The earliest surviving version of this story may be the one found in the Qin Cao, a text attributed to Cai Yong (133 - 192). As also related in Qin Shi, it tells of Cheng Lian taking his student Bo Ya to an island in the Eastern Sea (sometimes identified as Penglai) and leaving him there, saying that a master will soon come to teach him the true significance of qin music. Bo Ya, after waiting some days and hearing only the sounds of nature, finally realizes that it is these sounds that the true qin music will evoke. Perhaps attributing these sounds or this understanding to immortals living in the surrounding waters, Bo Ya then creates a melody called Shui Xian.⁶

A later version of this story has Cheng Lian taking Boya into the mountains to learn about the relationship between qin music and the sounds of nature. Then Shui Xian is one of the melodies Boya plays for Ziqi when they meet on a boat near what is now Hanyang in the modern city of Wuhan.⁷

The only commentary accompanying a surviving melody with the title Shuixian Qu is that in Jiaoan Qinpu,⁸ a handbook published in 1868. The commentary there connects this other melody to the Cheng Lian story related above.⁹ As for the surviving melodies that use the title Shuixian Cao, those that have prefaces also relate a version of the Cheng Lian story. Thus, although each of these later melodies is also known by completely unrelated titles, it is logical to conclude that in the qin tradition the use of Shuixian in the title is always intended to evoke the story of Cheng Lian teaching qin to Bo Ya.

As for other uses of the word "shuixian", today this term is most commonly used as the name of a flower, the narcissus. It is fragrant and the color of gold, and so in Chinese tradition is particularly popular at New Year, symbolizing fortune and good luck. If kept in water it can last a long time, hence its name.¹⁰ It is thus possible for people who play qin melodies with shuixian in the title to feel they are simply evoking this flower. However, whereas as a qin melody title Shuixian Cao is very ancient, the narcissus was evidently introduced into China at a rather late date, perhaps by Arab traders around 1000 CE.¹¹

Before this the words "shui xian" more commonly referred to immortals who lived in the water. It is thus the nickname of any of a number of famous people in antiquity. In particular, though, it refers to the "immortal" sage Qu Yuan, whose suicide by drowning in a river is commemorated at the Dragon Boat Festival.¹² Qu Yuan is evoked by a number of existing qin titles, and so it would not be surprising for qin melodies to use shui xian in the title to evoke him. This is also probably one reason for some of the confusion concerning this title, as will be outlined below.

The confusion regarding this and the other stories connected to melodies that sometimes have Shui Xian in the title dates back at least the 17th century. The following preliminary examination of the surviving relevant qin tablature shows that at least three unrelated melodies used it as its main or alternate title. Here are the basics of these three different melodies. Only a version of the third of these melodies seems to have survived into the modern repertoire.¹³

1. Shuixian Qu¹⁴ (the earliest surviving melody using this title)
   Standard tuning, shang diao; only here in Wuyin Qinpu (1579; QQJC IV/220)

2. Sao Shou Wen Tian (Shake the Head and Ask Heaven);¹⁵ also called Qiusai Yin; sometimes associated with Shuixian Qu and Shuixian Cao
   Raised 5th string tuning (ruibin); the earliest is in Chengjiantang Qinpu (1689; XIV/333)

3. Qiusai Yin;¹⁶ also called Sao Shou Wen Tian (see previous) and Shuixian Cao.
   Standard tuning, zhi yin;¹⁷ still played;¹⁸ the earliest is in Wuzhizhai Qinpu (1722; XIV/495).

With three melodies and three title-types connected to three stories, it is perhaps somewhat puzzling that the Bo Ya story did not settle on one melody (using Shui Xian in the title), the Qu Yuan on another (best title Sao Shou Wen Tian), and the Wang Zhaojun story on the third (call it Qiu Sai Yin). The confusion over this was noted in some of the early commentaries.¹⁹

The earliest Shui Xian melody (1579) is included with shang diao (shang mode) melodies. There is no preface, so the intended story can not be stated with certainty. However, as the account above suggests, the Bo Ya story seems to be the one that is most appropriate. In arguing against the Qu Yuan story one can also point out the use of standard tuning (see more on this below).

