Pitting moral edification against sensual pleasure is a fundamental Confucian ideology of music. Since pleasing the ear as a prominent type of sensual pleasure is censored in the ideology, Jinyu essayists’ negation of the ear is an obvious continuation of Confucianism. Not only so, as Peng described, there existed an evaluation practice among qin players-aficionados that banished ear pleasing qin pieces as “merely popular tunes and vulgar sounds.”41 The pleasure of the ear had been distrusted in the qin tradition that upheld ideals and values rooted in established ideologies.42 However, while Jinyu essayists’ thoughts stayed within the established bounds, they presented an expanded aurality in characterizing the qin. Rather than simply ignoring or rejecting the censorable pleasure of the ear when commending profound listening, in a trajectory common in pre-modern time, Jinyu essayists went farther to embrace the displeasing effect as an integral characteristic of qin music. The negation in their aurality thus subtly shifted from the despicable, banished ear to the ascetic, displeased ear.
Comparative visits to selected pre-modern cases could illuminate the shift. For example, in classical Confucianism, tension between profound and pleasurable listening is addressed in the well-known musical conversation between Marquis Wen of Wei (魏文侯, ca. 472-396 BCE) and Confucius’s disciple Zi Xia (子夏, fl.
5th century BCE).43 Confronted with a listening predicament, Marquis Wen asks Zi Xia why that when he puts on his official robe and black hat and listens to “ancient
41 Peng, “Cong xiandai yinyue shang lun qin,” 62.
42 Besides Confucianism, established ideologies that have shaped the qin tradition include Daoism and Buddhism. The three schools of thoughts underwent various processes of integration in history. Confucianism has the strongest and most direct views on music in relation to morality, and Confucian classics were fundamental to the pre-modern education system. For a discussion of qin ideology in relation to the three schools of thoughts, see Robert H. van Gulik, The Lore of the Chinese Lute: An Essay in the Ideology of the Ch’in (Tokyo and Vermont: Sophia University and Charles E. Tuttle Company, [1940] 1969).
43 The conversation is recorded in more than one classics, including “Yueji”樂記 (Record of Music), a chapter in the Liji 禮記 (Book of Rites, ca. 2nd and 1st centuries BCE).
music” (guyue 古樂), he only feels he will keel over from boredom. But when he listens to the music of Zheng and Wei (Zheng Wei zhi yin 鄭衛之音), he forgets what it means to be tired.44 Zi Xia then explains the difference between the two kinds of music. The former could elicit thoughts of and discussion on the ancient sages, while the latter with its frantic and hurried sounds would inspire an indulgent volition.45 With a Confucian-styled associative thinking, Zi Xia concludes that the superior man listens to not only the sounds and their effects in music, but also what those sounds and effects mirror in social relations.
Different from Jinyu essayists, Zi Xia did not address the issue of sensual boredom. He only affirmed the harmonious and virtuous efficacies of ancient music, detailing how it is orderly performed in proper ritual context, and citing from two poems in the Book of Songs (Shijing 詩經) to remind how virtuous music was properly practiced by an ancestor of the Zhou dynasty. The displeasing effect of ancient music was not directly addressed.
Another difference between Jinyu essayists and Zi Xia lies in the aural engagement of the listening subject being projected. “Ancient music,” an ideal form of music practiced by benevolent sages and kings in antiquity, is the utopian source for the preferred music in the Confucian tradition, including qin music.
While Jinyu essayists subscribed to the tradition and regarded the qin as the instrument that best manifests ancient music, the listening subject in their discussion simultaneously negates the pleasure of the ear while obtaining profound meanings of qin music. In other words, the same listening subject engages both negative and affirming modes of relations with qin music, and both modes are equally important. In contrast, the listening subject in the Zi Xia-Marquis Wen conversation engages only one of the two modes. The listener who finds ancient music aurally displeasing (Marquis Wen) stands apart from the listener who can appreciate its profound meanings (Zi Xia). While Jinyu essayists embraced aural insignificance or displeasure as an equally important dimension of profound listening, Zi Xia engaged the latter only.
