Two somewhat different versions of this melody have survived. The present one, dated 1549, is the only one using the title Gukou Prelude. The four later ones, published 1551 (copied in 1557) and 1647 (reprinted 1692) are all entitled Gukou Intonation (both titles are pronounced "Gukou Yin").⁴ The 1551 and 1647 versions are very similar to each other. Their differences with the 1549 version are somewhat greater, but this has not yet been examined carefully.

The afterword to this earliest publication says it concerns Zheng Pu,⁵ a man whose conscience did not allow him to serve what he considered a corrupt government. He lived in the valley of Gukou, in present-day Jingyang county, Shaanxi, not far from the Han capital (present day Xi'an). During the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han (r. 32-7 BC) the Marshal of State Wang Feng, brother of the Empress Wang and regent 33-22 BC, came personally to request that he serve in government. Later a cousin of Empress Wang, Wang Mang, usurped the throne and from 9 to 23 tried to establish a new dynasty, the much-vilified Xin dynasty (AD 9-23). As a result anyone associated with the Wang family came to be viewed unfavorably.

Zheng Pu is described as follows in Alan Berkowitz, Patterns of Disengagement, pp. 92-93:

In contrast, the second and third versions connect the melody to Zuo Si, who also refused office, instead living 深山 deep in the mountains; it adds that "此曲盖憇谷口所作 this melody must have been written while resting at a gukou", which I understand to mean simply a "valley entrance" rather than a specific one named Gukou. There is no commentary with the last published version (1647).

 
Original afterword ⁶
(Not yet translated)

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Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. 谷口引、谷口吟 Gukou Yin references
谷口 37022.5 first says it refers to the mouth of a valley, then it gives it as the name of an area and a district in what is today Shaanxi province. As an 地名 area name it is said to be in northwestern 涇陽縣 Jingyang District, today called 冶谷 Yeku (NFI); it adds that this is where 黃帝 the Yellow Emperor ascended into immortality. As a 縣名 district name it is said to be 在陝西醴泉縣東北 the name of a county in the northwest part of modern Shaanxi's Liquan County, where the 涇水 Jing River passed through the mountains; no personal names are mentioned. It is also given as the name of a mountain near Loyang, again with no personal names mentioned.

Maps in Vol. 2 of my historical atlas vaguely show Gukou, but modern tourist maps do not, even those with detail of Jingyang county. A footnote to the quote above by Berkowitz says that a shrine erected there in his own day was still there at the time of 皇甫謐 Huangfu Mi (215 - 282).
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2. Gong mode (宮調 gongdiao)
For more information on gong mode see Shenpin Gong Yi and Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature.
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3. Image
None yet selected.
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4. Tracing Gukou Yin
Zha Guide 19/180/--. The known publications of this melody are as follows (all have 13 sections):

1. 谷口引 Gukou Prelude 1549; 13 sections, titled (III/65)
2. 谷口吟 Valley Entrance Intonation 1551; 13 sections, untitled (IV/43)
3. 谷口吟 Valley Entrance Intonation 1557; seems to be same as 1551 (III/317)
4. 谷口吟 Gukou Intonation 1647; very similar to (X/38)
5. 谷口吟 Gukou Intonation 1692; (reprint of 1647)

It should also be noted that the prelude to the 1549 Gukou Yin is a melody in three sections called Intonation on Balanced Vital Force (冲和吟 Chonghe Yin). The preludes to 1551 and 1557 are also in three sections but they are musically unrelated and called Intonation on Commendable Obscurity. (嘉遯吟 Jiadun Yin.
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5. 鄭樸 Zheng Pu (also: 鄭朴)
40513.14 鄭子真 says 漢，褒中人，名樸 Zheng Zizhen was from Baozhong and his original name was 鄭樸 Zheng Pu (I don't know why Zheng Zizhen is the main entry). Loewe has Zheng Pu 鄭樸, style Zichen 子眞; I have also seen style Zichen 子傎. An early reference is in 揚子法言, 問神卷第五 #25.
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6. Original Commentary
The original afterword in 1549 begins:

Incomplete and not yet translated
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7. Original Section Titles
The original Chinese section titles are:

1. 求志窈藹
2. 躬耕阿隧
3. ....

Incomplete and not yet translated.
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