The next associated melody, usually called Sao Shou Wen Tian (Scratch the Head and Ask Heaven), was first published in 1689, over 100 years later. It uses a raised fifth tuning (then called ruibin, but later more generally called shang yin). Although this melody is first called Sao Shou Wen Tian, and it is usually associated with Qu Yuan, it was also called Qiu Sai Yin and even Shuixian Cao. It does not appear in modern recordings or transcriptions, the latest surviving tablature I have found for this version having been published in 1876, or perhaps 1894.²⁰

The third melody, first surviving from a handbook published another 33 years later (the earliest version being dated 1722), returns to standard tuning. The earliest version is called Qiusai Yin, uses standard tuning, calls the mode zhi yin, and has the same story as that of Huangyun Qiusai, which concerns Wang Zhaojun captured by Central Asian nomads. However, it has Sao Shou Wen Tian as an alterate title, and it soon also appears with the title Shuixian Cao (or even Shuixian Qu). After this the titles seem generally mixed, and so do the stories. Mention of Wang Zhaojun becomes less common, the melody instead being associated either with the story of Boya and Cheng Lian, or with a story related to Qu Yuan. This melody is still in the active repertoire today.²¹

Because of the titles commonly associated with raised fifth tunings (see my observations), it is tempting to suggest that it is only melodies using a raised fifth tuning that should be associated with a Qu Yuan story. This may have once been the case, but the two titles Shuixian and Sao Shou Wen Tian, as well as the two tunings used for these melodies, have been so totally mixed together since the 18th century that it is not possible for me to make such an assertion at present. The situation is further complicated by the continuing use of the title Qiusai Yin, originally associated with Huangyun Qiusai and its story of Wang Zhaojun.

The above may be somewhat confusing. However, it can also be seen as evidence that, as with poetry, perhaps one should not demand that the meaning of a melody be simple and straightforward.

 
Original preface ²²
None here, but see versions of the Bo Ya - Cheng Lian story in:

 
Music
Seven Sections, untitled²³ (timings follow my recording 聽錄音)

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Shuixian related titles:
17458.118 is 水仙 shuixian; no 水賢 or 水僊. The shuixian terms used as melody titles have links to the footnote tracing the titles, below.

Perhaps also worthy of mention is the following poem, as it might connect shuixian to guqin:

2. Shang mode (商調 Shang Diao)
For further information on shang mode see Shenpin Shang Yi and Modality in Early Ming Qin Tablature. (Return)

3. Shuixian Qu can also be transliterated Shui Xian Qu. (Return)

4. Image: Learning from natureExcerpt from Jingdezhen ceramic (full image): the player is sitting with the qin on his lap, but he is not actually plucking the strings.
(Return)

5. See further. (Return)

6. Learning from nature
Some years ago I had a personal experience suggesting that this idea lives on. After playing qin at a meeting with several elder qin players, I had asked them for advice on how to improve my technique. One said, "Visit all the relevant beauty spots in China." The others seemed to nod their heads in agreement.
(Return)

7. Boya plays for Ziqi on a boat near Hanyang
This later version of the story can be found in many places online, but I have not found its source. According to this account, Cheng Lian took Boya to 泰山 Mount Tai in order to learn from nature. Meeting on the boat connects this story with the otherwise unrelated melody Jiang Yue Bai.
(Return)

8. Wolfram Eberhard, Dictionary of Chinese Symbols, p.204. It should also be mentioned here that none of the commentary associated with melodies with shui xian in the title makes any mention of the flower. (Return)

9. Eberhard, ibid. (Return)

10. Celebrated each year on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. (Return)

11. 蕉庵琴譜 See facsimile III/#4. (Return)

12. The actual melody is related to the one usually called Qiu Sai Yin. (Return)

13. Tracing Shui Xian melodies, plus Qiu Sai Yin and Sao Shou Wen Tian
Zha Fuxi's Guide is organized according to title or story, which does not always correspond with melodic affiliation; this seems particularly true of the various melodies connected to the word "Shuixian". Thus, in order to group at least three distinct melodies with overlapping titles one must collate information from at least six separate entries in the Guide. Some of these were not re-printed until the 2010 edition, so I am not sure how to group those melodically.

