The Qin Handbook of Hearing Heaven Pavilion (Tianwen Ge Qinpu or Tianwen'ge Qinpu), published in 1876, was compiled and edited under the direction of Tang Yiming.² Tang was from Shaanxi, but lived in Chengdu, as did his student and assistant in this work, Zhang Kongshan, originally from Zhejiang.³ In charge of corrections was Ye Zongwu of Chengdu.⁴ Zhang Kongshan is most famous today for the melodies Zui Yu Chang Wan (a new melody using an old title) and Liu Shui (the more elaborate "72 gunfu" version). However, the version of Liu Shui attributed to him in this handbook is actually from another of his teachers, Feng Tongyun of Zhejiang province;⁵ Zhang apparently did not publish an edition of his 74 gunfu version (see comments with his biography).

According to Zha Fuxi's commentary,⁶ Tianwen'ge Qinpu has 16 folios of melodies; in front of this is another volume with three folios of essays. The essays and most of the melodies were collected from earlier sources. Zha says there are 145 melodies in all. However, his listing of the melodies has only 141 entries; one entry combines 2 versions of a melody title, so 3 melody titles are apparently missing from the list.⁷ Melodies are grouped by mode, first standard tuning, then non-standard tuning;⁸ however, the only modal preludes are five newly composed ones in standard tuning.⁹ Zha speaks of two editions of this book, both apparently published in Chengdu with the same date of publication.¹⁰

Of the 145 or so titles, all but 24 (see end of chart) are said to have been copied from 13 earlier handbooks. Editions of all but one of these earlier handbooks (see 1849) have already been published in Qinqu Jicheng (details in the Appendix below). Some preliminary comparisons suggest that most if not all of these 121 melodies are indeed copies. Some include minor differences; these perhaps indicate usage of a different edition or of an edition marked with corrections or clarifications, but they could also result from new revisions or even copy errors.

The remaining 24 melodies consist of 10 new titles; two new melodies, each with an old title; and 12 previously unpublished versions of old titles. Based on Zha's Guide, the sources of these 24 melodies are as follows:

• 10 are by or according to the handbook's compiler, Tang Yiming, here identified by his nickname Song Xian (Pine Immortal).
  This includes five versions of old titles, two new melody titles (Shuanghe Mu Quan and Ran Xian Ge), and three of the five new modal prelude titles.

• Eight are attributed to his prominent student Zhang Kongshan (see list)
  Only one of these is identified as a new title, Hua Die¹¹; two are new or previously unpublished melodies with old titles:
      Zuiyu Chang Wan and Kongzi Du Yi.¹²

• Four are melodies as played by three other players of that day:
  Wang Zhongshan¹³ (2: one is a new title: Wang Yun Si Qin)
  Xu Liqiang¹⁴ (1)
  Lianchi Seng¹⁵ (1).

• Two, both modal introductions, are not attributed.
  They should probably be attributed, as with the other three modal introductions, to the compiler Tang Yiming

The 10 new titles consist of the five modal preludes and five melody titles mentioned above.¹⁶ Although Zhang Kongshan's new Zuiyu Chang Wan has become very popular, and Kongzi Du Yi is still played, none of the 10 new titles in Tianwen'ge Qinpu is listed in any later handbook.

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Qin Handbook of Hearing Heaven Pavilion (天聞閣琴譜 Tianwen Ge Qinpu or Tianwen'ge Qinpu)
The title can also be romanized Tianwenge Qinpu, but it might then be confused with "tian weng e". 天聞閣 5961.xxx (not 天問閣). Van Gulik, Lore, p.187: says the full title is 天聞閣琴譜集成 Tianwen'ge Qinpu Jicheng, indicating it was

"a collection of reprints from other handbooks. Well-known tunes are often given in as many as five or six different versions. Many of the good qinpu being very rare, it was the compiler's intention to put their contents at the disposal of qin students in convenient form. The introductory chapters (which fill 4 volumes) are also compiled from other handbooks....Some of his own compositions are inserted among the others; these are distinguished by the literary name of the compiler, Song Xian, being printed in the lower outer margin...."

"Song Xian" is 唐松仙 Tang Songxian (Tang Yimin). Van Gulik also expressed regret that

"the publisher confined himself to simply reprinting the various the various tunes, in exactly the same form as he foumd them (the sources being indicated in the lower part of the outer margin); thus there is no unity in the notation of the tunes."

