In all, between 1511 and 1589 at least 11 handbooks had 12 related versions of the present Spring River melody, as follows:⁷

1. Chun Jiang Qu (Spring River Melody; Tang dynasty lyrics; two versions: 1511 and 1585)
   The present version and the one published in 1585 have almost identical lyrics but the melodies are somewhat different; the melody is attributed to one of the three lyricists, Guo Zhen.
2. Chun Jiang (Spring River; instrumental; six versions [omit one unrelated] from 1539 to 1596)
   Four have no commentary, the other two are attributed to the Yuan essayist and poet Yu Ji.⁸
3. Chun Jiang Wan Tiao (Spring River Evening View; instrumental; one version [1549])
   This melody is still related to the above, in particular the 1539 Chun Jiang. The title occurs only in Xilutang Qintong, where the commentary connects it to Zhang Zhihe fishing without bait.
4. Qiu Jiang Wan Diao (Autumn River Evening Fishing; anonymous lyrics; three versions: 1530, 1585 and 1589)
   Although the season here is autumn, the music seems more closely related to Chun Jiang than that of the preceding. This title survives in six handbooks, but only three are related. The earliest, dated 1530, is associated with yet another person, also a recluse who enjoyed fishing, Yan Ziling.

Mention might be made here of three pieces with related titles but that are melodically unrelated:

1. Chun Jiang: the one that the Zha Guide groups with others of this title (only in 1549)
   This version only in the aforementioned Xilutang Qintong, attributed to Fan Li (5th C. BCE).
2. Qiu Jiang Ye Bo (Autumn River Night Anchorage; 27 handbooks from 1614 to 1942)
   A descendant of Yin De popularized by the Yushan School (at least twice mistakenly called Qiu Jiang Wan Diao).
3. Chun Jiang Songbie (Departure at the River in Spring; 31/241/457)
   This is actually a version of Yangguan Sandie (interestingly also called Departure at the River in Autumn; 26/217/416).

As for the related versions of this seemingly quite popular melody, what is remarkable is not just that from 1511 to 1589 at least 12 versions had appeared in at least 11 handbooks, or that during this time it had had at least two completely different sets of lyrics, told three quite different stories, and was particularly connected to four different men; equally remarkable is the fact that after a 1609 reprint of Qiu Jiang Wan Diao (also 1802?) it seems suddenly to have completely disappeared from the repertoire.⁹

The two earliest surviving versions of this melody both have lyrics: the present 1511 Chun Jiang Qu and the 1530 Qiu Jiang Wan Diao (completely different lyrics); it is not until the third, the 1539 Chun Jiang, that we have a purely instrumental version. However, a careful examination suggests that this does not necessarily that the melody originated as a qin song. Thus the 1511 sung version and 1539 instrumental version both open with harmonics. The first four phrases of both, with 5 notes each, are exactly the same. 1511 then continues the harmonics with two 7 note phrases while 1539 has a related melody but in 17 notes phrased 5+6+3+4. In 1511 the first part of this harmonic passage is accompanied by the lyrics of Guo Zhen; the second part of the passage, set to the opening couplet of the Zhang Ji lyrics, marks the beginning of the second section (marked by a large circle in the tablature). In 1539, by contrast, Section 1 consists of the entire harmonic passage. This suggests that the sectioning of 1511 is determined by the lyrics while that of 1539 is determined by the music. Meanwhile the 1530 Qiu Jiang Wandiao was published with entirely different lyrics. Here Section 1 consists of a harmonic passage still related to the above; Section 2, in stopped sounds, begins with a melodic line similar to the beginning of the stopped sounds in the above two.

This comparison of the first two sections of the 1511, 1530 and 1539 versions may suggest that the compiler of Taigu Yiyin (1511) took the melody as well as the lyrics from an earlier source. Since the 1511 handbook used ancient lyrics, it had to apply them to a more recent melody. The somewhat unnatural breaking of the harmonic passage two thirds of the way through instead of at its end suggests that the lyrics were paired to an existing melody rather than to one specifically created for it. As for the 1530 version, comparing the sectioning of the lyrics with that of the music suggests either that they may have been composed together, or that one was composed to go with the other. Furthermore, the instrumental melodies in 1530 were all copied from an earlier sources: were its qin songs likewise copied from earlier sources? In this context, its arrangement compared to that of 1511 seems to suggest that, although the lyrics of its version of the melody were more recent than those of 1511 (comment), its melody, or arrangement as a melody, could have been older.

