Confucian Qin Themes

Confucius teaching students at the Apricot

Tree Forum 1

The themes of these melodies include both stories about Confucius and melodies
which specifically endorse Confucian principles. Other melodies which discuss the
virtues of ancient rulers could also be included here. Or the focus could be the
region of Confucius' home town, Qu Fu in Shandong province. Or one could
include melodies such as Guan Ju, connected to lyrics in the Book of Songs,
supposedly edited by Confucius.
The melodies listed here were all pubished during the Ming dynasty; no link to the
title means my reconstruction has not been finalized. Not included are several
further melodies that seem to have originated during the Qing dynasty.2
1. Huo Lin (Captured Unicorn)
A unicorn is captured at Da Ye, near Qufu. This is thought to be a lucky
omen, indicating a good prince is at hand, but Confucius reveals that in fact
it was unlucky, because no such prince is at hand. (Illustration)
2. Yi Lan (Lonely Orchid)
Confucius, after being rejected at many courts, returns home to Lu. He finds
a lovely orchid alone in a field, and compares it with himself. (Illustration)
3. Nanxun Ge (Song of Southern Breezes)
Nanfeng Ge, in Kongzi Jiayu,3 says,

The breezes coming from the south are mild;

They can solve my people's worries.
The breezes coming from the south are timely;
They can bring abundance to my people's property.
4. [Wen Wang] Si Shun ([Wen Wang] Thinks of Shun); also called Wen Wang
Cao (Wen Wang's Melody)
The Shi Ji writes that Confucius learned Wen Wang Cao from Shi Xiang.
(Illustration)
5. Wen Wang Qu (Wen Wang's Tune)
Lyrics are poems 236, 237 and 238 in the Shi Jing, by tradition compiled by
Confucius.
6. Jiang Gui Cao (About to Return Melody)
Confucius, on his way to Jin, hears an advisor there has been executed, so he
returns home. (Illustration)
7. Guishan Cao (Turtle Mountain Melody)
Confucius leaves the city and thinks of this mountain because the duke of
Lu has accepted a gift of dancing girls from Qi, and is ignoring his official
duties. (Illustration)
8. Yasheng Cao (Proximate Sage Melody)
This piece invokes Yan Hui, the favorite student of Confucius. "Yasheng"
suggests "second only to Confucius himself", and Yan Hui was one of a few
people so named.
9. Xing Tan (Apricot Tree Forum, or Ginkgo Tree Forum)
Xing Tan is said to be the place in Qu Fu where Confucius taught his
students. (Illustrations)
10. Mingde Yin with
11. Kongsheng Jing
Musical setting of The Great Learning and a commentary by Zhu Xi; used
for Confucian ceremonies?
12. Pei Lan (Orchid Ornament)
According to Confucius Household Sayings, Confucius said that when you
first go into a room you notice whether the smell is good or bad, but after a
while you get used to it; so a good person should always find good
surroundings. An orchid worn at the belt symbolizes this. (There is also
a Chu Ci reference.)
13. Xue Chuang Ye Hua (Evening Talk by a Snowy Window)
The sung version (1539) has a Confucian text; I play the purely instrumental
version, which is more about snow itself
14. You Lan (Lonely Orchid)
Same theme as #2 Yi Lan, but unrelated melodies (there are several
versions).
15. Shiba Xueshi Deng Yingzhou (18 Scholars Ascend Yingzhou)
The lyrics concern the role of the Hanlin Academy

16. Sheng De Song (Hymn of Grand Moral Virtue)

The lyrics of this melody quote or paraphrase many Confucian principles
17. Moufu Kuang Jun (Moufu Admonishes his Lord)
This melody, also called Qizhao Shi (Good Advice Poem, from the Zuo
Zhuan; Watson, p.167) concerns Duke Moufu of Zhai (on Yellow
River north of Zhengzhou, Henan) giving good Confucian advice to an early
Zhou king.
18. San Cai Yin (Three Talents Intonation)
The version in Japan is a setting from the Doctrine of the Mean, Chapter 26.
19. Da Zai Yin (Hail Greatness Intonation)
The version in Japan is a setting from the Doctrine of the Mean, Chapter 27.
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)
1. Confucius plays qin while teaching students
The above painting is by Bai Yunli. For further images of Confucius see
also:
Confucius
Minzi
Xing Tan art
Huo Lin (Captured Unicorn)
Yi Lan (Flourishing Orchid)
(Wen Wang) Si Shun ([Wen Wang] Thinks of Shun)
Jiang Gui Cao (About to Return Melody)
Guishan Cao (Turtle Mountain Melody)
The above listed images are copyrighted here. On the internet there are many other
images of Confucius playing the qin.
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2. Later melodies on the theme of Confucius
Melodies with a Confucian theme that I have not yet tried to reconstruct were
mostly published beginning in the Qing dynasty. Some are virtually unknown, such
as
1. Kongzi Diao Ji Zha (Confucius Mourns Ji Zha, a prince who
had virtuously declined to succeed his father), or
2. Wang Yun Si Qin (Looking at the Moon and Thinking of One's
Parents, which concerns Confucian values [and is attributed to "Judge
Dee"]).

