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Qin Shi     Confucius and the Qin     Studying qin     Xing Tan 首頁
Confucius
- Qin Shi #11  
 
To Confucius (551 - 479 BCE) the following 12 qin melodies have commonly been attributed: 3
孔子 1
琴史 #11 2
above: "A true image of Confucius"  
below:   Confucius playing the qin 4 
  1. Huan Le Cao
  2. Jiang Gui Cao (YFSJ p.841)
  3. Guishan Cao (YFSJ p.842)
  4. Yi Lan Cao (YFSJ p.839)
  5. Huo Lin Cao (compare Huo Lin)
  6. Wei Kuang Cao
  7. E Chen Cao (or E Yu Chen, or Kongzi E [#17])
  8. Xian Ju Cao (or Xian Ju Le)
  9. Dongwu Taishan Cao (or Dongwu Taishan)
  10. Hui Feng Cao (or Feng Cao)
  11. Bei Feng Cao (or Bei Feng)
  12. Yi Yan Hui

The rather long entry in Qin Shi about Confucius mentions at least three of these melodies (Yi Lan Cao, Jiang Gui Cao5 and Guishan Cao), plus You Lan (YFSJ p.840) and Wen Wang Cao (which Seng ascribes to Shi Xiang).

Qinshu Cunmu, Folio 16 quotes six stories about Confucius and the qin from a book called The Household Sayings of Confucius (Kongzi Jiayu).6

The story of Confucius studying qin with Shi Xiangzi is not told here, but with the biography of the latter (#32). Qin illustration 6 in Taiyin Daquanji claims to be a depiction of his Confucian Style [仲尼 Zhongni] qin.)

The Qin Shi biography of Confucius begins,

Confucius was born during the period of the Zhou (dynasty). Experiencing disorder in Lu he got in his cart and traveled everywhere, but he was not living in the proper generation. In (Lu) he remained with the duke for 14 years. When he was 56 years old....

(Translation incomplete.)

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Kongzi 孔子 (551 - 479 BCE)
See also in Wikipedia.
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2. 43 lines
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3. 12 melodies commonly attributed to Confucius
The listing here comes from the Song dynasty list of qin melodies compiled by Seng Juyue. The 12 melodies attributed to Confucius are #24 - #35). The Chinese titles are:

  1. 歡樂操 Huan Le Cao (not in 16602.88 歡樂 etc.)
  2. 將歸操 Jiang Gui Cao
  3. 龜山操 Guishan Cao
  4. 猗蘭操 Yi Lan Cao
  5. 獲麟操 Huo Lin Cao
  6. 畏匡操 Wei Kuang Cao (22284.xxx)
  7. 厄陳操 E Chen Cao (or 厄於陳 E Yu Chen; 2942.xxx)
  8. 閑居操 Xian Ju Cao (or 閑居樂 Xian Ju Le; nothing with 42162.32 閑居 or .33 閑居賦 Xian Ju Fu)
  9. 東武泰山操 Dongwu Taishan Cao (or Dongwu Taishan; Dongwu and Taishan?)
  10. 回風操 Hui Feng Cao (or 風操 Feng Cao)
  11. 悲風操 Bei Feng Cao (or 悲風 Bei Feng)
  12. 憶顏回 Yi Yan Hui
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4. Images of Confucius
The illustrations here are "孔子真影 True image of Confucius" and an extract from "晝息鼓琴 Daytime leisure playing the qin" (full image shows 閩子 Minzi and 曾子 Zengzi listening) from, 孔子聖蹟圖,河北美術出版社,1996.
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5. Jiang Gui Cao: also called 陬操 Zou Cao 42622.10
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6. Confucius' Household Sayings (孔子家語 Kongzi Jiayu)
This is a collection of stories attributed to Confucius, but most of them are thought to have originated at a later date. The earliest surviving compilation is by 王肅 Wang Su (195 - 256), who is thought to have added some of them himself. This book is quoted variously on this site: see especially the six selections from four books.

A list of its 44 chapters is online at the China Knowledge website, which translates the title as The School Sayings of Confucius.
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