Author: Yueman Tianxin
Guqin is an extremely elegant musical instrument. It has two wooden boards and a few silk threads. One of the top ten famous guqin songs, " Guangling San ", is often played by masters. The reputation of "Guangling San" originated from Ji Kang . Ji Kang, a qin player in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, was famous for his skill in playing this piece of music. Before his execution, he still took his time and played the piece on his qin, and sighed with emotion: ""Guangling San" is now extinct!" He calmly went to die.
"Guangling San" became famous because of Ji Kang, and it is also suspected that it became unique because of Ji Kang.
Many people have this question. Since Ji Kang said that "Guangling San" was dead on the execution ground, where did the score of "Guangling San" that he is playing now come from? Is what Ji Kang said wrong, or is the "Guangling San" played by Ji Kang on the execution ground and the "Guangling San" played by the current qin player two different tunes?
Ji Kang said that Guangling was "excellent"
because of the particularity of the guqin score
Before the advent of the guqin subtracted notation, there was only one way for the guqin music to be passed down, and that was the written notation.
text notation, as the name suggests, records a piece of music in words. The recording includes fingering, how to play with left and right hands, which emblem to press, which string, etc... There are many fingering methods for piano music. You can imagine how much time it takes to record a piece of music like this. Long length. The only existing written musical score in my country, " Jieshi Diao·Youlan ", has nearly 5,000 words. This score is currently treasured in Japan.
In the Tang Dynasty, guqin master Cao Rou simplified the key words of each sentence in the written score to form special symbols, which is the Guqin subtracted word score. The characters of the reduced-character score are simple and intuitive, which greatly reduced the tediousness of the musical score and formed a very simple recording and reference method. Since then, the reduced-character score has been in use for thousands of years.
However, the reduced word notation is a fingering notation, which can only mark the string positions and fingerings. Like the earliest written notation, it cannot accurately identify the pitch, rhythm, beat, etc. of a piece of music.
For a piece of music, no matter whether the performer gets the written notation or the subtracted notation, it is impossible to restore it. In order to successfully play and pass on the music, it is necessary to notate it, that is, to excavate and organize an ancient piece of music into shape. What's more, in Ji Kang's time, subtractive notation had not yet been invented, and there was only cumbersome notation. Then, the "Guangling San" played by Ji Kang may have been composed by him alone based on the text score, or he may have learned it from a certain teacher.
Liu Ji's "Qin Yi" records that Ji Kang learned "Guangling San" from Du Kui's son Du Meng. Ji Kang loved this piece of music very much and often played it. Many people came to ask for advice, including his nephew Yuan Xiaoni, who also wanted to learn it, but Ji Kang would not teach it.
The process of notation is also a display of the player's cultivation, wisdom, professionalism and personality. Therefore, notation is not just about straightening out a piece of music and playing it out, but also about exploring and recreating it. Guqin music is very special. Notation is only a general framework. Notation is the technical work such as tuning, tuning, and tuning. In addition, you need to understand the connotation of a piece of music and restore the idea of the piece to the maximum extent. "Guangling San" played by Ji Kang, if scored by him, would have his personal thoughts, style, and atmosphere; if it was taught by Du Meng, Du Kui was a contemporary of Cao Cao, and his "Guangling San" was only passed down to his son. Du Meng, Du Meng passed on to Ji Kang. Ji Kang was forty years old when he died, and Du Meng was older than Ji Kang. It is likely that both the Du family and his son were gone by this time.
So when he was about to be executed, he sighed and said "Guangling San" was over.
The music style of "Guangling San" circulated in later generations
is consistent with Ji Kang's situation and character.
Some people say that the score of "Guangling San" circulated in later generations may not have been played by Ji Kang at that time, because the music style of "Guangling San" is sonorous and intense, which is consistent with Ji Kang's situation and character.
Ji Kang's music aesthetic does not match.
In fact, "Guangling San" is not only inconsistent with Ji Kang's musical aesthetics, it is also completely inconsistent with the musical aesthetics pursued by Guqin. "Guangling San" is a great song for the ages, smooth and high, and inspiring. Guqin, on the other hand, pursues elegance and perfection, and takes purity, subtleness, and distance as its criterion. "Guangling San" is completely divorced from the beauty of these four words. It is a passionate piece of music that does not nourish the body and mind, but mainly narrates and expresses emotions.
Ji Kang is a famous guqin player and musician. His guqin music "Changqing", "Duanqing", "Long Side" and "Short Side" are collectively called the Four Lanes. "Qin Lun" says: Nong has a harmonious temperament and is also known as lenient. The tunes on the guqin are all gentle and relaxing. For example, " Plum Blossom Three Lanes ", one of the top ten famous songs, is a comfortable and pleasant piece of music. Ji Kang's Fourth Lane is also It means leisurely and happy.
In terms of music aesthetics, Ji Kang did advocate Zhongzheng and peace, and he was a health expert. It seems that such a person would not be able to compose or perform an impassioned piece like "Guangling San".
