Reproduced in Tong Kin-Woon's Qin Fu,² this handbook has 2 folios and 30 pieces; 23 have lyrics.³ It was compiled by Chen Tai⁴ (nicknamed Dragon Lake) together with three other students⁵ of Shi Yuezhou,⁶ a qin master in Xiangyang.⁷ There is a forward by Zheng Jizhi.⁸ The original is in bad condition, so Tong Kinwoon hand-copied it.⁹

I have learned one short melody from this handbook, #05 Zui Weng Yin, which I usually play together with the version in Fengxuan Xuanpin (1539).

 
Dr. Tong's preface is not yet translated.

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1 49812.xx; XII/1483 龍湖 traditionally said to be place the Yellow Emperor went while riding on a dragon (YFSJ reference); court. (Return)

2 唐健垣，琴府 Taiwan, Lianshi Chuban She, 1981. (Return)

3 The seven without lyrics (#22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #28 and #29) are grouped at the end, as though perhaps they hadn't gotten around to adding them yet. (Return)

4 Chen Tai 陳泰，字（號？）龍湖
There seems to be no further information available about Chen Tai. In his afterword he calls himself 襄陽空塵山人陳泰 Empty-dust Mountain-dwelling Chen Tai from Xiangyang. (Return)

5 明中葉黃龍江、王槐泉、劉忠菴. Huang Longjiang, Wang Huaiquan, Liu Zhong'an (Return)

6 Shi Yuezhou 石月舟
The only available information about Shi Yuezhou seems to be that he was a qin master in Xiangyang. Tong Kin-Woon says Shi's proper name was 石國禎 Shi Guozhen (24574.xxx), but I don't know where that information comes from. It is also not clear why this handbook of his music is named after his student, Chen Tai. The qin tradition suggests that handbooks were often compilations by students of their teacher's repertoire. Perhaps in this case Chen Tai made a number or revisions, or this book was simply for Chen's own use. (Return)

7 襄陽 Xiangyang is on the 漢水 Han River in northern Hubei province (Return)

8 鄭繼之 Zheng Jizhi (Return)

9 TKW has a lengthy discussion of the details on p. 24-26 of an appendix at the end of Qin Fu. (Return)

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