Shen Ren Chang: Rhapsody on a Celestial

According to the preface here, after a celestial came to Emperor Yao to warn him about the potential dangers of flooding he created this music to express the happiness he felt at this event. This story is not in the Shi Ji accounts of Yao or his successors, but it is in several other ancient sources.⁶

According to these sources, as quoted in the qin lyrics section of the compilation Yuefu Shiji,⁷ the celestial being appears before Yao while he is conducting a sacrifice.⁸ In one of the sources Yao is said to have been playing a qin, thus perhaps suggesting that it was his playing that brought the celestial. After the celestial tells Yao of the danger from floods, Yao composes a song to commemorate this event. He also summons Gun (father of Yu) to work in the palace. When the deluge eventually comes it is Yu, subsequently emperor himself and commonly called the Great Yu, who provides the solution to the flooding.⁹ However, the preface directly mentions neither Gun nor Yu. These accounts also make no mention of Yao's successor Shun, who appointed Yu to the task and eventually named Yu as his successor.¹⁰

On the other hand, presumably because Shun is reported to have played a five string qin, this piece ascribed to his predecessor appropriately uses only the lower five strings.¹¹

Other ancient sources say that whenever a qin piece expresses pleasure it is called a chang.¹² Yao was happy to have seen the celestial, so he wrote a chang.

There are recordings of Shenren Chang by Dai Xiaolian, Ding Chengyun, Ding Yang, Gong Yi (with ensemble), Xu Junyao, and Zeng Chengwei.

Original preface:¹³
Compare the introduction in Yuefu Shiji¹⁴

Xie Xiyi, Qin Lun, says:: Shenren Chang was created by Tang Yao. Yao played the qin and a celestial came down into his room. Thus we have this composition.
Gujin Yuelu says:: As Yao was sacrificing to earth and heaven, a celestial sat there looking at Yao, saying, There is danger from flooding. I order you to provide a solution.

Music
Eight sections (untitled)¹⁵

00.00 1.
00.47 2.
01.21 3.
01.55 4.
02.31 5.
03.01 6.
03.31 7.
04.01 8.
04.36 end

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Shen Ren Chang 神人暢 (QQJC II/226)
25211.4 神人暢 Shenren Chang says "qin melody name", then quotes Yuefu Shiji as below. 25211.3 and 7/856 神人 shenren say "神與人也 "shen" and "ren" (deity/celestial and human), then mention various shenren, but do not seem to mention anything that is clearly specific to the present story. Thus, for example, it is not clear how it might connect to myths discussed in Birrell.
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2. Linzhong Mode 林鐘調 (and Linzhong Modal Prelude 林鐘意)
For more on Ming dynasty modes see Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature. However, as a mode title linzhong appears only here in 1549. Linzhong ("forest bell"; 14856.409 林鐘 refers to .381 林鍾, which discusses notes but not a melody) is the 8th of the 12 tones. As with Shenren Chang the main tonal centers are on 6 and 1, shifting to 1 and 5. It has at least two odd modal characteristics. As with Shenren Chang, there are many non-pentatonic tones, both making important use of 7 (natural). But whereas Shenren Chang frequently and invariably uses 4 sharp, Linzhong Yi only has 4 natural.
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3. Longshan period jade celestials
These figurines, called 龍山文化玉神人 Jade celestials from Longshan Culture (Wiki; 24th-20th c. BCE, thus roughly corresponding with the legendardary dates of Emperor Yao), can be found on a variety of websites. They are described as carved from green jade, with the figure on the left from a museum, the one on the right newly made. The following is the typical online description of the newly-made figurine:
龍山文化玉神人新石器
這件用青玉琢成的圓雕立體人像，面部造型奇特，拱手直立、威嚴森然，是龍山文化時期被崇拜的神人形象，雕琢古拙簡練，玉質晶瑩，具有極高的藝術欣賞價值。
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4. Tracing Shenren Chang
Zha Guide 22/194/-- includes only the 1549 melody. However, it is the first entry in the Qin Yuan Yao Lü melody list and in the Most Ancient section of the Seng Ju Yue list.
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5. Lyrics on the theme of Shenren Chang
In addition to the lyrics in YFSJ (see below), there are also two poems (which also seem to be in the form of lyrics) with this title by Xue Jixuan (1134 - 1173), included in Qinshu Daquan, Folio 13 (QQJC V/278/9).

堯事天理人。堯民賡歌其聖，作。
Yao served heaven and regulated humans. Yao's people continually sang of his sacredness, so this was made.