Van Gulik expressed similar regret with Shen Qi Mi Pu, strangely (for an antiquarian) ignoring the value of preserving the original tablature as a tool for analyzing aspects of the music such as their relative age. There the preservation of the original tablature actually increases its value; here, since most of the original tablature still exists, it might have been interesting to see how an editor ca. 1876 re-wrote earlier tablature. Most likely, though, the result would have included a number of unexplained revisions, and that may indeed have been the case here (see comment).
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2. Tang Yiming 唐彝銘
Tang Yiming, nickname Songxian (松仙 song xian: pine mmmortal), was from 邠州 Binzhou in 陝西 Shaanxi. He was a teacher of Zhang Kongshan.
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3. Zhang Kongshan 長空山
The famous qin player 張合修 Zhang Hexiu was better known by his style name 張孔山 Zhang Kongshan (Empty Mountain Zhang). He is associated with a Sichuan style of qin play, having lived in Sichuan province for many years, studied there with Tang Yiming, and worked there with Tang on the compilation of Tianwenge Qinpu. He is also perhaps best known as the innovator of a characteristically Sichuan-style version of the famous melody Liu Shui. However, he was originally from Zhejiang province.

Among the eight melodies in Tianwen'ge Qinpu attributed to Zhang Kongshan there is only one new title, Butterfly Transformation (Hua Die); apparently a new composition, it does not seem to have survived him.

Two of the other titles attributed to Zhang in Tianwen'ge Qinpu are also new compositions, or previously unpublished ones, but they use old titles. Zhang may or may not have been the composer. These two are A Drunken Fisherman Sings in the Evening (Zui Yu Chang Wan) and Confucius Reads the Book of Changes (Kongzi Du Yi).

The most famous of these is Zui Yu Chang Wan. The old melody of this title subsequently left the repertoire (but see the commentary under my reconstruction), while Zhang Kongshan's new one is one of the most popular in the current repertoire.

The other new composition, Kongzi Du Yi, is said to have come from the Fujian tradition.

As for the innovation, the version of Liu Shui for which Zhang Kongshan is best-known is his so-called "72 gunfu" Liu Shui; this is the version of Liu Shui popularly played today. It has been said that the gunfu express the bold mountains of Sichuan, whereas the earlier versions suggest water flowing down the tamer mountains of eastern China. Most specifically, Zhang's version has been said to have been inspired by the sound of the Min River as it passed through Dujiangyan on its way southeast towards Chengdu. On the other hand, the version attributed to him in Tianwen'ge Qinpu is said to have come from his original teacher in Zhejiang province, Feng Tongyun. The transcription in Guqin Quji of Guan Pinghu's Liu Shui, with all the gunfu, says it is from Tianwen'ge Qinpu. Unfortunately, the edition of Tianwen'ge Qinpu available to me is missing that folio, so I cannot confirm how many gunfu it actually has. Xu Jian's commentary on Liu Shui in his Outline History of the Qin (pp. 177-9) suggests that this was not the 72 gunfu version. Xu says that there are many versions of Liu Shui which today say they come from Tianwen'ge Qinpu, but in fact they do not, they are probably modified from one of the ways he actually played it. The variety of later editions suggests that Zhang Kongshan never wrote down his own 72 gunfu version, and/or that he himself played numerous versions of it.

The qin handbook Tianwen'ge Qinpu includes altogether eight melodies as played by Zhang Kongshang:

1. Zui Yu Chang Wan (no commentary; old title; new melody?)
2. Hua Die (no commentary; new title; new melody?)
3. Liu Shui (not the "72 gunfu" version; from his teacher Feng Tongyun)
4. Kongzi Du Yi (from a Fujian school rendition)
5. Gao Shan (in missing folio)
6. Pingsha Luoyan (no commentary; related to earlier versions)
7. Xiaoxiang Yeyu (no commentary; related to 1739 version; 1677 version is unrelated)
8. Yu Qiao Wenda (no commentary; related to earlier versions).

As mentioned above, only three of these melodies are previously unpublished, Hua Die, Zui Yu Chang Wan and Kongzi Du Yi.

Chapter 8 of Xu Jian's Outline History of the Qin (p.174), says the following about Zhang Kongshan:

4. Ye Zongwu 葉宗(示吳)
32127.xxx; (示吳) is not in my computer: 25250 = 福 .
From 成都 Chengdu.
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5. 馮彤雲 Feng Tongyun
From Zhejiang province
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6. Zha Fuxi's commentary on Tianwen'ge Qinpu
See Zha Fuxi, Guide, Section 8 (p. 171). His listing of the melodies is on pp. 171 - 177.
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7. Number of melodies
The confusion over the number of melodies in Tianwen'ge Qinpu may be caused by the fact that some of the entries are only poetic essays, with no tablature. These are not included in Zha's listing.
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8. Number of melodies in each mode
Based on Zha's index the Tianwen'ge Qinpu melodies are organized by mode as follows:

1. Gong Yin: #1-21
2. Shang Yin: #22-46 (#45, 平沙落雁 by 張空山, mode not identified), #61
3. Jiao Yin: #47-60, 62-63
4. Zhi Yin: #64-90
5. Yu Yin: #91-114
6. Huangzhong Diao: #115-117
7. Taicu Diao: #118-122
8. Guxian Diao: #123-125
9. Ruibin Diao: #126-134
10. Yize Diao: #135-138
11. Wuyi Diao: #139-141

Only the standard tuning modes include modal preludes, none at the beginning of the respective mode.
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9. Modal preludes in Tianwen'ge Qinpu
These modal preludes, all apparently new, are located as follows (#s based on Zha's index; analysis from Columbia University edition):

1. 宮音初調 Gongyin Chudiao : #3 (compare Gong Yi)
   Not available for examination
2. 商音初調 Shangyin Chudiao : #34 (compare Shang Yi)
   In the stopped sounds section the tonal center seems to be on open fourth string, also ending on that note. However, in the harmonic coda the last three clusters say to play at the 7th hui: 1st string, then 6th string, then 1st and 7th together (there are also other apparent mistakes).
3. 角音初調 Jiaoyin Chudiao : #54 (compare Jiao Yi)
   In both the stopped sounds passage and the harmonic coda the tonal center seems to be on open fifth and seventh strings. Both begin on the equivalent of the open fifth string and end on the equivalent of the open seventh.
4. 徵音初調 Zhiyin Chudiao : #73 (compare Zhi Yi)
   The opening harmonic passage begins centered on equivalent of open fourth string, ends on equivalent of open sixth. The stopped sounds passage centers on open sixth equivalent. Closing harmonics also center on open sixth equivalent.
5. 羽音初調 Yuyin Chudiao : #104 (compare Yu Yi)
   In the stopped sounds passage the tonal center seems at first to be on the equivalent of the open seventh string, but it ends on the equivalent of the open fourth string. The closing harmonic coda begins on the equivalent of the open seventh string but the last three clusters say to play at the 7th hui: 2nd string, then 4th string, then 1st and 4th together. Playing the 1st string seems out of place: a mistake for the second. If it is not a mistake then the composer must be looking for a special effect.

In sum, if the open strings are considered 5 6 1 2 3 5 6, then the tonal centers for each modal prelude are closely related to their note name (e.g., in shangyin chudiao the note shang is important). However, the mode does not seem here necessarily to be named after the primary tonal center or even the ending note.
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10. Available copies of Tianwen'ge Qinpu
At present the only copy I have been able to examine is an incomplete edition at the Columbia University Library in New York, so my comments here are based on this edition. The book seems to be quite hard to find, as library internet computer searches of libraries with catalogues online showed only the one at Columbia. Examination of that edition in January 2006 showed that it was published in four boxes of folios. The first box (missing from the Columbia University editon) has all of the essays plus Folio 1 of the melodies. The fourth box has four volumes: Folio 10, Folios 11-13, Folio 14, and Folios 15-16.

The available folios 2 to 16 show some minor differences in the order of the melodies compared to Zha's list. Zha's list could be incorrect, but since there is no through-pagination, each melody being individually paginated, it would also have been easy for the order to have been changed in a different edition. In addition, however, some pages seem to be missing, there is some mixing up of the pages within some of the melodies, and in at least one case the paper on which the tablature is printed was turned inside out (in traditional Chinese printing the pages are printed on only one side of the paper, which is then doubled over).

Based on Zha's commentary and list, the missing melodies from the Columbia University edition's Folio 1 are as follows,

	1.	高山	Gao Shan	Chuncaotang Qinpu
	2.	高山	Gao Shan	Zhang Kongshan tablature
	3.	宮音初調	Gong Yin, Chu Diao	Opening Melody for Gong mode (no source given)
	4.	高山	Gao Shan	許荔檣 Xu Liqiang tablature
	5.	流水	Liu Shui	Zhang Kongshan tablature, from the tradition of 馮彤雲 Feng Tongyun
	6.	桃李園序	Taoli Yuan Xu	Ziyuantang Qinpu
	7.	海鷗忘機	Haiou Wang Ji	Liaohuaitang Qinpu
	8.	魯風	Lu Feng	Chengyitang Qinpu
	9.	桃源春曉	Taoyuan Chunxiao	Qinyuan Xinchuan Quanbian

