chapter 82.4

The main tonal center is the open first string (do); secondary tonal center is the open fourth string (sol). However, the closing note is do and fa together. Many melodies have unexpected closing notes. Perhaps further research might explain why, as well as provide answers to the other questions.

 
Original preface 5

None.

 
Music 6
One Section with lyrics throughout. The setting follows the syllabic structure ([7+7] x 4) of the lyrics

Leaving the palace to wander in the clouds, the skies seem like water;
      The bamboo is yellow and the pool is cold, the hibiscuses have died
....(translation incomplete)

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Huangzhong Diao 黃鐘調 (QQJC I/283)
48904.1330 xxx.
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2. Tuning and Mode
Shenpin Wuyi Yi has comment on huangzhong and wuyi modes, but the melody here uses standard tuning and the main tonal center is do, secondarily sol, mostly pentatonic but with a few added fa and flatted ti.
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3. Image
No appropriate image yet found.
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4. 九月 Ninth Month by 李賀 Li He
Yuefu Shiji, Chapter 82, calls the set 十二月樂辭十三首 13 Songs of the 12 Months, adding that the full title was 河南府試十二月樂辭並閏月 13 Songs of the Twelve Months plus the Intercalary Month (Poems Written for the Henan Provincial Examinations). The differences in the present version are noted below. (Return)

5. NFI
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6. Original lyrics
The lyrics in Chinese are as follows:

離宮散雲天似水,竹黃池冷芙蓉死。   (for 雲 YFSJ has 螢 fireflies)
月綴金鋪光脈脈,涼苑虛庭空淡白。   (for 淡 YFSJ has 澹)
霜花飛飛風草草,翠錦琅玕滿層道。   (for 玕 YFSJ has 斑)
雞人唱罷曉蘢蔥,鴉啼金井下疏桐。 (for 唱罷 YFSJ has 罷唱; for 蘢蔥 YFSJ has 瓏璁)

Here is the poem by Li He as found in YFSJ:

九月 in 李賀:河南府試十二月樂詞並閏月

離宮散螢天似水,竹黃池冷芙蓉死。
月綴金鋪光脈脈,涼苑虛庭空澹白。
露花飛飛風草草,翠錦斕斑滿層道。
雞人罷唱曉瓏璁,鴉啼金井下疏桐。
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