In classical poetry, especially since the Tang period, qin listening is a recognized theme. A good number of works laments people’s abandonment of the
44 My translation has consulted Scott Cook, “‘Yue Ji’ 樂 記 —Record of Music:
Introduction, Translation, Notes, and Commentary,” Asian Music 26/2 (1995): 61-64.
45 Ibid., 62.
DOI: 10.6244/JOMR.2015.23.03
qin for instrumental music in vogue, echoing Marquis Wen’s preference. The poets, however, rarely assume the didactic role of Zi Xia in making ideological arguments. Many engage the image, sound, and listening experience of the qin primarily for creating their poetic persona. Nonetheless, the ancient music ideal embraced by these poets and their concern of people turning away their ear away from the qin indicate a continuity of the aurality tradition represented by the Zi Xia-Marquis Wen conversation.
For example, the aforementioned Tang poem written by Liu (“Listening”) ends with “Although ancient pieces are held high in regard, most today do not play them.”46 Several decades later, Bo Juyi (白居易, 772-846) lamented the declined interest of the qin in “An Abandoned Qin” (Feiqin 廢琴), and gave a reason:
“What has caused it to be so? The Jiang’s flute (姜笛) and Qin’s zheng (秦箏).”47 Both poems characterize the qin as sounds of antiquity, which was not the preferred music of the day despite its consented prestige and long history. Such a classicist conception of the qin retrospectively values the instrument as manifesting attributes of utopian ancient music, thus continuing the Confucian ideal that underlay the Zi Xia-Marquis Wen conversation.
The aurality focus of these poems and its corresponding listening subject involve a play of ambiguity. In Liu’s “Listening,” the aural experience of a profound listener (presumably the poet) is described as “quietly listening to the frosty wind in the pines.” Those who have turned away from the qin, whether because of the displeased experience of the ear or else, are not given real aural attention. In Bo’s “An Abandoned Qin,” the profound listener somewhat retreats to the background as the focus is placed on the physical appearance and sonic residue of the qin rather than on an engaged experience of profound listening.
Nevertheless, aural allusions are prominent. The refined “sounds of antiquity”
(taigu sheng 太古聲) are described as “mild and flavorless,” with “lingering notes [being] clear and bright.” But different from Liu and Zi Xia, who focus on the
46 In Chinese, 古調雖自愛, 今人多不彈. My translation has consulted John Thompson’s rendition. Silk Qin, http://www.silkqin.com/09hist/qscb/qscb05d.htm (accessed August 2, 2015).
47 In Chinese, 何物使之然, 姜笛與秦爭. My translation has incorporated elements of Ronald Egan’s rendition. Ronald Egan, “The Controversy Over Music and ‘Sadness’
and Changing Conceptions of the Qin in Middle Period China.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 57/1 (1997): 51.
experience of profound listening exclusively, Bo also alludes to the aural dimension of listeners who have turned away from the qin. The kinds of music that appeal to their ear—“the Jiang’s flute and the Qin’s zheng”—are discreetly specified. Bo’s inclusion of the antithetical listening does not align with Jinyu essayists’ inclusion of the displeased ear either, however. Whereas the displeased experience of listening to the qin constitutes Jinyu essayists’ ideal of profound listening, it is only ambiguously implied in Bo’s poem. Also, although Bo points out the “mild and flavorless” sounds of the qin does not “[match] the preferences of men today,” he does not ruminate on the wonder of qin listening. His aural attention soon shifts to the vulgar sounds to which antithetical listeners have turned. But instead of scathing the despicable nature of the vulgar sounds, which would have banished the ear of the antithetical listener, Bo anchors his poetic persona in lament. He does not engage profound listening, nor displeased listening.
Notwithstanding these differences, classical poems continued the Confucian ideological tradition. They subscribed to the antiquity ideal, and distrusted vogues of the present.48 Such a subscription more or less sustained its prominence in the subsequent long period since the mid-Tang, from the Song to the Qing.
