Cui Zundu
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Cui Zundu
- Qin Shi #140
崔遵度 1
琴史 #140 2

Cui Zundu (954 - 1020), from Jiangling in southeast Henan, held various official positions in the southern Song capital, Kaifeng, including one as advisor on virtue (and/or music tutor) to the heir apparent. He was later sent as emissary to the 契丹遼 Khitan Liao in north China and became a qin friend of Fan Zhongyan. Fan later studied with Cui's student Tang Yi.

Cui Zundu's Qin Commentary (Qin Jian) seems to have been quite well-known.4 He published other works, but I have found nothing else concerning the qin. Xu Jian's discussion of Qin Jian in QSCB, Folio 6C3, gives a few quotes from Qin Jian itself, but also quotes some other sources, one of which is a letter from Fan Zhongyan to Tang Yi included in Qinshu Daquan, Folio 16.

The apparently complete surviving text of Qin Jian is quoted extensively in at least the following four sources:

  1. The present Qin Shi entry has four lines introducing Cui Zundu himself, then 40 lines quoting what apparently is the entire surviving text of Qin Jian.
  2. Qinshu Cunmu, Folio III, #4, Qin Jian says it has two folios, gives somewhat more commentary, then quotes the same text as above.
  3. Qinshu Daquan, Folio 1, #11, has the same quoted text.
  4. Qinyuan Yaolu has this text, adding at the end a Xu Qin Jian (Continuation of Qin Jian). Unless this continuation is what is elsewhere called Folio 2, it seems that today only a part of the original work survives.

The original biography in Qin Shi begins as follows.5

Advisor on Virtue Cui, style name Zundu, ....

Incomplete.

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Cui Zundu 崔遵度 references
8405.251 崔遵度 Cui Zundu (954 - 1020), style name 堅白 Jianbai, was from 江陵 Jiangling (southeast Henan). The Qin Shi entry begins by calling him 崔論德 Cui Lunde (Lunde: 36511.86 discuss strong and weak points of virtue). It later says that he was at one time a 諭德 yude (Hucker: Adviser in establishment of the heir apparent; QSCB, Chapter 06c3.htm, says he was once 太子諭德 Taizi Yude [advisor on virtue to the heir apparent), or perhaps a 諭德卒官 yude zuguan (11/15 only yude [官名]; zuguan: 1/xxx).

Hsu Wen-Ying, The Ku-Ch'in, p.191., says he wrote 西崑 Xi Kun poetry.
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2. 44 lines
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4. Qin Commentary (琴箋 Qin Jian)
Qin Jian is included in at least four sources. One of them, Qinshu Cunmu, refers to it as Qin Jian, Two Folios (琴箋二卷). Qinyuan Yaolu, 73/2, after giving the basic Qin Jian text, includes a continuation beginning on 75/2.

The text of Qin Jian as printed in Qin Shi is as follows (mostly copied from http://newasia.proj.hkedcity.net/).

世之傳琴者,必曰長三尺六寸象期之日,十三徽象期之月,居中者象閏,前世未有辨者。至唐協律郎劉貺以樂器配諸節候,而謂琴為夏至之音。至於泛聲,卒無述者,愚嘗病之。因張弓附案,泛其弦而十三徽聲具焉,況琴瑟之弦乎。是知非所謂象者,蓋天地自然之節耳,又豈止夏至之音而已。

夫《易》有太極,是生兩儀。兩儀者,太極之節也;四時者,兩儀之節也;律呂者,四時之節也;晝夜者,律呂之節也;刻漏者,晝夜之節也。節節相交,自細至大而歲成焉。既不可使之節,亦不可使之不節,氣之自然者也。氣既節矣,聲同則應,既不可使之應,亦不可使之不應,數之自然者也。既節且應,則天地之文成矣。文之義也,或任形而著,或假物而彰。日星文乎上,山川理乎下,動物植物,花者節者,五色具矣。斯任形者也。至於人常有五性而不著,以事觀之然後著;日常有五色而不見,以水觀之然後見;氣常有五音而不聞,以弦考之然後聞。斯假物者也。

是故聖人不能作《易》而能知自然之數,不能作琴而能知自然之節。何則?數本於一而成於三,因而重之,故《易》六畫而成卦。及其應也,一必於四,二必於五,三必於六焉。氣氣相召,其應也必矣。卦既畫矣,故畫琴焉。始以一弦泛桐,當其節則清然而號,不當其節則泯然無聲,豈人力也哉!且徽有十三,而居中者為一。自中而左泛有三焉,又右泛有三焉,其聲殺而已,弦盡則聲減。及其應也,一必於四,二必於五,三必於六焉,節節相召,其應也必矣。

《易》之書也,偶三為六,三才之配具焉,萬物由之而出。雖曰六畫,及其數也,止三而已矣。琴之畫也,偶六而根於一,一鐘者,道之所生也。在數為一,在律為黃,在音為宮,在木為根,在四體為心,眾徽由之而生。雖曰十三,及其節也,止三而已矣。卦之德方,經也;蓍之德圓,緯也;故萬物不能逃其象。徽三其節,經也;弦五其音,緯也;故眾音不能勝其文。先儒謂八音以絲為君,絲以琴為君。愚謂琴以中徽為君,盡矣。夫徽十三者,蓋盡昭昭可聞者也。苟盡弦而考之,乃總有二十三徽焉,是一氣也。丈弦具之,尺弦亦具之,豈有長短大小之限哉!

是則萬物本於天地,天地本於太極,太極之外以至於萬物,聖人本於道,道本於自然,自然之外以至於無為,樂本於琴,琴本於中徽,中徽之外以至於無聲。是知作《易》者,考天地之象也;作琴者,考天地之聲也。往者藏音而未談,來者專聲而忘理。

As can be seen here, the beginning of the same text in Qinyuan Yaolu (73/2-75/2) is somewhat different:

世之傳琴者,必曰長三尺六寸象期之曰。十三徽象期之月。居中者象閏。伏羲以來未有甚辨者。至唐協律郎劉貺謂樂之旨也。其詳杳冥無得而言焉,又以樂器配諸節後而謂琴為夏至之音於泛聲卒無述者愚嘗病之因以張弓附案泛其絃而十三徽聲具焉....

Qinyuan Yaolu then has a Continuation of Qin Commentary (虛琴箋 Xu Qin Jian), which begins as follows:

伏羲滑卦大衍之數萬有一千五百二十策,又....
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5. Qin Shi biography of Cui Zundu
The original text of this biography begins as follows (punctuation tentative):

崔論德字遵度,進士,擢第踐,歷古史,恬於勢利,口不言是非,仁宗以壽春開府有詔宰相擇耆德學術之士被命謂王友東宮建以為諭德卒官論德善鼓琴。得其深趣嘗謂頣天地之和莫先於樂。究樂於趣。莫近於琴。乃作《琴箋》以見其意焉。

It then gives the text of Qin Jian, as copied above, after which it ends with,

《琴箋》之作也,庶乎近之。苟其闕也,請俟君子名流皆服之。 As yet I have found no evidence suggesting this should be considered as the so-called second folio.
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