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Qin and the Four Seasons
1
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter; also: New Year |
古琴與四季
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A short poem (of unknown origin) mentioning the four seasons has been used as lyrics in several qin melodies. Otherwise there does not seem to be any traditional guqin melodies with the theme of the four seasons. In addition, in the absence of early melodies that can be connected to summer, it would require creative thinking to arrange a program around all four seasons. However, I have in the past done programs that focus on either spring or autumn.
Summer
The only melody with a clear mention of summer may be the
Mei'an version of the melody Feng Lei Yin.
Winter
Spring (examples:
Spring Festival programs for
2014 and 2016 [Elegant Chinese Melodies for Springtime and Love])
These three are connected to the later spring festival most famously commemorated at Lan Ting
The rest of these melodies more generally concern spring
No melody seems to mention winter by name, but I play four with the theme of snow:
Chang Qing (Long Clarity; 1425);
Duan Qing (Short Clarity; 1425); and
Xue Chuang Ye Hua (Evening Talk by a Snowy Window; 1525).
Zha Fuxi's Guide lists a rather large number of melodies with the word "spring" in the title (search the Guide for "chun"), but I play only those published in the Ming dynasty. These include the following, all of which have themes connected to spring, though some don't have the word "spring" in their title. Only one, the first, is overtly connected to the New Year. It quite likely dates from the Ming dynasty but was first published in Japan by a Ming refugee from Qing China.
Dongfeng Qi Zhuo Li (East Winds Work Together)
a ci song, preserved by a Chinese monk in Japan.
Lin He Xiuxi (Riverside Spring Purification)
a setting for qin of the famous calligraphy by Wang Xizhi commemorating the spring ceremony of 353 CE (see
scrolls).
Xiuxi Yin; used as a prelude to the melody Sunny Spring
the Xiuxi is an ancient spring ceremony, now being revived
Liu Shang (Floating Wine-Cups); musically related to Wine Mad
the aforementioned spring ceremony features wine-cups floating down a stream
Yang Chun (Sunny Spring); two musically unrelated versions dating from
1425 and
1525
a famous ancient title paired with but
not connected to Bai Xue
Chun Jiang Qu (Spring River Melody)
ancient poems set to music
Chun Jiang and
Chun Jiang Wan Tiao
Instrumental versions of previous; compare
Qiu Jiang Wan Diao
Chun Jiang
Fan Li floats on a lake: with Xi Shi?
Chun Xiao Yin (Spring Dawn); apparently a prelude to Zhi Zhao Fei (Pheasants' Morning Flight);
a poem by Li Bai suggests this flight takes place in spring. Not musically related to the later Yulou Chun Xiao.
Chun Si (Spring Thoughts)
created by an elevated gentleman inspired by spring fragance.
Taoyuan Chunxiao (Spring Dawn at Peach Blossom Spring; 2 3 5 6 1 2 3)
on a spring day a villager discovers a timeless hidden valley were people know nothing of the outside world
Chun Gui Yuan (Spring Chamber Lament; 2 3 5 6 1 2 3)
the 1799 version of Yu Lou Chun Xiao
See also "Spring Festival".
Autumn
1.
Seasons as a theme in qin music
This division can be found in early literature, such as the 月令 Yueling chapter of the 禮記 Li Ji (Book of Rites). As it developed gong became the central tone, corresponding to earth, and thus functioning intercalarily across the seasonal transitions rather than as one of the four named seasons.
In qin literature this can be seen at least as early as
Qinshu Daquan (1589), in particular at the beginning of Chapter Two (V/29-30), quoting 楊雄 Yang Xiong.
As for actual associations within the qin repertoire, at least from the Ming dynasty there does not seem to be any such correspondence. In fact, perhaps most noticeable is the large number of spring and autumn pieces but the few, if any, associated with summer or winter.
In the Ming dynasty autumn seems to have been even more popular than spring as a theme for qin melodies. Those that I play with the word "autumn" in the title include the following 10 (note that whereas 8 of the 10 spring melodies use standard tuning, five of these 12 use non-standard tunings):
Guanghan Qiu (Autumn in a Lunar Palace)
Han Gong Qiu (Autumn in the Han Palace; 1 3 5 6 1 2 3)
Huangyun Qiusai (Yellow Clouds of Autumn at the Frontier; 1 3 5 6 1 2 3)
Qiu Feng (Autumn Wind)
Qiu Feng Ci (Autumn Wind Ode and Autumn Wind Lyrics)
Qiu Hong (Wild Geese in Autumn; 6 1 2 3 5 6 1)
Qiujiang Yebo (Autumn River Night Anchorage).
Qiu Xiao Bu Yue (Autumn Night Moon Walk).
Qiuyue Zhao Maoting (Autumn Moon Shining on a Reed Pavilion; 1 3 5 6 1 2 3)
Song Yu Bei Qiu (Song Yu Mourns Autumn; 2 4 5 6 1 2 3)
Yi Ye Zhi Qiu (Knowing Autumn from a Single Leaf)
Zhongqiu Yue (Mid-autumn Moon)
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a
separate page)
Although it may be noticed here that there seem to be some informal associations between mode and seasons, this does not seem to transfer easily into traditional Chinese associations between mode and seasons, the earliest form of which seems to be as follows:
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