Taigu Yiyin, Additional comments
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Taigu Yiyin
Music Bequeathed from Antiquity
 		 太古遺音
1511 and 1515  
Zhang Peng preface (view)  
 Additional Commentary 1
John Thompson

As with Zheyin Shizi Qinpu, this handbook consists of pieces with lyrics. However, they seem more genuinely to represent a sung tradition, as is discussed in the preface by Zha Fuxi. And whereas no earlier source for the Zheyin lyrics has been found,3 most lyrics here can be found in classical sources. These include two from the Shi Jing and at least 20 from the Song dynasty edition of the Yuefu Shiji (YFSJ), including all ten qin pieces by the Tang poet Han Yu.

Also of note is the fact that, whereas in other handbooks of that day the melodies are arranged according to mode, the 38 melodies of Taigu Yiyin are arranged instead according to a supposed chronology, with little to no mention made of mode. In fact, all pieces use standard tuning except three:4

#20, Chu Ge
#23, Zhaojun Yuan
#31 Yangguan Qu

It may be useful also to categorize the Taigu Yiyin melodies by length, especially when trying to compare related melodies in other handbooks.5 Here in Taigyu Yiyin there are 18 short songs consisting of only one section, with 16 having lyrics also found in the Yuefu Shiji (YFSJ). Meanwhile, the 20 longer pieces are almost all divided into unnumbered sections, the sections indicated only by relatively large circles; these can be either single large circles within the tablature columns, or such single large circles plus a smaller circle in the lyrics columns.6

However, although none of the melodies is divided into numbered sections, four do have section titles and one has a narrative between sections. The section titles are all written in separate columns, but again are unnumbered. Those sectioned thusly are as follows:

#20, Chu Ge (each of its five songs has subdivisions indicated by circles),
#21, Caishi Wunong
#26, Meihua Qu
#29, Ting Qin Fu (has a narrative between sections)
#36, Ke Chuang Ye Hua

In addition, there are four long pieces with no circles dividing them into sections. These are:

#25, Gui Qu Lai Ci
#34, Zheng Qi Ge
#37, Qian Chibi Fu (from 1515)
#38, Hou Chibi Fu.

As for the overall division by number of section for all 38 Taigu Yiyin pieces, this is as follows (further comment):

Regarding commentary within Taigu Yiyin

The foreword by Zhang Peng (see image above) covers two double pages, but it is missing the top half of the first; the bottom half reads as though the top half included information such as who Xie Lin's teacher was, what pieces he had studied and what tablature he had worked with, adding that Xie improved upon these materials. It goes on to say that this included (tablature for?) the famous poem by Han Yu about hearing a monk play Guangling San, and from hearing this sort of music the author realized the greatness of qin. Zhang told Xie that the experience was like going to heaven and hearing its music, that it must also be like the missing Shao music (of Emperor Shun), and that all music should have been like this. Having this experience allowed him to understand Tao Yuanming's opinion that those who understood qin didn't need actually to put on the strings and play, and he realized that common people would not understand this. Xie Lin agreed with this analysis. However, although it was true that if people had this understanding there would be no need to pass on tablature and pluck the strings, such tablature could also allow the music to improve even more and also allow beginners to learn it, so how could we not hope that the tablature not continue to be available?

On the third page, just before the sketch presumably of Xie Lin then the songs, is a comment that the preceding explanation finger techniques is designed for beginners, so it does not include all the techniques to be found in the book.

After the songs there is a lengthy fu poem by 何旭 He Xu about the qin and this handbook. It begins with commentary (I/320),

拙莫拙於洿樽....(cols. 7-15:) 黃山居士謝良璧(謝琳)，其門第古，其狀貌古，其性行又古。乃於讀書之暇，拂三尺之桐，坐於靜室，殫精神、竭志慮，集諸家之譜，校對研勘，指下尋文，求太古之意。于義皇之上既而克然自得方且說說。然與世辨得失於秦箏竽琯之間，其計不亦左乎。然而篁墩先生一聞其奏，即書「太古遺音」以旌之；石田沈先生一聆其妙，即圖《高山流水》以贈之。其諸賢士大夫兢為詩歌，莫不極言造理之微，得古之道。」....

The fu poem itself then begins (I/321, col. 3:) "新安世家黃山居士焚香，正䌝置琴於几凝神端居....

