Huan Tan

Huan Tan (ca. 43 BCE - 28 CE), style name Junshan, was from a family of musicians originating in Xiang (part of Pei district in the modern Anhui/Jiangsu border area). Perhaps through his father, Huan Tan became a 郎 Gentleman, then was a senior official during the inter-regnum of Wang Mang. For a long time he was widely respected as a critic. His writings survive only in fragments.

The Qin Shi biography relates that during his reign the Guangwu Emperor (r. 22-57 CE) often called upon Huan Tan (then in his 60s) to play qin at court banquets, at which time Huan Tan would play "緊聲 intense melodies". Criticized by 宋仲子 Song Zhongzi (宋弘 Song Hong, an imperial advisor) for playing "鄭聲 the sounds of Zheng" (implying vulgar and immoral sounds) instead of the sound of the 雅頌 Confucian Odes and Hymns, Huan Tan stopped doing so. When Song Hong told the emperor why, the emperor apologized for having requested such tunes.

It is within this context interesting to note the association of Huan Tan with the expression "Qinzhe jin ye", commonly translated as "'Qin' means 'restraint'" but here also considered as meaning something like "'Qin' embodies 'restraint'".⁴

The rest of the biography discusses how Huan Tan liked all sorts of music, has some mention of conversation on this, then ends by saying Huan Tan was working on a book but had only completed a part when he died. The emperor then ordered Ban Gu to complete the work. Zhu Changwen ends the entry by bemoaning the fact that he was not able to hear the music played by Huan Tan, both the refined and the vulgar, and the related discussion. Perhaps had he done so he also would have been more clear about the difference between the two, something he said very few people of his time were able to do.

The works referred to here must be part of what is now called Huan Tan's Xin Lun,⁵ said originally to have been in (or planned as) 29 folios. It survives only as a work reconstructed much later (Qing dynasty?) from various quotes. Its quotes concerning the qin were all perhaps in a work attributed to him called Qin Cao (discussed in Qinshu Cunmu⁶ along with another work attributed to him called Continuation of the Qin Dao [Way of the Qin⁷]). All these perhaps were eventually included as sections in his Xin Lun.

Here some of his writings can be found in:

Qinshu Daquan, Folio 16 Jizai, #19 (Qin means restraint, etc.)⁸
Qinshu Daquan, Folio 16 Jizai, #35 (concerns Yongmen Zhou)⁹
Qinyuan Yaolu (qin description (round top and flat bottom); more detail than the Qinshu Daquan passage.
Yuefu Shiji (short descriptive sentence)

The original essay in Qin Shi begins as follows,¹⁰

Huan Tan had the style name Junshan. During the reign (32 - 8 BCE) of Han emperor Chengdi his father had been 太樂 Tai Yue....

See complete translation in The Qin Shi.

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Huan Tan 桓譚 (Wikipedia)
15061.72 東漢相人字君山，好音樂..., a man of 相 Xiang (23733.相縣 in Henan or 相州 ?), style name Junshan, he loved music.... Elsewhere it says he was from 沛 Pei (17541.沛縣): 安徽省濉溪縣 modern Suixi in what is now Anhui province or 今安徽省淮北市相山區人 the Xiangshan district of Huaibei City, just across the border from 沛 Pei district in modern Jiangsu province and perhaps 15 miles southeast of 徐州市 Xuzhou city. The entry mentions his 新論 Xin Lun, 29 Folios. Lowe, Biographical Dictionary, discusses this and says he wrote an incomplete essay on the zither. Also discussed in Xu Jian Chapter 2.A. (pp.14/5).
(Return)

2. 21 lines
(Return)

3. The statue is in the 淮北桓譚公園 Huan Tan Public Park, Huaibei City.
(Return)

4. 琴者禁也 Qinzhe jin ye: Qin signifies restraint? Or Qin embodies restraint?
21570.xxx. "Qinzhe jin ye" is a very well-known expression amongst qin players, but before giving the standard interpretation ("qin" signifies "restraint", suggesting this is an aim of the instrument) it is perhaps worth mentioning here that a standard meaning of "禁 jin" is "private" or "restricted", and so perhaps this expression could be used also to declare that, by its very nature, "qin" embodies "restraint", referring to the delicate and inward nature of the sound of a qin with silk strings: it is not something that can be used to overcome its environment. To put this another way, it requires a fertile ground, hence the number of strictures put on where and for whom one should or should not play it (examples).

The earliest version of "qinzhe jin ye" is said to come from the Baihu Tong of Ban Gu (32 - 92 CE). However, Huan Tan's biography in Qin Shi suggests that Ban Gu wrote it down because the emperor wanted to preserve the writings of Huan Tan. Eventually the expression was included in the Xin Lun and thus credited to Huan Tan himself.

R. H. van Gulik mentions this expression in his Lore of the Chinese Lute, p.42, where he translates it not from either of the above sources but from 風俗通義 Fengsu Tongyi, which has a longer passage, quoted here and also translated by Van Gulik. His translation here is as follows (he does not include the Chinese original):

Qin means restraining. With this instrument licentiousness and falsehood are restrained, and the human hand is rectified.

Van Gulik goes on to say that the phrase "qin means restraint" is the basis for the Confucian teaching that the qin is an instrument for "nourishing the heart" (養心 yang xin). He then translates a passage from Mencius (Book VII, 35) commenting on this.

To nourish the heart there is nothing better than to make the desires few. Here is a man whose desires are few - in some things he may not be able to keep his heart, but they will be few. Here is a man whose desires are many - in some things he may be able to keep his heart, but they will be few.

"Thus," (adds Van Gulik), "the qin, through its capacity for restraining human passions, was a suitable instrument for everyone desiring to become the ideal statesman and ruler of the Confucianist school of thought, the Superior Man, the 君子 junzi."