Ji Kang had musical ideals, but ideals and reality were often at odds with each other. The environment in which Ji Kang lived was dominated by the Sima Group, which was incompetent and tyrannical. Ji Kang lived in seclusion in the bamboo forest, preferring death to entering an official career, and was eventually executed by the Sima clan.
The song "Guangling San" has the style of fighting and iron horses, traveling thousands of miles, and implies murderous intent. It is a reflection of Ji Kang's heart. As a literati, his resistance to the regime was not only to play a piece of music to accuse, but also to live in seclusion to stay away. There is no other way. Although "Guangling San" is different from the musical aesthetic advocated by Ji Kang, it is consistent with his temperament and situation.
Guqin has seven strings and five tones. In ancient times, the first string was Gong Diao , representing the king; the second string was Shang Diao, representing ministers; the third string was Jiao, representing the people... Guqin music is mainly Gong Diao, but "Guangling San" is Man Gong Shang Diao, which means lower The second string Shang sound is equal to the first string Gong sound. The performance of "Guangling San" on the execution ground was impassioned and majestic, with the minister's string rising and the king's string sinking, showing a strong desire to resist the regime, which was exactly Ji Kang's mood at the moment.
Therefore, the "Guangling San" played by Ji Kang on the execution ground and the version circulated by later generations should be consistent and not two different tunes.
The famous song of the generation was almost lost due to the disdain of the literati.
The official record of the subtracted notation of "Guangling San" appeared in the " Magic Secret Music Score" compiled by Ming Dynasty Zhu Quan. Zhu Quan was the seventeenth son of Ming Taizu. He was passionate about the guqin and understood the guqin. The guqin music score "Magic Secret Music Score" he compiled made a great contribution to the guqin. It is the earliest extant collection of guqin music scores in my country and has a high reputation. Use value and historical value. With Zhu Quan's name corrected, "Guangling San" could be widely circulated. The introduction to "Guangling San" in
's "Magical Secret Book" reads: There are two handbooks passed down from generation to generation, one of which was brought to the Tang Palace from the Sui Palace, and then to the people, and returned to the imperial palace in the Song Dynasty. During this period of nine hundred and thirty-seven years, Zhu Quan "considered this genealogy to be correct, so he took it."
"Magical Secret Music" says that this tune has been circulating since the Sui Dynasty . In fact, not only that, Pan Yue, who was later than Ji Kang, also mentioned in "Sheng Fu" that the poem "Zhang Nu" was abandoned and the famous poem "Guangling" was used.
Writer and guqin player Cai Yong was a native of Eastern Han . He also mentioned "The Regent's Assassination of the King of Han" in "Qin Cao" and interpreted the score. He said that the meaning of this music was roughly Nie Zheng's. His father was killed for forging swords for the King of Han. Nie Zheng fled, changed his name and worked hard on the piano for more than ten years, and gradually became famous. The King of Han, who was good at playing the piano, ordered him to enter the palace to play the piano. While playing the piano, Nie Zheng took out the dagger from the belly of the piano. , stabbed King Han to death to avenge his father, and then committed suicide.
"Guangling San" recorded in "Magical Secret Music" has subtitles such as rushing to the crown, getting angry, holding a sword, etc., which is consistent with Cai Yong's misinterpretation. Zhu Quan said that the music score flowed from the Sui Palace, but based on what Cai Yong recorded, At least in the Han Dynasty, the song "Guangling San" was circulated.
Modern qin scholar Yang Shibai also said in his "Qin Xue Series": "Guangling San" is what Cai Yong called " Nie Zheng's Assassination of the King of Han ".
"Guangling San" has always been around, but because it was not peaceful and full of murderous intent, it was once rejected by the mainstream, so it has been wandering on the edge of famous music.
In the Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi once said about this song: "Guangling San" has the most unpeaceful sound. Zhu Xi was a great Confucian, so he naturally did not like the fierceness and murderousness of "Guangling San". Guo Maoqian compiled "Collection of Yuefu Poems", which included famous works, but he singled out "Guangling San" in disgust. He wrote: "One of his "Guangling San" will not be passed down today." He threw away "Guangling San" and did not Plan to pass it on.
In the turmoil of history, "Guangling San" became famous after Ji Kang, and was almost lost due to the disdain of literati. In the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Quan, who had the eye for pearls, included the song in "Magical Secret Book" and corrected its name. .
Later, the guqin master Guan Pinghu of the Republic of China re-noted, organized and recorded "Guangling San" based on the records of "Magical Secret Music". Only then can this legendary, mysterious and ancient song be reappeared in the world.
Guqin is the embodiment of beauty, kindness, and purity. Guqin is also tolerant. It can be as pure and subtle as poetry, or it can be so heroic. Three feet of paulownia wood and a few strings of silk strings play the sound of ancient times, and also reflect the ups and downs of the common people. The history may have its ups and downs, but the music is unfailing and has a long history.
"Guangling San" will never be exhausted. (Moon Man Tian Xin)
Source: Beijing Youth Daily