Further regarding the lyrics, those in 1511 by Zhang Ji and Zhang Zhongsu both mention spring (as does the original version of the Guo Yuanzhen lyrics mentioned in the Yuefu Shiji preface discussed next paragraph). It is thus quite puzzling that their setting here has a melodic relationship to versions of the melody Autumn River Evening Fishing, particularly some of the later versions (see outline below). Mention has already been above of a similar confusion between Departure at the River in Spring/Autumn.

The lyrics for the 1511 song Chun Jiang Qu, translated here, can also be found in Folio 77 of the Yuefu Shiji (YFSJ), though there are a number of minor differences in the text (indicated below). Thus they are categorized not as qin song lyrics but as Miscellaneous Songs.¹⁰ The only related commentary in YFSJ comes with Chun Jiang Xing, which precedes Chun Jiang Qu. This consists of a brief quote attributed to the Tang poet (and government minister) Guo Zhen, here called Guo Yuanzhen, as follows:

1. Chun Jiang Xing: Guo Yuanzhen says, "Chun Jiang is the song of a woman of Ba (Sichuan)." There is then Chun Jiang Xing, with lyrics by the Liang Jianwen emperor (reigned 550-551), not set to music here. This is followed by,

2. Chun Jiang Qu: no separate commentary. There are five short poems attributed, in order, to:
   Guo Zhen (one poem),
   Zhang Ji (one poem), and
   Zhang Zhongsu (three poems).

The Taigu Yiyin tablature setting the five Chun Jiang Qu lyrics to music uses two large circles to separate the melody into three parts. The third part has the three Zhang Zhongsu poems, without indicating where to separate them.

The preface in Taigu Yiyin seems to suggest that Guo Zhen wrote a large number of poems concerning life on the frontier (where he had himself served as a military officer). There is thus perhaps some logic in associating him with this melody.¹¹

As for the two or more melodically related Chun Jiang melodies attributed to the Yuan dynasty essayist and poet Yu Ji, the connection is not quite so clear.

 
Original preface¹²

This was composed by the virtuous Tang statesman Guo Yuanzhen. Tang people who served on the frontier would go away for three years without returning, their bones drying out in the sandy gravel; Yuanzhen mourned for them, so he wrote this song in order to reveal the depths of their thoughts of home, and he also had 300 poems about such missions. (Translation tentative)

 
Chun Jiang Qu (1511) Music and Lyrics¹³
A largely syllabic setting of the three poems (differences from Yuefu Shiji [YFSJ], Folio 77 are shown; 中文)

(00.00; timings follow my recording 聽錄音)
1. Guo Zhen: (5+5) x 2 (tentative translation: 中文)

   (harmonics begin) The river water is deep and clear, (YFSJ: The river water in spring is deep)
       above it on both sides is a bamboo grove.
   The bamboo leaves float on (spoil) the color of the water,
       but the young gentleman has spoiled my heart.

2. (00.19)
   Zhang Ji: (7+7) x 5 (tentative translation : 中文)

   The river in spring has no clouds, and in the morning the water is calm;
       rush leaves arise out of the water, and ducklings call out. (harmonics end at 00.29)
   From Changgan (in Nanjing) my husband loves traveling afar;
       (meanwhile) I dye the spring clothing, the sewing already finished.
   As a wife, my whole life had been spent in Nanjing;
       (then) last year I followed my husband to live on the north side of the (Yangzi?) River.
   When spring came I was unable to go to my parents' home;
       our boat was small and the wind was great (so) we could not cross (the river)
   When wishing to leave my in-laws I must first asked ny husband,
       (so I [we?]) personally went to the river's edge (head) and scrificed to the Water Spirit.

3. Zhang Zhongsu: ([5+5] x 2) x 3 (tentative translation: 中文)

   (01.13)
   Swirling waves overflow the river in spring;
       on both sides you can see white duckweek.
   While returning, before I had realized it night fell;
       coming away from the river bank the moon followed me.