Perhaps the two best known of these are listed in the Zha Guide as Wei
Bian and Du Yi (with variants); these are discussed further here. In sum,
although the stories of the Wei Bian and Du Yi seem to be similar, the two Wei
Bian melodies are musically unrelated to each other, and neither one seems to be
musically related to any of the Du Yi melodies. However, this is a preliminary
opinion based on examining the tablatures, not actually playing or hearing all the
meloides. Perhaps further study might show that there are indeed musical
relationships between them.
1. Leather Bindings ( Wei Bian)
Although the available existing tablature for a melody of this title, dated
1738, details a melody quite different from the one called Leather Bindings
Broken Thrice ( Wei Bian San Jue/Weibian Sanjue) that can be
heard in a modern recording, both of these Wei Bian melodies tell the same
story. Literary references include:
o For wei bian, 44069.176 quotes Zhu Xi, :

Not yet translated.

o

For weibian sanjue 44069.177 quotes Kongzi

Shijia in the Annals of History ( Shi Ji). There the relevant story
is as follows (translation by Yang, p.22):

....
"In his old age Confucius loved to study the Book of Changes,
the order of the hexagrams, definitions, appendices,
interpretations, explanations and commentaries. He studied this
book so much that the leather thongs binding the wooden strips
wore out three times. "Give me a few years more," he said,
"and I shall become quite proficient!"

2. Zha Guide lists Wei Bian as only in the hand-copied Qinshu

Qian'gu (1738; XV/444), where it has 7 sections, its mode is not indicated,
and it has no commentary or lyrics. Zha's statement, p. 39, that the melody is
" from the people of the Ming dynasty" should be seen basically as
a political statement, not historical. To my knowledge this melody has not
yet been reconstructed.
3. Zha Guide does not mention Leather Bindings Broken Thrice (
Weibian Sanjue). The melody of this name has been transcribed in Guqin
Quji, Vol. 1, pp. 265-7, where it is divided into three sections. Commentary
with the earliest known recording, by Le Ying, included in CD #6 of the

China Records 8-CD set of recordings from the 1950s, identifies the melody
only as from hand copied tablature, but a comment at the front of
the tablature/transcription in Guqin Quji (p. 265) says its source is
tablature transmitted by Jia Kuofeng, who was Le Ying's teacher. The
brief commentary on p. 10 of Guqin Quji says that the melody survived only
though that hand-copy, no printed scores. It then suggests that this modern
melody is related to that of the Wei Bian in the 1738 handbook and points to
the story shared withKongzi Du Yi. However, as mentioned above, my own
tentative examination comparing the two Wei Bian tablatures did not reveal
any musical relationship between them, nor any between either of them and
any of the Du Yi melodies mentioned next.
4. Du Yi (Reading the Yi Jing)
Zha's Guide lists five handbooks from 1739 (XVIII/187), giving as alternate
title Confucius Reading the Yi Jing ( Kongzi Du Yi) and Reading
the Yi Jing on an Autumn Evening ( Qiu Ye Du Yi). The five
handbooks with these titles are:
1. Qinxue Lianyao (1839; XVIII/187)
Du Yi; 41 sections, titled; yu yin; afterword says

(Paraphrase:) Friends liked to read aloud the Yi Jing on autumn

evenings, and the sound inspired the writer to create this
melody (see also du shu sheng).
2. Jiaoan Qinpu (1868; XXVI/84)
Qiu Ye Du Yi; yu yin; 3 sections; no commentary; related but many
differences
3. Tianwen'ge Qinpu (1876; XXV/201); 6 sections; gong
yin; zhi diao
Kongzi Du Yi; said to be " Min pai" (Fujian school) but "from
Kongshan". No other commentary. Recordings of this by
Zeng Chengwei, which are very similar to this tablature, are said to
be Sichuan school. Seems unrelated to the other versions.
4. Qinxue Chujin (1894; XXVIII/254)
Qiu Ye Du Yi; 4+1 sections; huangjun jun, shang yin; musically quite
similar to 1839; the afterword says:

Not yet translated.

5. Shimengzhai Qinpu (1914; not in QQJC)
Du Yi; 3 sections; I have not yet seen the tablature.

This is music by Li Xiangshi, should be played in the style of

the Sichuan school, and especially at the beginning is quite
pleasurable. (Comment by) Ye Shimeng.
5. The introductions to Du Yi do not actually mention Confucius except where
his name appears in the title (i.e., the Kongzi Du Yi from 1876).
Nevertheless, from the titles it would seem that the theme of the Du
Yimelodies might be similar to that of the Wei Bian melodies.
Again, although further study might show that there are indeed musical
relationships between the Wei Bian melodies or between them and the Du
Yi melodies, until that time one should be skeptical of the claims one can read that
1738Wei Bian San Jue can be traced
back to 1738. In fact it has not even been traced back prior to Le Ying and/or his
teacher. It should be needless to add that, though criticism of the commentary, this
is in fact praise for the performer.
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3. Confucius' Household Sayings ( Kongzi Jiayu)
See under Confucius: a collection of stories attributed to Confucius but most
probably dating from the Han dynasty. Quoted variously on this site: see especially
the six selections from four books.
(Return)
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