莫莫昊天莫夥蒸民感兮格兮君之仁混茫萬宇自都于野
余一人爰主於何道兮暢浹神人於何道兮人神我與。

又 You (Also:)

湯湯兮帝德，高高兮不極。
吾不知其名兮命焉弗得其人則天兮天乎其仁。
吾不知其際兮究焉無適伊神人之交暢兮其帝之力。
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6. Stories about celestials warning Yao
As yet I have not found these in Birrell. Perhaps most prominent are the accounts in Gujin Yuelu (Old and New Records about Music) and Qin Lun (Qin Essay), mentioned further below.
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7. Shenren Chang in Yuefu Shiji
樂府詩集 Yuefu Shiji (Chinese edition, p. 824) has commentary and lyrics as follows:

Gujin Yuelu says 《古今樂錄》曰﹕: 「堯郊天地，祭神座上有響，誨堯曰：『水方至為害，命子救之。』堯乃作歌。」
As Yao was sacrificing to earth and heaven, from the altar there came a voice. It instructed Yao, saying, "The waters will come and be a great danger. I order you to provide a solution." Yao then wrote a song.
Qin Lun by Xie Xiyi (Xie Zhuang) says 謝希逸《琴論》曰：: 「《神人暢》，堯帝所作。堯彈琴感神人現，故制此弄也。」
Shenren Chang was created by Yao. Yao played the qin, inducing a celestial to come before him, so he wrote this piece.
Shenren Chang lyrics, attributed by Yuefu Shiji to Tang Yao himself :: 清廟穆兮承予宗。百寮肅兮于寢堂。
醊禱進福求年豐，有響在坐，敕予為害在元中。
欽哉昊天德不隆，承命任禹寫中宮。
In the solemn temple I worshipped my ancestors;
100 officials were reverant in the inner hall.
As I poured out wine in prayer, to bring wealth and a prosperous year,
a voice came from the area of the altar,
warning me about the danger from the dark waters.
Very grateful to the magnanimous deity,
I obeyed, asking Yu to come work in the palace.

These lyrics, which have the structure 7+7+7+4+7+7+7 , are not used with the tablature here, and do not fit by the normal pairing method.
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8. No such sacrifice seems to be mentioned in Shi Ji.
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9. Emperor Yao and the floods
In Shi Ji, both Annals 1 and 2 (Nienhauser, op. cit., pp. 8 and 21) tell of Yao assembling the 群臣四嶽 "vassals and chiefs of the Four Sacred Mountains" to ask about solving the problem of floods. They recommend 鯀 Gun, who fails; it is Shun who eventually choses Yu.

Some accounts say that 鯀 Gun (Wiki) used dykes to control the floods, and that at first this worked. However, eventually they failed and many died in the ensuing floods. As a result Gun committed suicide (or Shun executed him) and the task was turned over to Gun's son Yu (see further below).

See works by Birrell for the various Chinese myths about floods and controlling them.
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10. Emperor Yao and his successors
唐堯 Tang Yao (r. 2358 - 2255; see in Wiki) is said to have passed over his unworthy son and granted the throne to 虞舜 Yu Shun in 2255 BCE. Shun in turn gave the throne to 大禹 Da Yu (Great Yu). The Shi Ji biographies are translated by Nienhauser in The Grand Scribe's Records, Volume I, p. 6ff. Yu is said to have worked for Yao and his successor Shun for many decades before finally succeeding the latter as first emperor of the Xia dynasty (2205-1766 BCE). For a later event in the life of Yu see the qin melody Yu Hui Tushan.
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11. Emperor Yao and the qin
There are a number of melodies created for five string qin (see list). Note, however, that TYDQJ has no image of a qin connected to Emperor Yao.
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12. Chang 暢
See for example 大周正樂 Correct Music of the Great Zhou Dynasty, "Whenever a qin melody is created as an ensemble piece, it is called chang. It speaks of the beauty of its Dao. Chang would never dare express self satisfaction. If it is successful, it helps to share things with others." Part of this is quoted in the biography of Yao in 朱長文，琴史 Zhu Changwen's History of the Qin (古之琴曲和樂而作者命之曰暢). The biography goes on to say that if it is a sad piece it is called a 操 cao.
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13. Shenren Chang original Chinese text 神人暢中文解題
The original text in Xilutang Qintong us as follows:

謝希逸《琴論》曰﹕「《神人暢》唐堯所作。堯彈琴，神降其室，故有此弄。」《古今樂錄》曰﹕「堯祀天地，坐有神見堯曰，『洪水為害，命子救之。』」。
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14. Commentary in Preface compared to that in Yuefu Shiji
Although the preface here says it is quoting the same two sources used in the Yuefu Shiji introductions (in reverse order), the words are somewhat different; the melody also does not use the Yuefu Shiji (or any other) lyrics.
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15. Music
Section timings are from my recording (listen).
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Return to the annotated handbook list or to the Guqin ToC.