The Incantation of the Monk Pu'an⁴ (Pu'an Zhou; Pu An Zhou) is one of the popular melodies today, but the form in which it is played is relatively recent.⁵ It developed out of the central section of a chant called Shitan Zhang (Siddham Stanzas), which is first found in the Sanjiao Tongsheng (Qinpu, Qin Handbook of Three Religions, 1592). The transmission of these versions is outlined in the Chart Tracing Shitan Zhang / Pu'an Zhou).

Shitan Zhang has a basic structure of short opening invocation, lengthy chant of Sanskrit syllables, then short closing prayer.⁶. The lyrics rarely changed, but the melody itself has been interpreted in differing ways.

The second handbook, Zhenchuan Zhengzong Qinpu gives Pu'an Zhou as an alternate title, then Songxianguan Qinpu (1614) was the first handbook to have Pu'an Zhou as the main title.⁷. In 1722 Wuzhizhai Qinpu included two versions, a full one called Shitan Zhang, and a shorter one called Pu'an Zhou, which is essentially the central section of Shitan Zhang, and thus perhaps the proto-type of the modern version. In 1802 Ziyuantang Qinpu⁸ also included the two versions, both with lyrics, but thereafter handbooks usually omitted the lyrics.

Versions of Shitan Zhang and Pu'an Zhou survive in almost 50 handbooks from 1592 to the present. Handbooks right up to the 20th century include versions clearly related to the original Shitan Zhang, but their connection with the Pu'an Zhou played today is hidden much more deeply.

Two distinct modern qin traditions exist for this melody. Both seem to have developed in the 19th century.

1. The Mei An school tradition, still called Shitan Zhang; I cannot find anyone who plays it today.⁹
2. The version transmitted by the Peng family of Jiangxi; almost all players today follow this tradition through to version taught to Zha Fuxi by Peng Qingshou.¹⁰

For the Peng family tradition of Pu'an Zhou there seem to be at least two available transcriptions into staff notation.¹¹

1. The version in Guqin Qu Huibian (Guqin Melody Collected Edition, 1956), which follows the melody as played by Xia Yifeng (1883-1963); there are modern recordings by Cheng Gongliang;¹²
2. The version in Volume One of Guqin Quji (Guqin Melody Collection, 1962), which follows Pu Xuezhai (1893-1966).¹³

These two versions are very similar - identical in many passages; the commonly played one is often shorter than the Xia Yifeng version, but that is usually a result of omitting a long repeated passage at the end. The relationship of these two within the original Peng family tradition is not clear.

In his Lore of the Chinese Lute, R.H. van Gulik has extensive commentary on Pu'an Zhou (see also his translation of the 1609 preface). After writing that Buddhists attributed magical powers to the qin, that there were many famous Buddhist qin players especially in the Song dynasty, and that Indian instruments introduced into China were studied by Chinese scholars, he writes:

It was around the time of Han Jiang that the Kangxi emperor (r.1662 - 1723) is reported to have played Pu'an Zhou on the harpsichord.¹⁶

There have been numerous recordings of the modern Pu'an Zhou.

 
Original Preface
For a listing of prefaces see chart ¹⁷

 
Footnotes (Numbers refer to entries in Zhongwen Dacidian)

