The introduction to Mei Shao Yue in Xilutang Qintong compares the beauty of the melody to the beauty of a line in Lin Bu's poem How Plum Flowers Embarrass a Garden.⁷ Sections 2 and 8 (of 10) have titles quoting the poem. There are several published translations of the poem; the one by Red Pine is as follows,⁸

This poem also serves as lyrics for a melody called Plum Blossoms (Mei Hua), surviving in several Japanese handbooks.⁹ Chinese have long prized plum trees and their blossoms. They symbolize winter because blossoms can appear even while there is still snow on the ground; and purity because of these white blossoms. One of the most famous guqin melodies is Three Repetitions of the Tune Plum Blossom (Meihua Sannong). However, this melody has no relationship to the Mei Hua connected to these lyrics.

Original Afterword ¹⁰

The Fleeing Immortal (Lin Bu) built a cottage on Solitary Mountain (in Hangzhou's West Lake). At night he intoned as he leaned out his small window and saw the moon struggling to get free of the clouds. As a result we have this melody. It has beautiful sounds, like the phrases "scattered shadows" and "subtle scent" (from Lin Bu's poem).

 
Music
10 Sections, two titled¹¹

00.00   1.
00.51   2. Scattered shadows, subtle scent
01.23   3.
02.04   4.
02.51   5.
03.30   6.
03.54   7.
04.31   8. Falling lightly on clear water
05.22   9.
05.55 10.
06.35     closing harmonics
06.48     end (playing time: just under 7 minutes)

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Meishao Yue References (QQJC III/122)
15223.xxx; 4/1048 梅梢 "above the plum tree" quotes three poems, of which the first two mention the moon:

2. Shang mode (商調 shang diao)
For more on the shang mode see Shenpin Shang Yi. See also Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature
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3. The Poet Lin Bu Wandering in the Moonlight
This painting, by 杜堇 Du Jin (Ming dynasty; Wiki), is #1954.583 in Cleveland Museum of Art. Other paintings on this theme, and thus of particular relevance to this melody include:

1. Honolulu Academy of Arts, 馬遠 Ma Yuan (active 1190-1230), A Gentleman in his Garden.
   Comments on the painting suggest that "perhaps it is Lin Bu looking at the plum trees".
2. Shanghai Museum, 杜堇 Du Jin, 梅下橫琴圖 Playing the Qin Underneath a Plum Tree.

See also the Berkeley Museum of Art, Ma Yuan, Plum Tree and Ducks by a Stream

Plum trees and plum blossoms are a common theme or motif in traditional Chinese painting. One of the most famous qin melodies is called Three repetitions of "Plum Blossom".
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4. Zha Guide 19/184/--
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5. Lin Bu (967-1028)
14856.234 林逋 "From Qiantang (Hangzhou), literary name 君復 Junfu (no mention of a hao or of 逋仙 Bu Xian, lit., 'fleeing immortal', using the 'bu' of 'Lin Bu', meaning 'flee'). In tranquility loving ancient things, he did not seek fame or fortune, instead becoming a recluse on West Lake's Solitary Mountain (孤山 Gu Shan). For 20 years he remained there without needing to go into the city. He was skilled at calligraphy and painting, and expert with his poetry." Translations of Lin Bu's poems are included in several anthologies.
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6. Gravesite of Lin Bu on Solitary Mountain (孤山 Gushan) in West Lake

Playing Meishao Yue at Lin Bu's gravesite

See also a view from the gravesite. Gushan Island in Hangzhou's West Lake has, on the side facing the main lake, the original premises of the Zhejiang Museum. On the hill behind the museum are a number of artists' studios, and on the opposite side of the hill is a gravestone marked as that of Lin Bu (967-1028), known for his love of plum trees and cranes. A nickname for the island is said to have been Plum Island (梅嶼 Mei Yu) for its many plum trees, particularly around the grave of Lin Bu; and next to the grave is a Releasing Cranes Pavilion (放鶴亭 Fang He Ting). The gravesite is quite peaceful when visitors are not playing karaoke in the pavilion.
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7. How Plum Flowers Embarrass a Garden (山園小梅 Shan Yuan Xiao Mei), by 林逋 Lin Bu
This poem (the title is sometimes also translated as Small Plum Tree in my Mountain Garden) was included in what was perhaps the most famous early anthology of poetry since the Book of Songs and the Songs of Chu, the 千家詩 Poems of 1,000 Masters, a collection of 224 poems by about 100 masters of the Tang and Song dynasties.
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8. How Plum Flowers Embarrass a Garden, a translation by Red Pine
The translation above was included with permission. See Red Pine (trans.), Poems of the Masters; Port Townsend, Copper Canyon Press, 2003, p.453. The original text of the poem (p.452) is as follows,

9. 梅花 Mei Hua: a qin song published in Japan with 山園小梅 Shan Yuan Xiao Mei used as lyrics
Several Japanese handbooks have melodies that use the lyrics of Lin Bu's poem (translation). In QQJC they are:

1. ca. 1676 (QQJC XII/199) and
2. 1709 (QQJC XII/258).

The two tablatures are identical, with both called 梅花 Mei Hua (Plum Blossoms) and both giving as a subtitle Pure Fragrant Prelude (瑤芳引 Yaofang Yin; 瑤芳 21652.xxx; 4/619 only says yaofang is a kind of flower). Although published only in Japan, the melody was quite likely brought there in 1676 by Jiang Xingchou (Shin Etsu), though perhaps it could also have been created or modified by him after arriving there. As made clear in the afterword to Mei Shao Yue, the theme of Lin Bu's poem is appropriate to that instrumental melody; in addition, both Mei Shao Yue and Mei Hua are in shang mode (in contrast to Meihua Sannong, which is in gong mode). Thus, although the words cannot be paired to the Mei Shao Yue tablature using any version of the traditional pairing method and the two melodies have no direct musical relationship, Mei Hua and its lyrics do fit nicely as a prelude to Meishao Yue. The setting is one note per syllable (except for a few slides); although the two Japanese versions are virtually identical to each other, it is interesting to note that there seem to be some differences in a few of the Japanese indications (in kana) of the Chinese pronunciation. (Online there seems to be a version with quite a different interpreation.)
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10. 梅梢月，西麓堂琴統解題 Afterword to Meishao Yue
The original Chinese text for the preface is as follows.
    逋仙結廬孤山中，夜吟倚小窗，見梅月爭清，遂有此曲，當與「暗香」、「疏影」之句同作金聲。
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11. Section timings follow my recording. (Return)

Return to the annotated handbook list or to the Guqin ToC.