For proactive qin players-aficionados of the period, practices deemed impeding the realization of the antiquity ideal provoked reactions beyond merely making poetic laments. Many compiled anthologies of qin notated score as an effort to restore the ideal practice. For example, Zhu Quan (朱權, 1378-1448)’s Wondrous and Secret Notation (1425) (Shenqi mipu 神奇秘譜)—the earliest qin music anthology in extant—demonstrates such proactive attitude, reiterating the antiquity ideal and rejecting the vogue of the present. Zhu in the anthology classifies a group of repertoire of older origins into a section deferentially titled
“Celestial Airs of Antiquity” (Taigu shenpin 太 古 神 品 ),49 suggesting that
48 As Egan has shown, prior to mid-Tang, subscription to classicism in the qin lore underwent changing degrees of emphasis, having subsided by the Han vogue of expressing sadness, followed by neo-Daoist reactions best represented by Xi Kang (嵇 康, 223-262). Bo marked a noticeable turning point, which was firmly established in Ouyang Xiu (歐陽修, 1007-1072) in the Song dynasty. See Egan, “The Controversy Over Music and ‘Sadness’ and Changing Conceptions of the Qin in Middle Period China.”
49 A study of the repertoire can be found in Bell Yung, ed., Celestial Airs of Antiquity:
Music of the Seven-String Zither of China (Madison: A-R Editions, Inc., 1997).
DOI: 10.6244/JOMR.2015.23.03
compositions of ancient origins could continue to be played. Zhu also confronts the problems of the present, which lie in the performance practice and manner of qin players. Having introduced the qin as “a sacred object from antiquity” in the Preface,50 Zhu complains about how contemporary vulgar uses of the instrument
“by illiterates and the merchants, the lowly prostitutes and actors, and vulgar foreigners, the sick and the like” has corrupted the Way (Dao) of the instrument.51 His purpose of compiling the notations of selected sixty-four pieces was to “reverse the trend of decadence that has come to pass, and to restore the ancient purity that is to be.”52 No sonic or aural references of vulgar musical practices, however, are provided.
An aurally focused remark is found in the Preface of Yan’s Notations of the Pine and Strings Studio (松絃館琴譜, 1614), an important work for the Yushan School which would inspire the founding of Jinyu during the interwar period.
Thinking with terms that echoed the Zi Xia-Marquis Wen musical conversation, Yan mocks the poor qin listening ability of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (唐玄宗, r.
712-755).53 According to an anecdote,54 the emperor once listened to the qin but could hardly bear it. Having been fond of playing the Jiegu (羯鼓), a bucket-shaped drum played with sticks on both sides, the emperor immediately ordered his
50 In Chinese, “上古之神物.” Zhu Quan, “Quxian Shenqi mipu xu” [Preface of Shenqi mipu by Quxian], in Shenqi mipu [Wondrous and secret notation]. In Zhongguo yishu yanjiuyuan yinyue yanjiusuo et al., eds., Qinshu jicheng [Compendium of qin publications] vol.1 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2010), 107. Translation from Georges Goormaghtigh and Bell Yung, trans., “Preface of Shenqi mipu: Translation with Commentary.” ACMR Reports: Journal of the Association for Chinese Music Research 10/1: 4.
51 Ibid.
52 Ibid. Departed from the mid-Tang poets’ laments, the Confucian classicism for Zhu integrated Daoist ideals and stressed individual aspirations that were exemplified in Xi.
Achieving union with the “Great Void” (taixu 太虛) was for Zhu a realization of ancient music. Zhu, “Preface of Shenqi mipu by Quxian,” 107. Goormaghtigh and Yung, trans., “Preface of Shenqi mipu: Translation with Commentary,” 5-6.
53 Yan Cheng, “Xu” [Preface], Songxian guan qinpu [Notations of Pine and Strings Studio], 1614. In Zhongguo yishu yanjiuyuan yinyue yanjiusuo et al., eds., Qinshu jicheng [Compendium of qin publications] vol.8, 74.