   (01.27)
   Homes on the bank of the river in spring (the flowing river):
       travelers of all ages go by.
   If they don't know about the tidal waters reliably,
       by the end of the day (every day) they run into a sand bank.

   (01.40)
   There is morning mist at the south river crossing,
       uneven and repeated waves flow sideways.
   (harmonics begin) The island in front: where is it?
       in the fog, wild geese (harmonics end) call out.
   (End at 02.03)

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Chun Jiang references (I/294)
14146.67 and 5/642 Chun Jiang (no qu) refer to a river in spring; the only proper name mentioned is in a reference saying that it is short for 富春江 Fuchun River, which runs into Hangzhou from the southwest (see below). There are no musical references, and no mention of the Yuefu Shiji poems used as lyrics for the qin melody. These are in YFSJ Folio 77 (Chinese edition, pp. 1081-1093.) There also seems to be no connection with the popular modern melody known as Moonlit River in Spring (see below).

Chun Jiang in Chongxiu Zhenchuan Qinpu (IV/375; 1585)
The lyrics are almost the same as in 1511 (including having 江水深澄澄 instead of 江水春沉沉), the melody very similar; the commentary is almost the same, omitting "亦猶三百篇行役之詩也。".

Moonlit River in Spring (春江花月夜 Chun Jiang Hua Yue Ye)
There are many translations of this title, a more literal one being Spring River Flowers on a Moonlit Night. Yuefu Shiji, Folio 47 (Chinese edition, pp. 678-680), has five poems under this name, by 隋煬帝 Sui Emperor Yangdi (r.605-18), 諸葛穎 Zhuge Ying (d. 616), 張子容 Zhang Zirong (7th-8th c.), 張若虛 Zhang Ruoxu (c.660-c.720) and 溫庭筠 Wen Tingyun (ca. 801 - ca. 866). 14146.69 春江花月夜 quotes several of these but has no musical references.

The YFSJ introduction to Chun Jiang Hua Yue Ye says that during the Tang dynasty 陳後主 Chen Houzhou and 何胥 He Xu made these and other lyrics into melodies, and there have probably been various melodies with this title since then. However, only the lyrics still exist, and the popular modern melody of this title is said to have been adapted around 1930 from an old pipa lute melody called Flute and Drums at Dusk (夕陽簫鼓 Xiyang Xiao Gu; also called 潯陽琵琶 Xunyang Pipa), and since then many times revised. Recently several people have adapted it for guqin (usually with orchestra), but of course this has no melodic connections with any traditional guqin melodies.
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2. Mode
Taigu Yiyin does not organize melodies by mode, but the other musically related versions, including 1585 version, group it with shang mode melodies.
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3. Ju Jie: Swollen River in Springtime (居節:潮滿春江圖)
The original of this is in the Zhenjiang Museum. It is copied in many places on the internet. (Details: 紙本水墨 縱47.5厘米 橫26.2厘米 鎮江市博物館藏). Ju Jie (ca. 1530- ca. 1585) was a student of 文徵明 Wen Zhengming (Wiki). A small boat can be seen in the foreground. The inscription says,

Translation incomplete.
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4. Spring on the River (春江 Chun Jiang) in Fengxuan Xuanpin (II/183; 1539)
This title is found in seven handbooks from 1539 to 1589. This instrumental version of the spring river melody, though clearly unrelated to the 1549 Spring River, is just as clearly related to Chun Jiang Qu throughout but, in spite of the almost 20 year difference in publication dates, it cannot be stated definitively which came earlier. Later versions of Chun Jiang connect it with the Yuan dynasty essayist Yu Ji (see below). However, the three section titles of 1539, which has no preface, seem to give it more of a connection with Guo Yuanzhen, who spent time fighting on the frontier.