In introducing the fu He Xu's says that his friend Xie Lin (謝雪峰 Xie Xuefeng) came from a good family and had a good appearance. (So?) when he started devoting himself to qin -- collecting books, playing qin music, and spending a lot of time in his studio going over the materials -- He Xu wondered why Xie was so interested in qin instead of in more popular instruments like the qinzheng (zither) and yuguan (mouth organ: 竽管, here written 竽琯). Later, however, the famous literati official Huangdun (Cheng Minzheng), after hearing Xie play, wrote the calligraphy "Tai Gu Yi Yin" for him to use as a banner, and the famous painter Shitian (Shen Zhou) appreciated listening to Xie's play so much that he made a High Mountains Flowing Streams painting (or: landscape painting?) and presented it (them?) to Xie Lin. Other scholars also wrote poems of encouragement. After this He Xu realized that his original opinion had been wrong. His appreciation of qin became so deep that he wrote the fu which follows his foreword.

Xie Lin Taigu Yiyin ends with an afterword by He Zhuang; it says basically that there is a lot of phony music around, but this is the real thing.

After this Qinqu Jicheng (I/327) has a few pages from Huang Shida Taigu Yin beginning with a preface the source of which is not clear. Its text is roughly as follows (OCR with mistakes):

太古遺音序 琴，雅樂也，妙陰陽之理，宣天地之和。上古聖賢，制 之以為治心養性之具也。古之君子，左琴右書，朝 絃暮誦，無故琴瑟不離於其則。蓋所以養中和之 氣，禁念慾之情，豁幽懷，通雅趣。達則以化民成俗，竅 則以樂道忘質，皆於是乎（庽？：哉）。豈特取其音律之 巧，以悅人之觀聽哉。是其為樂，樂而不淫，淡而不污， 非士夫君子志太古之純音者，難以言興妙也。

予自 幼時萬好是音。學於鄉之光輩，雖未造其精微，然 書暇或一鼓之，亦足以暢幽趣而滌煩襟，弗覺胸懷 之迺涵然也。但其為藝雞學易失，歲月既久，無以為 迷路指南，每以為恨也。 繼自德十年秋，南遊璧水， 淂典太學。同門友清溪胡君獻卿，新安汪君克明，相 善。業暇之餘，每相與弹《思親》、《將歸》之操。二君知予酷 好於琴，遂出《太古遺音》一帙示予，曰：少為黄君篤好 之一助也予觀是譜句踢擘托哈揉有敘詞意指法 詳而且明間有關者乃取泰彬州林五堂請家所著 音調詞曲刪其幫蒸取其簡要或有率謀難曉者 妄以已意參附於中補其關署黨輯成篇以為記指 之用蜜而重之欲久而勿尖為合者卒業南歸每 鼓操之餘挫絃熟視而想與具情之於巳軌着公之 於人遂命工梓行庶共觀覽或者乃曰儒者潜心正 道博傳經典操鹹染翰尚您惑於他歧況管綜之音亂 人心思無益於事非吾儒之急務也惡用是為教珠 不知潛心博古固儒者之當先而玩物達情点儒之 不可棄不然夫子何以日援於德依於仁而且游於藝 興於詩立尤禮而又威於樂也學者先德行v立其 基次文藝以暢其詞而北循行数墨之暇拂軫轉絃 㦯一調弄亦可以發天地之至和得古音之幽雅自然心 暢神怡天真随見不猶愈北能食終日無所用心徒 事於博奕之戳者乎因併書於篇端庶同志者或有 取云。

This can be translated as follows:

Preface to Taigu Yiyin (Sounds from the Great Antiquity)

The qin is refined music. It embodies the wondrous principles of yin and yang and proclaims the harmony of Heaven and Earth. In high antiquity, sages created it as a tool for cultivating the heart and nourishing one’s nature. In ancient times, the gentleman kept the qin to his left and books to his right. He would pluck strings in the morning and recite texts in the evening. Without cause, the qin and se would never leave his side. This was to nourish the energy of balance and harmony, to restrain desires and thoughts, to open up hidden feelings, and to communicate with refined tastes. When in a position of influence, he used it to transform customs and edify the people; in obscurity, he used it to enjoy the Way and forget material things. All of this stems from the qin. Is it merely prized for its technical musicality, to please the eyes and ears? No—it is music that delights without indulgence, that is pure without being sterile. Only a scholarly person striving for the pure tones of antiquity can truly appreciate it; it is hard even to summon words to express its marvels.

