Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修 Ouyang Xiu (1007 - 1072), had the style name 永叔 Yongshu, pen name 六一居士 Mr. One of Six,³ and nickname Old Toper.⁴ From Luling (Ji'an in today's Jiangxi province), son of Ouyang Guan, he was one of China's foremost writers of poetry and prose (guwen free-style prose). He was also an historian, statesman and epigrapher.

Ouyang Xiu had an estate by the Langye mountains, near Chuzhou in eastern Anhui province, about 100 km northwest of Nanjing. Today it is a public park with a pavilion named after the original Old Toper's Pavilion (Zuiweng Ting) described by Ouyang (see his poem) and several of his contemporaries. It was particularly interesting to visit this park during the process of learning the related melody Zuiweng Yin.

In A Farewell to Yang Zhi (see below) Ouyang Xiu mentions that he had studied qin with his friend Sun Daozi, including several melodies in the gong mode.⁵ Xu Jian's History, Chapter 6a2, has related information.

At least two poetic writings by Ouyang Xiu have been set for qin music:

1. Lang Tao Sha
2. Qiu Sheng Fu

Some of his qin-related writings are in Qinshu Daquan (QQJC V). See

For another article connected to him in Qinshu Daquan see:

Another poem of his that mentions the qin, Recalling Secluded Valley at Chuzhou, is translated in Michael Fuller, The Road to East Slope.⁸

The Qin Shi biography begins as follows.

Translation incomplete.

9

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1 16539.109 廬陵人（今江西吉安縣治 1007 - 1072），觀之子，字永叔，子號醉翁...
   English language sources include,

2 (Return)

3 He once explained to a guest that in his home he had 10,000 folios of books he had collected, 1,000 scrolls with inscriptions dating as early as the Xia-Shang-Zhou, one qin, one chess set, and usually one pot of wine. When the guest said this was just one-of-five, Ouyang said, I am an old man amongst these five; does that not make six? (1477.4 六一居士 has this quote from 六一居士傳. (Return)

4 Discussed in detail in the Qin Shi article (Return)

5 For Yang Zhi see the poem. For 孫道滋 Sun Daozi (Bio/xxx; 39843.xxx) see also Van Gulik, Lore, p.153; it has a quote in which Ouyang Xiu says that after studying a few melodies in the gong mode from Sun Daozi he enjoyed them for a long time and did not know melancholy. (Return)

6 HJAS 57, Ronald Egan, Music, Sadness and the Qin, pp.63/4). (Return)

7 歐陽修，三琴記 Ouyang Xiu, A Record of Three Qins
Ronald Egan's translation is included in Victor Mair, The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature, p. 589. The essay includes the following passage, of importance to anyone contemplating studying the qin (translation slightly modified from R. H. Van Gulik, Lore, p.20)

8 p.37 (bi-lingual) (Return)

9 秋聲賦　Sounds of Autumn (a fu: Ode, Rhapsody, Prose-Poem)
According to Zha's Guide 29/226/434, this poem by Ouyang Xiu (1001 - 1072) is set for qin in eight handbooks beginning with <1609. The poem describes how one night while reading in his cottage he heard a strange sound from outside. However, when the servant went out to find out what the sound was, he said that nobody was there and the sound seemed to have come from the trees. Then the poet realized that it was the sound of autumn causing him to lament the fleetingness of life.

A Korean museum has an online image.

原文： The original text, as arranged for qin in eight sections:

1. 歐陽子方夜讀書，聞有聲自西南來者，悚然而聽之，曰：「異哉！」初淅瀝以蕭颯，忽奔騰而砰湃；
2. 如波濤夜驚，風雨驟至。其觸於物也，鏦鏦錚錚，金鐵皆鳴；又如赴敵之兵，銜枚疾走，不聞號令，但聞人馬之行聲。
3. 予謂童子：「此何聲也？汝出視之。」童子曰：「星月皎潔，明河在天，四無人聲，聲在樹間。」予曰：「噫嘻，悲哉！此秋聲也，胡為而來哉？
4. 蓋夫秋之為狀也：其色慘淡，煙霏雲斂；其容清抈，天高日晶；其氣慄冽，砭人肌骨；其意蕭條，山川寂寥。故其為聲也，淒淒切切，呼號憤發。
5. 豐草綠縟而爭茂，佳木蔥籠而可悅；草拂之而色變，木遭之而葉脫；其所以摧敗零落者，乃其一氣之餘烈。
6. 夫秋，刑官也，於時為陰：又兵象也，於行為金，是謂天地之義氣，常以肅殺而為心。天之於物，春生秋實。故其在樂也，商聲主西方之音，夷則為七月之律。商，傷也；物既老而悲傷。夷，戮也；物過盛而當殺。
7. 嗟乎，草木無情，有時飄零。人為動物，惟物之靈。百憂感其心，萬事勞其形。有動于中，必搖其精。而況思其力之所不及，憂其智之所不能；宜其渥然丹者為槁木，黟然黑者為星星。
8. 奈何以非金石之質，欲與草木而爭榮？念誰為之戕賊，亦何恨乎秋聲！」童子莫對，垂頭而睡。但聞四壁蟲聲唧唧，如助余之歎息。

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