1. Pu'an Zhou (see also Pu'an, below)
14293 普 has no 普庵 Pu An or Pu'an Zhou. Much of the information on this webpage, as well as for Shitan Zhang, is based on information from François Picard, who wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on Shitan Zhang (since published, in French), showing its connection with the modern Pu'an Zhou as well as related melodies in the Jiangnan Sizhu and Nanguan repertoires. Also helpful is the article Shitan Zhang and Pu'an Zhou by 陳松陰 Chang Chong Hin (Mandarin: Chen Songyin).
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2. Mode
The earliest modal indication, in 1618, was shang, which uses standard tuning but makes 1 =do. However, the main note of Pu'an Zhou is clearly the third string, and later handbooks use various mode names.
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3. Image
No appropriate image selected yet.
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4. Pu An (普菴、普庵), style name of Yin Su ( 印肅, 1115-69 CE)
普菴 Pu An (14293.84; Bio/xxx): "the given name of a Song dynasty monk named 印肅 Yin Su (2902.xxx; Bio/xxx), later called 慧慶禪士 (Bio/xxx) Chan master Huiqing. He was a 12th generation descendent of 臨濟 Lin Ji [= 義玄?) and a 法嗣 fasi (Buddhistic inheritor?) of 牧菴忠禪士 Loyal Chan Master Mu'an. In the late 12th century he resided at 袁州之南泉山 Nanxuan Shan in Yuanzhou (apparently southwest of Nanchang)...." (No connection made to any incantations.)
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5. Tracing Pu'an Zhou (see also the Chart Tracing Shitan Zhang / Pu'an Zhou)
Zha Fuxi's Guide includes Pu'an Zhou with Shitan Zhang, 27/219/421. The earliest version resembling the modern one seems to be in Wuzhizhai Qinpu, which has a full length Shitan Zhang (QQJC XII, p. 444) followed immediately by a Pu'an Zhou (ibid., p. 452) that seems largely extracted from the central section of Shitan Zhang and starts rather like the modern version, but still has lyrics. Since few of the handbooks after this containing it have been reprinted, it is difficult to trace the development of Pu'an Zhou after this date.

小普庵咒 Xiao Pu'an Zhou
Zha's Guide (43/--/--) also has a Small Pu'an Incantation. It has two entries, published in 1884 and 1907. According to Julian Joseph, who has been researching the 1907 handbook, it is apparently a qin version of the pipa lute piece of the same name, as it occurs in the Ju Shilin Pipapu, and its connection to the common qin version is not apparent. Picard's dissertation suggests that the versions of this melody from different repertoires may seem completely different, but if one studies the underlying structure one can see that they are all related.
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6. The invocation is typically called 佛頭 Fo Tou (Buddhist head); the middle section 起咒 Qi Zhou (Beginning of Incantation); the final section 佛尾 Fo Wei (Buddhist Tail). The Qi Zhou generally has 18 sections and includes all the different sounds found in Sanskrit. Its recitation is said to have powerful effects.
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7. 松絃館琴譜
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8. 自遠堂琴譜, see QQJC, XVII, p. 547 ff and 555 ff.
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9. Mei'an School tradition of Shitan Zhang/Pu'an Zhou
It was not included in Longyinguan Qinpu. A transcription can be found in Fred Lieberman's A Chinese Zither Tutor; Hong Kong, HK University Press, 1983, pp.119-124. See also the 梅庵琴譜 Mei An Qinpu.
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10. Peng family version of Pu'an Zhou
As described above, with further detail below, the two available transcriptions show that the versions transmitted via Xia Yifeng (q.v.) and Zha Fuxi (q.v.) are quite similar, but there are some distinctive differences (in particular the first note). I have not yet seen any commentary tracing the source of their differences.
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11. Modern transcriptions of Pu'an Zhou
In addition to those discussed below, Wu Wenguang's Ph.D. dissertation has a transcription of his father Wu Jinglue's version, but there is no tablature.
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12. Pu'an Zhou in 古琴曲彙編 Guqin Qu Huibian (pp.44-51)
Guqin Qu Huibian collects 17 melodies as played by Xia Yifeng, but the only available recordings of his version of #9 Pu'an Zhou are by 成公亮 Cheng Gongliang, who recorded it in Autumn Aria (Pu-'An Incantstion [sic]) and Chant of the King Wen/Lonely Bamboo (Pu-an's Exorcism). Timing for the former is 15.00, for the latter 16.29 (as of 2010 it can be heard online); both seem to be almost identical to the melody as transcribed in Guqin Qu Huibian. According to Cheng (information from Luca Pisano), he did not learn this version from a teacher, instead working out his version from a handcopy of Xia Yifeng tablature that he had obtained about 30 years ago; it was in a very bad state and does not exist any more. He guesses that Xia may have learned it from 楊子鏞 Yang Ziyong, but says that this is just a supposition.