Since childhood, I have greatly loved this sound. When I was studying with the refined elders of my village, although I did not yet grasp the profound depths (of the qin), in idle moments from my studies I would occasionally play one, and this was enough to give free rein to hidden joys and to cleanse my heart of worldly cares; before I knew it, a deep calmness had quietly settled within my breast. Yet the art is difficult to learn and easy to get lose. After many years, I still had no clear guide through its thickets, and often regretted this.

Then, in the autumn of my tenth year of "cultivating virtue" (must be early 16th century), I traveled south to "jade-like waters", gaining entrance to an "imperial academy" (21785.6 稱大學曰璧水. During the Ming dynasty this was the 國子監 guozi dian, which was officially one school or a few schools in either Beijing or Nanjing, but it could also more loosely refer to some local schools). Among my fellow students were Hu Xianqing from Qingxi and Wang Keming from Xin’an — already close friends. In our spare time, we would often play together the pieces Thinking of My Parents and Returning Home. These two knew of my passion for the qin and brought out a box of manuscripts entitled Taigu Yiyin. “When we were young,” they said, “we compiled this to aid Master Huang (黃君：黃士達？ in his deep devotion to the qin.” I examined the scores. The techniques—pluckings, pressings, slidings, rubbings—were all laid out. The meanings of the lyrics, the fingering methods—all detailed and clear. Where some parts were missing, I supplemented them from the melodies and lyrics composed by the Lin family of Wutang in Taibin Prefecture, selecting the essential and trimming the excessive. For passages that were abrupt or unclear, I inserted my own ideas to fill the gaps, and compiled the whole into a practical guide. I cherished and preserved it, hoping it would last and not fade, and that it might serve as a standard for others. After completing my studies and returning south, I would, after each session of playing, look closely at the strings and imagine the emotions of those who composed the music. Wanting to share it with others, I had it engraved and published, hoping it might be appreciated by all. Some might say: “A Confucian should dedicate himself to the correct path, to transmitting the classics. Is it not enough to wield the brush and compose elegant prose? Why indulge in side paths? Moreover, music—especially pipe and string music—can disturb the mind and has no benefit to one’s affairs. Is it not unworthy of a true Confucian’s concern?” But they do not understand that delving into the ancient is essential to a Confucian. And appreciating things and expressing feelings—this too cannot be abandoned by Confucians. Otherwise, why would the Master say, ‘He grounded himself in virtue, relied on benevolence, and also delighted in the arts’? He was moved by poetry, rooted in ritual, and completed by music. The learner should begin with moral cultivation as the foundation, then pursue literature and the arts to give expression to words. And in the spare time between studies of numbers and ink, brushing the strings and playing a melody can bring forth the supreme harmony of Heaven and Earth, allowing one to touch the subtle elegance of ancient sounds. One’s heart opens, the spirit is soothed, and natural joy arises of its own accord. Is this not better than those who eat and idle away the day with no inner focus, or waste their time gambling and playing games? Thus I have written this preface at the beginning of the volume, hoping that kindred spirits may find something of value in it.

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. This commentary supplements that in the prefaces by Zha Fuxi (later edited by Wu Zhao).
(Return)

3. Source of the lyrics
The instrumental nature of most of the music suggests the possibility that the lyrics were added because of a theory that qin music should be sung, but that in fact no one sang these pieces.
(Return)

4. Tuning and Mode in Taigu Yiyin
As mentioned above, the 38 melodies of Taigu Yiyin are arranged according to a supposed chronology rather than by mode, with little mention made of mode. In fact, all pieces use standard tuning except three:

  1. Chu Ge
    Indicates tuning: raise second and fifth strings (2 4 5 6 1 2 3)
  2. Zhaojun Yuan
    Indications tuning: lower first, raise fifth (1 3 5 6 1 2 3)
  3. Yangguan Qu
    Tuning method not indicated (raise second and fifth strings: 2 4 5 6 1 2 3)

As for the actual music, the modes seem to be used much as they are in other early Ming handbooks (see Modality in early Ming qin tablature).
(Return)

5. Comparing Taigu Yiyin melodies in other handbooks
Here it could be particularly interesting to compare versions of the same titles as they occured in the next handbook to focus on qin songs, Chongxiu Zhenchuan Qinpu (1585). For example, of the 18 short songs here in 1511 at least 14 are in 1585, where they are mostly placed together (see especially its ToC #s 49-61 but also search there for "1511") and have music similar to here, including which notes are in harmonics, but they are not identical.
(Return)

6. Section numbers
I do not know of any other handbook that indicates sections in this way.
(Return)

Return to the annotated handbook list or to the Guqin ToC.