1. 24/201/-- 秋塞吟 Qiusai Yin (9 handbooks from 1551 to 1914)
   Zha's Guide lists Sao Shou Wen Tian as an alternate title

   #1, 1551 (Taiyin Chuanxi, IV. p.150; = Huangyun Qiusai)
   #2, 1557 (Taiyin Buyi, III. p.383; identical to previous)
   #3, 1722 (Wuzhizhai Qinpu, XIV/495; "also called Sao Shou Wen Tian" (comments mention only Ming Fei [Wang Zhaojun])
         Earliest of what today may be called Qiu Sai Yin, Shuixian Cao or Sao Shou Wen Tian (Mei'an); with latter titles it may concern Qu Yuan or Bo Ya
   #4, 1820; gong mode; 10 sect. ("一名屈子天問，一名水仙操，宮調 Also called Qu Yuan's Tian Wen and Shuixian Cao; afterword)
   #5, 1830; 10 sect.; NFI
   #6, 1844 (same commentary as 1722)
   #7, 1875 (same commentary as 1722)
   #8, 1878 (same commentary as 1722)
   #9, 1914 (commentary makes connection to 1907, which does not have this melody)

2. 25/211/-- 水仙曲 Shuixian Qu (7 handbooks from 1579 to 1890)
   Zha's Guide lists Sao Shou Wen Tian as an alternate title.
   The only preface (see Guide, p.[455] 211 and 1868 below) connects the melody with Boya/Chenglian; see also Shuixian Cao below.

   #1, 1579 (this melody only in Wuyin Qinpu, QQJC IV, p.220); standard tuning, shang diao (no commentary)
   #2, 1755 (XVI/245), standard tuning, zhi yin; compare 1722 Qiu Sai Yin (吳官心傳 from Wu Guanxin; no other attribution)
   #3, 1760 (XVII/102), zhiyin; 10 則 sections; related to 1722 Qiu Sai Yin ("same as Sao Shou Wen Tian"; otherwise no commentary)
   #4, <1802; zhiyin, 7; also has Sao Shou Wen Tian (no commentary)
   #5, 1849; index indicates 15 sections, does not indicate mode (no commentary)
   #6, 1868 (facsimile III/#4; shang; 7; attrib. Boya (like several Shuixian Cao); rel. 1722 Qiusai Yin; handbook also has a ruibin SSWT)
   #7, 1890; zhiyin, 11 (no commentary)

3. 37/262/-- 掃首問(青)天 Sao Shou Wen (Qing) Tian (15 handbooks from 1689 to 1931)
   Zha Guide gives Qiu Sai Yin and Shuixian Qu as alternate titles; commentaries mostly connect to Qu Yuan.

   #1, 1689 (Chengjiantang Qinpu; XIV. p.333); earliest to use ruibin tuning (no commentary)
   #2, 1739 (Zhixinzhai Qinxue Lianyao; facsimile, IV); shang; 12 sect.; seems rel. to 1722 Qiu Sai Yin (afterword concerns Qu Yuan)
   #3, 1760 (Qinxiangtang Qinpu; XVII, p.172); ruibin; related to 1689 (no commentary)
   #4, 1802 (Ziyuantang Qinpu; XVII, p.494); zhi diao, shang yin, but raised 5th, like ruibin (no commentary)
   #5, <1802 (Yiluxuan Qinpu); ruibin, 7, "= 1689"
   #6, 1833 (Erxiang Qinpu, facs. IV/#6); yu yin; 8 (afterword mentions earlier titles/themes, including Shuixian Cao; seems to prefer Qu Yuan story)
   #7, 1833; 無射均 = ruibin; 掃首問青天 ("annotation attached at end")
   #7a, 1833; annotated with notes ("written by myself")
   #8,   1836; 無射均商音 raised fifth (no commentary)
   #9,   1849; ruibin; 7 (no commentary)
   #10, 1868; facsimile IV/#4; ruibin; 13 (no commentary)
   #11, 1876; = 1802; 8 sections; ruibin (Qu Yuan)
   #12, 1876; ruibin; 7 sections
   #13, 1878; zhi yin; 10 sections; "also called Qiusai Yin" (attributed to Zhaojun)
   #14, 1894; shang yin; 8 (long afterword does not attribute)
   #15, 1931; Mei An Qinpu; modern version in standard tuning seems related to 1722 Qiu Sai Yin; Lieberman/143ff (commentary mentions Qu Yuan's Li Sao)

4. 39/--/-- 屈子天文 Quzi Tian Wen (2 handbooks, 1744 and 1884)
   Quzi is Qu Yuan; Tian Wen is a poem in the Chu Ci

   #1, 1744 (Facsimile; also called Shuixian Cao; 中呂均，商音; 10 sect.; seems rel. to 1722 Qiu Sai Yin; afterword)
   #2, 1884 商音，中呂均，又名水仙操 also called Shuixian Cao

5. 39/--/--    水仙     Shui Xian
   Only 1738 (Qinshu Qiangu; not in QQJC); zhiyin; 10 sections (no commentary; not available for examination)

6. 40/269/-- 水仙操 Shuixian Cao (11 handbooks from 1802 to 1910).