Finally, the nature of classical Chinese is that, because in addition to this conventional interpretation another logical interpretation of this expression can be something like, "Qin is the epitome of "restraint", or "Qin by its very nature embodies "restraint", this means that everyone can agree that "Qinzhe jin ye" without necessarily meaning the same thing. Thus you can be making a moral judgement or you can simply be describing its sound: the "by its very nature" part of the interpretation is clearly connected simply to the sound created by a qin with silk strings. The modern qin with its metal strings epitomizes the opposite: the qin can be played as wildly as you want, with no restraints. And since this is connected only to the instrument, not its sound, you can still use "Qinzhe jin ye" as a moral judgement.

Within this context, note this description of Huan Tan's own qin play.
(Return)

5. Xin Lun (新論: Tract for the Times; New Treatise)
This book, as described above, did not survive intact. Instead it was reconstructed later from extracts that had been quoted in various sources. It covers philosophy, culture, economy, nature and anomalies. See Timothy Pokora, Hsin-lun (New Treatise) and Other Writings by Huan T'an (43 B.C. - 28 A.D.): An Annotated Translation with Index. Michigan Papers in Chinese Studies #20 (Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1975).
(Return)

6. Huan Tan, Qin Cao, 2 Folios (琴操 Qin Melodies/Styes; Qinshu Cunmu #10)
The Qinshu Cunmu entry for Huan Tan's Qin Cao (later made part of his 新論 Xin Lun (Tract for the Times; New Treatise), gives some biographical information on Huan himself, then says he was unable to complete his Xin Lun, which includes a chapter called 琴道 Qin Dao (Xucheng Qin Dao?) and so Han emperor Suzong (r.76-89) ordered Ban Gu (32 - 92 CE) to complete it.

The entry in Qinshu Cunmu goes on to include a number of quotes from a variety of sources. This includes a comment that suggests that this Qin Cao was actually not written by Huan Tan. However, it does not seem to give enough information about the contents of this Qin Cao to determine whether passages in Qin Shi that give "Qin Cao" as a reference (generally these references do not seem to be in Cai Yong's Qin Cao) might be referring to the work described here.
(Return)

7. Huan Tan, Xucheng Qin Dao (續成琴道，一篇 Continuation of Way of the Qin; Qinshu Cunmu #11)
The Qinshu Cunmu entry on Xucheng Qin Dao has a brief discussion suggesting this work may have been a continuation to #10, Qin Cao. Elsewhere a 琴道篇 Qin Dao Pian attributed to Huan Tan is said to mention at least seven qin pieces:

堯暢堯暢 Yao Chang
舜操 Shun Cao
禹操 Yu Cao
文主操 Wen Wang Cao
微子操 Weizi Cao
箕子操 Jizi Cao
伯夷操 Bo Yi Cao

(Return)

8. Huan Tan's Xin Lun
Here is the extract as quoted in Qinshu Daquan, Folio 16 Jizai, #19 (V/354):

桓譚《新論·雍門鼓琴》
神農氏為琴七絃，足以通萬物而考理亂也。又曰：「神農氏始削桐為琴，䋲絲為絃，以通神明之徳，合天地之和焉。」又曰：「琴者，禁也。古者聖賢玩琴以養心：窮則獨善其身而不失其操，故謂之『操』；達則兼善天下無不通暢，故謂之『暢』。〈微子操〉其聲清以微，〈舜操〉其聲清以淳，〈箕子操〉其聲淳以激。」又曰：「八音之中，惟絲為最，而琴為之首。琴之始作，或云伏羲，或云神農。諸家所說，莫能詳定。」鄙人謂：「以狐為狸，以琴瑟為箜篌——此非徒不知狐與琴瑟，乃不知狸與箜篌也！」
Huan Tan's New Treatise: Yongmen Plays the Qin
Shennong created the qin with seven strings, sufficient to comprehend all things and examine order and chaos. It is also said: “Shennong first carved paulownia wood to make the qin and twisted silk into strings, thereby connecting with the virtue of the divine and harmonizing with the unity of heaven and earth.” It further states: “The qin (琴) represents restraint (禁). Ancient sages cultivated their minds through the qin: in adversity, they maintained personal integrity without losing their principles — thus these compositions are called ‘Cao’ (操, ‘Steadfastness’). In prosperity, they benefited all under heaven with unobstructed harmony — thus these are called ‘Chang’ (暢, ‘Flourishing’). (The melody) Weizi Cao (微子操) sounds pure and subtle; Shun Cao (舜操) sounds pure and serene; Jizi Cao (箕子操) sounds profound and stirring.” It adds: “Among the Eight Tones (八音), silk instruments reign supreme, and the qin stands foremost. Regarding the qin’s origins, some attribute it to Fuxi, others to Shennong. Scholars’ theories remain inconclusive.” I contend: “To mistake a fox for a raccoon dog, or the qin and se zithers for the konghou harp—this reveals ignorance not only of foxes and zithers but of raccoon dogs and the konghou itself!”

Note that this extract suggests Huan Tan is the first person to quote what is now the famous dictum "琴者禁也 qinzhe, jin ye": "'Qin' means "restraint" (see further above).
(Return)

9. Yongmen Zhou in Huan Tan's Xin Lun
For this (original and translation) see under the Xin Lun version under Yongmen Zhou and compare it with the Qin Shi version.
(Return)

10. Huan Tan Qin Shi biography
The original text begins,

桓譚字君山，父成帝時為太樂令。譚因好音律，善鼓琴。....

See complete text and translation in The Qin Shi.
(Return)

Return to QSCB, or to the Guqin ToC.