54 The anecdote is recorded in Wang Dang (王讜, fl. 11th century), Tang yulin [Forrest of words from the Tang dynasty]. See Liu Yuezhu, Tangren yinyue shi yanjiu: yi konghou pipa dijia wei zhu [A study of Tang music history: Focusing on Konghou, pipa, and dijia] (Taipei shi: Xiuwei zixun keji gufen youxian gongsi, 2007), 31.
favorite drum be taken out and played in order to rinse the boredom. Pitting Jiegu listening against qin listening, Yan uses Emperor Xuanzong’s pick to allude to the popular musical taste of his time. However, since no further remarks on the ear are followed, it is difficult to characterize the aurality of Yan further. Similar to Zhu, what bothered Yan and impelled the compilation came from those who played the qin, specifically those who set texts to qin music, and vice versa, in a stylistically
"dull" fashion.55 His notation anthology of thirty-one pieces meant to show how the refined style could be applied with subtle and varying treatments of the timbre.56
Direct attentions given to the ear are found in Notations of the Dahuan Pavilion (大還閣琴譜, 1673), another crucial work for the Yushan School but compiled by Xu Shangying (徐上瀛, style name Xu Qingshan 徐青山, later named Xu Hong 徐谼, ca. 1582-1662). The anthology was widely circulated with numerous reprints during the Qing, having an influence that exceeded the above two anthologies in the period. Making aesthetic commentaries on an array of twenty-four touches in qin playing, Xu elaborates on the Confucian duality between the refined, or ya (雅), and vulgar, or su (俗), and banished ear pleasing qualities as characteristics of vulgar touches. In his “Xishan Treatise on the Aesthetics of Qin Music” (Xishan qinkuang 谿山琴況, 1641), which was included in the anthology, ear pleasing properties are cautioned in the discussions of four particular touches: “clarity” (qing 清), “antiquity” (gu 古), “unadornedness” (dan 澹), and “beauty” (li 麗).57 Underlining these four touches is the overarching ya ideal,58 the corrupted expressions of which manifest different undesirable qualities
55 Yan, “Fu Qinchuan quipu xu” [Attached preface to Notations of Qinchuan], Songxian guan qinpu, 162.
56 For a study of the masculinity and friendship of Yan Cheng’s circle, see Joseph S. C.
Lam, “Music and Male Bonding in Ming China.” Nan Nü 9 (2007): 92-101.
57 Xu Shangying, “Xishan qinkuang” [Xishan Treatise on the aesthetics of qin music], in Dahuan’ge qinpu [Notations to Dahuan Pavilion]. In Zhongguo yishu yanjiuyuan yinyue yanjiusuo et al., eds., Qinshu jicheng vol.10, 297-470. Translation from Chun Yan Tse and Shui Fong Lam, trans., “The Xishan Treatise on the Aesthetics of Qin Music.” Renditions 83 (2015): 89-111.
58 Drawing from linguistic perspectives, Xu Liang identifies the bi-character compound words of the twenty-four touches as the foundation for meanings classification and interpretation, and has found that the touch of ya “can be regarded as the overarching principle of the first eight touches,” which include the four touches being discussed here. Xu Liang, “Wenzi yu wenzi beihou—lun “Xishan qinkuang” zhi wenben
DOI: 10.6244/JOMR.2015.23.03
of su that despicably please the ear. For example, for the touch of “antiquity,” the corrupted manifestation of the ya ideal is described as being “contentious and seductive to the ear,” whereas its proper expression “unadorned and pleasing to the heart.”59
Citing from the Book of Music (樂書) written by Chen Yang (陳暘, 1064-1128) of the Song,60 Xu classifies the two antithetical kinds of “antiquity” sounds played on the qin into “proper tones” (zhengsheng 正聲) and “tones-in-between”
(jiansheng 間聲), a division that underlines the Confucian dualism between
“ancient music” (guyue 古樂), which is refined music derived from proper rituals of the past (yasong zhi yin 雅頌之音), and “vulgar music” (suyue 俗樂), which is the music of the infamous Zheng (鄭) and Wei (衛) states during the Warring States period.
