Background of a qin piece.

[kyokuhon]

Hi, all,
Hope all are well. I'm going to be playing some qin pieces in a little recital next Tuesday, and I wonder if anyone could help me with the background of a piece that someone has transliterated for me as "Li Zhong Yi" and translated as "Words of Adoration. I got it from Gong Yi's book, and he dates it 1549, which should put it in Xilutang Qintong. I've checked silkqin.com for the title without success, though I'm not sure of the pinyin. Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks, and keep playing,
K.

[Charlie Huang]

Wrong translation! Linzhong Yi is a modal preface from Xilu Tang (as you said), but it doesn't mean 'words of adoration'. Linzhong is the name of a Chinese pitch which Western equivelant is the pitch G. 'Yi' means meaning/intention/gist, it is basically a piece you play to familiarise yourself with the mode/tuning of a piece you are about to play (in this case, Shenren Chang).

[kyokuhon]

Boy, you're fast! Thanks, Charles!

While you're there, can you tell me what source (and date) Wei Ban San Jue comes from? And the pinyin for the "diligent study" title?

Best,
K.

[kyokuhon]

And so would "Study in G" be a loose translation?
K.

[Charlie Huang]

I'd rather you name it "Linzhong Yi" or "Modal Preface in Linzhong"; though linzhong is G, it may not reflect the actual modality in the piece as it was for some tuning names.

WBSJ means 'waring out the Wei binding thrice'. It's from Qinshi Qiangu (1738). Basically, it's about Confucius reading the Book of Changes so much that he wares out the bamboo slip book binding (called the wei) three times (NAGA translates it as 'studying diligently' because people might not understand the title). The sister piece is called Kongzi Du Yi (Con reads the BoC).

[Si]

I have learnt this piece an although very short it is one i like a lot cos it sounds very old.

My teacher learnt it from Gong Yi - its one of his da pu's and she told me its from the tang dynasty. I can ask her more today.


hold on ------ i learnt this piece in standard tuning !

Whats xilu tang?

I suppose I dont really understand this modal stuff........

[Charlie Huang]

Yes, standard tuning, but it uses the 'linzhong mode' (you're confusing tuning and mode).

Xilu Tang Qintong (1549).

[kyokuhon]

Hi, all,
Yes, like syburn, I enjoy this piece because it sounds old. I don't know if it reflects current thinking, but I always go back to Prof. Liang Ts'ai Ping's dictum about Chinese music: the more chromatic it is, the older it is (or at least sounds).
I always list the pieces I play by Chinese (pinyin) name first, with a translation in parentheses. When deciding on the translation, I try to consider my audience; I try to be accurate, but to avoid exoticizing excessively. After I posted my last reply, I realized that European lute players contemporary with Xilu Tang had a perfect name for this type of piece: Recercar ( the word is related to "research", as in researching the mode) which often (at the time) were followed by more structured piece(s) in the same mode. I'll also provide more detailed notes for those who are interested, and which will include what you've said about the piece here. I can post the two documents for comment, if anyone would like. BTW, I'm also going to play Scottish lute music in this recital. A pentatonic extravaganza!
Here again, my lack of Chinese language is a real deficit. Is Kongzi Du Yi included in either Gong Yi's book or Collected Gu Qin Pieces? I really like WBSJ, and I'd like to pair the two if I can.
Thanks again for the help,
K.

[Si]

correct me if i am probably wrong but i think my teacher told me that one of the characteristics of this piece is that it the da ( RH ring finger) which i think is an old fashioned fingering that is not used alot these days. Im not sure about the Die Juan fingering - that might also be old fashoned too.

My teacher showed me the Xilu Tang today - its fill of tunes - i cant imagine anyone could play all those - maybe some have not even been da pu'ed yet.

By the way you can here my teacher play in at the following address
www.yilanqinzhai.com/e-index.html

[Charlie Huang]

KZDY is not included in either GY's book or GQQJ. It is included in Gu Meigeng's "Qinxue Beiyao" which was published in 2004 (after his death obviously). You can find a copy from CCN or Joyo.com (I think I bought the last copy from Joyo and I don't know when/if they'll restock it). It is a very useful book in itself and worth getting.

Yes, da is rarely used in more modern pieces because the pluck is rather weak and is a bit cumbersome if you do it incorrectly. But some pieces will be a mess without it. Diejuan is also another but it is used much more than da in modern scores.