   #1, 1802 (Ziyuantang Qinpu, XVII, p.410); rel. 1739 Qiusai Yin (no commentary)
   #2, 1825; zhiyin; 9 (no commentary)
   #3, 1828; zhiyin; 10 ("also called Quzi Tian Wen")
   #4, 1833; facsimile III/#3; rel. to 1722 Qiu Sai Yin; earliest comment connecting a surviving melody to Boya/Chenglian story
   #5, 1836, preface connects it with Boya/Chenglian
   #6, 1868; Zha lists it here, perhaps assuming a Boya reference, but 1868 calls it Shuixian Qu (see above) and uses ruibin tuning
   #7, 1876; = 1802 (no commentary)
   #8, 1884; gong diao shang yin; 13 (一名湘妃怨 (Xiangfei Yuan!)、秋塞吟、昭君怨、掃首問天、屈子天文。)
   #9, 1893 (facsimile V/#2); related to 1722 Qiu Sai Yin, but preface connects it with Boya/Chenglian
   #10, 1894; shang yin, 11; "By Zhong Ziqi, traditionally attributed to Cheng Lian."
   #11, 1910, Qin Fu, p.977, from 1802, but with rhythmic indication (no attribution)
   (Return)

14. This is the version I plan to reconstruct, but as yet my transcription is incomplete. (Return)

15. Shake the Head and Ask Heaven (掃首問天 Sao Shou Wen Tian)
I have found no modern transcriptions or recordings. (Return)

16. Autumn Frontier Intonation (秋塞吟 Qiu Sai Yin or Qiusai Yin; see listing.)
Mei'an Qinpu (see the transcription in Lieberman, A Chinese Zither Tutor, p.143ff), calls this melody 掃首問天 Sao Shou Wen Tian (see above) and attributes it to Qu Yuan. A silk string recording by Wu Zhaoji calls it Qiu Sai Yin, with Sao Shou Wen Tian as an alternate title. (Return)

17. 徵音 zhi yin (Return)

18. There are four transcriptions in Guqin Quji, Vol. I, starting on page 152. The first is called Qiu Sai Yin, the other three are called Shuixian Cao (starting on pp. 159, 165 and 171). The commentary on pp. 7-8 first mentions the Cheng Lian story, then mentions the other stories described above, concluding that the situation is indeed complicated. (Return)

19. One commentary of Shuixian Cao (see 1884) even suggests that some versions could also be called Xiangfei Yuan! (Return)

20. Tianwenge Qinpu (1876) calls it Sao Shou Wen Tian and says its version is from Ziyuantang Qinpu (1802). Qinxue Chujin (1894) is in shang yin; its preface mentions Qu Yuan. (Return)

21. See footnote above regarding transcriptions and recording. (Return)

22. Early Chinese introductions to Shuixian Cao
The Chinese introduction quoted below was copied from 17458.123 水仙操 Shuixian Cao, so it should be the earliest published reference then known of the Bo Ya and Cheng Lian story. It is said to be from Explanations of the Music Bureau (樂府解題 Yuefu Jieti), the source of which seems to be somewhat uncertain: the original was lost, but it had comments that were later incorporated into Yuefu Shiji. Unfortunately, this does not explain why there is no separate entry for Shui Xian in YFSJ.

This is almost the same as online versions giving as their source 樂府古題要解 Yuefu Gu Tiyao Jie:

Compare this with the one published by 朱長文 Zhu Changwen (1041-1100) in his 琴史 Qin Shi biography of Boya

The introduction to 水仙操 Shuixian Cao in the edition of 蔡邕琴操 Cai Yong 's Qin Cao published in 琴學叢書 Qinxue Congshu (1910; see Lament #11) is incomplete.

However, there is added commentary saying Shilei Fu (事類賦 244.141 宋，吳淑撰 by Wu Shu of the Song dynasty)，樂部注，引《樂府解題》，『水仙操』前段與此文略同, has a version from Yuefu Jieti. It then adds the continuation from that source, finally concluding that the similarity is 足證此文之闕 enough to prove it is the missing part. The continuation is:

23. See QQJC IV/220 (Return)

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