The connection between these three section titles and the overall melody title is still not clear. The title of Section 3, "Thinking only of country, forgetting home," comes from the Han Shu biography of 賈誼 Jia Yi (Wiki)
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5. Spring River Evening View (春江晚眺 Chun Jiang Wan Tiao; 1549; III/118)
Also written Chunjiang Wan Tiao. Zha Guide 19/183/-- lists it separately as occuring only in 1549, but it is clearly related to Chun Jiang Qu and, perhaps more closely, Qiu Jiang Wan Diao (Autumn River Evening Fishing; note 秋 and 釣 instead of 春 and 眺). The latter is generally connected to Yan Ziling, said to have had a Fishing Terrace on the Fuchun ("wealthy spring") River, about 100 km upstream from Hangzhou, but the 1549 commentary for Chunjiang Wan Tiao connects it with Zhang Zhihe (referred to by his nickname, Xuanzhenzi - Master of Obscure Reality) fishing without bait. Zhang was from 金華 Jinhua, a town on a tributary of the 富春江 Fuchun ("Abundant Spring") River and thus upriver from the Fishing Terrace of Yan Ziling. It is not clear whether there is any connection between these titles and attributions and the Fuchun River, in particular as chunjiang most commonly means "river in spring", just as qiujiang commonly means "river in autumn".

Original 1549 Commentary
The original 1549 afterword was as follows:

Music of 1549 Chun Jiang Wan Tiao
There are 6 section titles, as follows (timings follow my recording 聽春江晚眺錄音):

00.00	1. 鼔枻安流 Gu Yi An Liu	Beating the oars with the current
00.34	2. 維舟晚渡 Wei Zhou Wan Du	Tie up the boat for the evening ferry
01.30	3. 涵空望遠 Han Kong Wang Yuan	Looking afar at the sky reflected in the water
02.07	4. 長天澄碧 Chang Tian Cheng Bi	All day there is a clear blue sky
02.30	5. 落日流紅 Luo Ri Liu Hong	As the sun sets it flows red
03.05	6. 垂波蕩漾 Chui Bo Dang Yang	Nearby waves ripple
03.33	泛起 harmonic closing
03.49	曲種 end

Translations tentative. For 涵空 han kong 5/1436 refers to a Yuefu Shiji poem by Wen Tingyun.
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6. Autumn River Evening Fishing (秋江晚釣 Qiu Jiang Wan Diao)
Also Qiujiang Wan Diao; Zha also indexed it separately (15/156/333), the discussion here includes a more complete index, showing that a related melody survived in three handbooks. The first, published in 1530, has a mixture of instrumental and sung melodies (see commentary). The instrumental melodies all seem to have been copied from 1425. With the vocal melodies this is not so clear. Melodies of this title published after 1589 are unrelated to here.
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7. Tracing the Spring River/River in Springtime melodies
Zha, Guide 14/150/267, lists 7 handbooks with melodies called 春江曲 Chun Jiang Qu or 春江 Chun Jiang; it did not index 1552 or 1556. The two melodies called Chun Jiang Qu (1511 and 1585) have lyrics (L). One of those that drops "qu" from the title is unrelated, but the Guide lists separately two other titles whose melodies are related to the present one. Altogther they can be grouped as follows:

See above for a comment on some unrelated melodies.
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8. 虞集 Yu Ji (1272-1348)
Yuan dynasty essayist and poet Yu Ji (33531.130 虞集) was also commonly referred to, as here, by his death name, 虞文靖 Yu Wenjing.
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9. Sudden disappearance of the Spring River melodies
The various 16th century versions under this title, as well as its Autumn River versions, are all quite distinctive in their straightforward style, perhaps akin to popular music of the time or perhaps simply created to present a carefree atmosphere. This, as well as their number and related associations, suggests great popularity, but it may also suggest that the various versions may be best considered as a melodic style rather than as individual melodies. It is possible that this style can also be found in other melodies not yet examined, and perhaps solidified under a later title; further research is warranted on this.
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10. Yuefu Shiji, Folio 77: Miscellaneous Songs
Chinese edition, pp. 678-680.
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11. Frontier poems of Guo Yuanzhen
See the last sentence of the preface. I have not been able to confirm this yet.
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12. Original preface
The source of this preface and the reason for its attribution of the melody to Yuan Zhen is not clear. The original text says,

13. Music and lyrics
The original Taigu Yiyin lyrics are as follows (differences from YFSJ, pp. 1081-2 are shown),

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