The introduction on page 7 of Guqin QuHuibian says,

13. Pu'an Zhou in 古琴曲集 Guqin Quji, Vol. 1 (pp. 203-210)
This transcription of a performance by 溥雪齋 Pu Xuezhai is said to come from a Beijing Qin Society Handbook. The introduction (Volume One, page 9) says,

The version that I learned from Sun Yü-ch'in is very similar to this version in Guqin Quji; it was commonly shortened by omitting a lon g reprise written at the end. The tablature we used said it was the version that was played by 彭慶壽 Peng Qingshou as transmitted via 查阜西 Zha Fuxi; reference is given to a 栩齋琴譜 Xuzhai Qinpu (no date), which apparently is in turn connected to a 理琴軒舊抄本 Li Qin Xuan Old Copybook dating from about 1880. Zha Fuxi's biography says that in the 1920s he studied qin in Changsha with the Peng family from 廬陵 Luling (presumably part of 廬山 the Lushan mountain district north of Nanchang in Jiangxi province). Peng Qingshou, who was born around 1890, was active in the 今虞琴舍 Jinyu Qin Society.
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14. 普安印肅禪士語錄 Pu-an Yin Su Chanshi Yulu
Van Gulik does not mention whether he has seen this work: does it include the text of Shi Tan Zhang? If not, why does he identify Pu-An as the monk of the Song dynasty whose name is written with the characters 普菴 instead of 普庵 (not to mention 普安)?
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15. Han Jiang: 韓畕，字經正，號石
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16. The Kangxi Emperor and Pu'an Zhou
The reign of 玄燡 Xuan Yi (1655 - 1723) as the Kangxi Emperor (康熙 1662 - 1723; Wiki ) is the longest in Chinese history. During his reign he strengthened the empire but was also very much involved in cultural activities, perhaps most famously commissioning the Kangxi dictionary. He himself practised calligraphy, wrote poetry and presumably had studied the qin. At first he patronized the Jesuits, taking advantage of their skills in astronomy, surveying, and weaponry as well as music, but later he felt it necessary to limit their missionary activities.

The earliest known form of Pu'an Zhou (or Pu An Zhou), as discussed above and under Shitan Zhang, was in a qin piece in the form of a Buddhist chant whose Sanskrit syllables were perhaps intended to have magical properties. Although said to be the incantation of a Song dynasty monk, the earliest known music is that of the guqin transcription published in 1592. The abridged modern solo qin instrumental version apparently dates from 1722. Today it can be found in many regional instrumental ensemble versions, but it is difficult to trace the history of these. As an ensemble piece it would have been played heterophonically (i.e., each instrument playing a somewhat different version of the same melody), but for a solo instrument there was only one line of music.

Much mention has been made of Kangxi having had a Western music teacher and eventually playing a melody on the harpsichord. The excitement about this seems to evoke a corresponding lack of interest in pursuing historical details. Thus in Sheila Melvin and Jindong Cai, Rhapsody in Red, How Western Classical Music Became Chinese, p. 66, one can read that "Pu Yen Zhou" is a "Daoist prayer" that was originally written for pipa in the Song dynasty.

Father Matteo Ripa (Wiki) dismissively wrote that Kangxi played Pu An Zhou with only one finger. It has been suggested that this comment shows only that Ripa did not know that the original melody would have been only one line of music. However, given the general antipathy of the Jesuits towards Buddhism, it is difficult to imagine them saying anything positive about such a melody. It also seems unlikely that any of them would have made a harmonic arrangement of Pu'an Zhou for keyboard, much less taught the melody to Kangxi. This being the case, Kangxi's selection for performance of this particular melody makes one wonder whether he was trying to make a point.
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16. Preface
See the Shitan Zhang preface.
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17. Music
It is difficult to evaluate Van Gulik's comments on the "decidedly Indian" nature of this music. To my ears the Shitan Zhang" chants sound decidedly Chinese. Since, as Picard has shown, the Pu'an Zhou melody commonly played today actually developed out of Shitan Zhang, this would have to mean either that the nature of the Shitan Zhang music is in fact Indian, or that the Indian characteristics were added by Chinese as they developed the modern Pu'an Zhou from it.
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Return to the annotated handbook list or to the Guqin ToC.