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11. 化蝶 Hua Die (Butterfly Transformation)
The title Hua Die is suggestive of Zhuang Zhou Meng Die, but there is no apparent musical relation.
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12. 孔子讀易 Kongzi Du Yi
Zha's Guide says Kongzi Du Yi (Confucius Reads the Book of Changes) is the same as the earlier title 讀易 Du Yi, found in four other handbooks from 1739 to 1914, but they seem to be completely unrelated. Zhang Kongshan comments with the Tianwen'ge Qinpu tablature that it comes from the 閩派 Fujian school.
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13. 王仲山 Wang Zhongshan
Composer of Wang Yun Si Qin? No further information.
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14. 許荔檣 Xu Liqiang
No further information.
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15. 蓮池僧 Lianchi Seng
No further information.
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16. The new titles in Tianwen Ge Qinpu are as follows:

1. 宮音初調 Gongyin Chudiao
2. 商音初調 Shangyin Chudiao
3. 角音初調 Jiaoyin Chudiao (attributed to Tang Songxian)
4. 徵音初調 Zhiyin Chudiao (attributed to Tang Songxian)
5. 羽音初調 Yuyin Chudiao (attributed to Tang Songxian)
6. 雙鶴沐泉 Shuanghe Mu Quan (attributed to Tang Songxian)
7. 懷僊操 Huai Xian Cao (? said to be from 1670, but I cannot find it there)
8. 髯仙歌 Ran Xian Ge (attributed to Tang Songxian)
9. 化蝶 Hua Die (attributed to Zhang Kongshan)
10. 望雲思親 Wang Yun Si Qin (attributed to Wang Zhongshan)
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Appendix: Chart showing the sources of melodies in Tianwenge Qinpu;
See Zha Fuxi's Guide.

琴譜 或 人名     (year; QQJC Vol/page)	Number of melodies in Tianwenge Qinpu from the handbook or person at left, plus further information (QQJC = 琴曲集成 Qinqu Jicheng; QF = 琴府 Qin Fu)
1.   重修真傳琴譜       (1585; IV)	2 (頤貞 Yi Zhen and 醒心集 Xing Xin Ji; both are same as in 1585) First is said to be from 合壁 Hebi, the second by 西峰 Xifeng
2. 琴苑新傳全編       (1670; XI.4)	17; includes 懷僊操 Huai Xian Cao, here an alternate title for 懷水僊 Huai Shui Xian Hard to see, as pages of Huai Xian Cao are completely mixed with those of the following piece, Qin Shu Le Dao)
3. 大還閣琴譜       (1673; X.3)	4
4. 松風閣琴譜       (1677/82; XII.3)	2: (九環操 Jiu Huan Cao and 樂山隱 Le Shan Yin
5. 德音堂琴譜       (1691; XII.7)	8
6. 蓼懷堂琴譜       (1702; XIII.3)	17
7. 誠一堂琴譜       (1705; XIII.4)	11
8. 五知齋琴譜       (1722; XIV.4)	3 (one is 釋談章 Shitan Zhang, said to combined versions of 韓十耕 Han Shigeng and 1664 as well as 1722)
9. 治心齋琴譜       (1739; ?)	4
10. 春草堂琴譜       (1744; ?)	17
11. 自遠堂琴譜       (1802; XVII.2)	25
12. 梅花庵(琴譜)       (Meihua'an Qinpu; 1833)	3 (handbook is same as, or a version of, Erxiang Qinpu, compiled by Jiang Wenxun) An online reference seems to suggest Music Research Institute has one: 律呂賸言三卷，清江文勛選 影印音樂研究所藏清道光十四年梅華庵刻本
13. 稚雲琴譜       (1849)	6 (identified only as "曹稚雲譜 tablature of Cao Zhiyun"); this book has not been re-printed. The six melodies are: 良宵引 Liangxiao Yin, 普庵咒 Pu'an Zhou, 靜觀吟 Jing Guan Yin, 塞上鴻 Saishang Hong, 平沙落雁 Pingsha Luoyan and 瀟湘水雲 Xiao Xiang Shui Yun.
14. 唐松仙       Tang Songxian	10; these include two new titles, Shuanghe Mu Quan and Ran Xian Ge Also: three of the new modal prelude titles (perhaps the other two as well?)
15. 張空山       Zhang Kongshan	8; his biographical notes include a list The only new title is Hua Die
16. 王仲山       Wang Zhongshan	2: 1 new: 望雲思親 Wang Yun Si Qin; 19th century; NFI The other is 金門待漏 Jinmen Dai Lou (= Yu Qiao Wenda)
17. 許荔檣       Xu Liqiang	1 (Gao Shan); 19th century; NFI
18. 蓮池僧       Lianchi Seng	1 (Zhuang Zhou Meng Die); 19th century monk; NFI
19. No attribution	2: 宮音初調 Gongyin Chudiao and 商音初調 Shangyin Chudiao (but see Tang Songxian above)

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