Xu continues the Confucian tradition characterized by the Zi Xia-Marquis Wen conversation while giving more extensive attention on aurality. His “Xishan Treatise” is concerned with making the right sounds and timbre from the qin, which requires the right attitude, emotion, and ear. In both idealized and instructive manners, the treatise presumably activates Xu’s memories of aural, tactile, performance, and aesthetic experiences. A remarkable document with impressive arguments that banish the pleased ear, the treatise epitomized the qin tradition that distrusts the ear, which would be picked up by Jinyu essayists. However, whereas negation of the ear carries structural significance in Jinyu essayists’ arguments, it only occupies a subsidiary role in Xu’s discussion. Aligned with Zi Xia and the typical pre-modern Confucian musical discourse, the treatise argues with an affirmative mode of discussion. Explicating proper touches and sound effects of the
goucheng fangshi” / “Discussion on the Text Composition of Xi Shan Qin Kuang,”
Musicology in China / Zhongguo yinyuexue 3 (2013): 50.
59 In Chinese, 聲爭而媚耳者…音澹而會心者. For “clarity,” the corrupted manifestation was described as “just boisterous and entertaining to the ear but without poetic mood”
(但欲熱鬧娛耳, 不知意趣何在). For “unadorned,” the corrupted manifestation was described as “alluring” and “pleasing” (豔而可悅也). For “beauty,” the corrupted manifestation was described as “only a cluster of notes in a fast tempo to please the ear”
(以繁聲促調觸人之耳). Tse and Lam, trans., “The Xishan Treatise on the Aesthetics of Qin Music,” 95, 97-98, and 101. Xu, “Xishan qinkuang,” 319, 320-21, and 324.
60 Tse and Lam have identified that the citation from Yuezhi (lit. record of music) printed in the text as an error. Instead, the cited passage is from the Book of Music by Chen Yang.
Tse and Lam, trans., “The Xishan Treatise on the Aesthetics of Qin Music,” 96.
qin, Xu does not proactively accommodate the displeasing qualities of the qin—an aurality that Jinyu essayists embrace. Also, his cautions against improper touches and their undesirable sound effects, which elicit versatile descriptions of pleasure of the ear, serve the purpose of elucidating the proper touches only. The aurality of qin touches deemed censorable is indeed given less emphasis than that of proper touches. Therefore, the displeased ear that is integral to Jinyu essayists is here only implied; the banished ear is what in focus.
For pre-modern qin players-aficionados, the qin did not bring discomfort to the listener when it was properly played and heard. Difficulty arose only when the Way of qin was misguided and its sound misplayed, or when the listener was lack of proper understanding and virtuous aspirations. In other words, the problems did not originate from the qin, but from the wrong minds. Therefore, no inferior sense of the instrument would be admitted to define the instrument. The anthologies newly compiled offered constructive and practical guidance to realizing sonic ideals of the qin. Despite perceived challenges from vulgarity, the instrument was able to maintain a respectable status among the literati.
The respectable status of the qin became shaken, however, as Westernized reforms rejected the literati musical practice as outdated and deplete of vigorous power. Before Jinyu essayists endeavored against the iconoclastic currents, a few conscious qin players-aficionados of the early twentieth century already showed a tendency that engaged aurality in a subtly more sophisticated way than their pre-modern predecessors. Not quite as provocative as Jinyu essayists, these pre-modern precursors nonetheless marked a new aural sensitivity. Among them, Yang Zongji
The respectable status of the qin became shaken, however, as Westernized reforms rejected the literati musical practice as outdated and deplete of vigorous power. Before Jinyu essayists endeavored against the iconoclastic currents, a few conscious qin players-aficionados of the early twentieth century already showed a tendency that engaged aurality in a subtly more sophisticated way than their pre-modern predecessors. Not quite as provocative as Jinyu essayists, these pre-modern precursors nonetheless marked a new aural sensitivity. Among them, Yang Zongji