For more than 2,000 years, the "Qin Dao" based on the theory of qin in the Han Dynasty seems to have solidified, and it has been passed down to the present with the inheritance of the guqin.

The formation of the "Qindao" in the Han Dynasty, it seems that no one has ever questioned the unreasonable rhetoric. Even today, many qin people still talk about it: the length of the qin is three hundred and sixty days, the thirteen emblems represent the number of thirteen months, the upper circle is like the sky, and the lower is the earth. There are even a lot of modern "Liao Zhai" that are fascinating and ghostly; people who can play the piano have become otherworldly, and they are inflating themselves.

Find out the era and social background of the formation of the "Qin Dao", reveal the reason and process of the "deification" of the guqin, and unravel the layers of mystery surrounding the guqin. of.

Discussion on the "Qin Dao" in the Han Dynasty

Examining the records of the qin in the Han Dynasty literature, it gradually increased with the years. In the early Western Han Dynasty, in addition to the individual records about the qin stories, the general discussion is basically the same:

1. The piano and the serenity of Yunhe... It is played on a hill on the ground in winter. The qin and se of the empty mulberry... As for the Fangqiu on the Zeshang in summer, it is played. The qin and seren of the Dragon Gate...played in the ancestral temple. "Book of Rites, Chunguan, Dasile"

2. Playing the jade chime, playing the grand piano, the big se, the violin, and the small se, four generations of musical instruments. "Book of Rites, Ming Hall"

3. Mr. Shuce, Qin and Se are in front, sit and move, and abstain from overstepping. The scholar does not understand the piano for no reason. Parents are ill, the winner is not swayed, the action is not soaring, the speech is not lazy, and the piano and serenity are not controlled. "Book of Rites, Song Li"

4. Dr. Jun is completely suspended, and the scholar goes to the piano. "Book of Rites·Da Ji"

5. Then it makes a sound, and the text uses the piano, the movement is dry, and the feather is decorated. The sound of silk is mourning, the mourning is to establish integrity, and the integrity is to be determined. The gentleman listens to the sound of the qin and the serpent, and thinks of the minister of justice. "Book of Rites and Music"

6. Doctor Qing has never left the front when listening to the sound of the piano and the serpent, so it is also necessary to practice righteousness and prevent prostitution. "Historical Records Music Book"

7. Ritual: The emperor's music palace hangs, the princes' music hall hangs, the doctor hangs straight, and the scholar has a zither. "New Book Review"

8. Therefore, the same qi will be the same, and the sound will be the same. If you try to tune the zither and make a mistake, if you drum up the palace, then the other palace will respond to it, and if you drum up the business, the other business will respond. "Spring and Autumn Fan Dew·Similar Movement"

Beginning in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, there were more and more individual discussions on the qin only. Important entries are:

1. In the past, Yu Shun ruled the world, played the five-stringed qin, and sang the poems of the south wind. "Xinyu · Wuwei No. 4"

2. Confucius learned the piano. "The Biography of Korean Poetry"

3. At the beginning of Shennong, he made a violin. "Huainan Honglie·Tai Ethnic Training"

4. Today's blind people can't see day and night, distinguish white and black, but play the qin and touch the strings, play the Fu emblem, grasp the aid, and the hands are like contempt, without losing a string. ... The qin or the plucked plucked and stabbed in vain, widened the gap, and it was called the qin of King Zhuang of Chu, and the side chambers competed for the drum. ... The qin of the mountain tongs, the belly of the rivers, although it is called Lian Xiuying Tang Ya, it is not the drum. ... The drummers are expected to make a clean and honest camp, but not to "indiscriminate threats" and "bells." "Huainan Honglie·Repair Training"

5. Yongmenzi Zhou plays the qin (Liu Xiang: "Said Garden")

6. There are seven examples of the drum and qin: the first is to understand morality; the second is to sense ghosts and spirits; the third is to beautify customs; the fourth is to observe the mind; the fifth is to control the tone; (Liu Xiang: "Qin Saying")

7. Playing the violin is forbidden, so licentiousness is forbidden, and people are righteous. (Ban Gu: "Baihu Tongde Lun Liyue")

Among them, the monographs on the piano can be listed as follows in chronological order:

Liu An (179 BC - 122 BC) "Huainan Honglie, Xiuwu Xun"

Liu Xiang (77-6 B.C.E.), "Qin Shuo"

Yang Xiong (32-7 BC) "Qin Qingying"

Huantan (25-56 B.C.) "Qin Dao"

Ban Gu (32-92 AD), "The White Tiger Tongde Lun: Li and Music"

Cai Yong (132-192 AD) "Qin Exercise", "Qin Fu"

Ying Shao (AD 153-196) "Customs Tongyi"

These records reflect a historical fact that the qin was gradually valued by Confucian scholars in the Han Dynasty, and was later elevated to the top of all musical instruments.

The creation of the piano

Regarding the creation of the qin, the records in the early Western Han Dynasty are:

1. In the past, Shun made a five-stringed qin to sing the south wind. ("Book of Rites, Music")

2. Therefore, Shun played the five-stringed qin and sang the poems of the south wind to rule the world. ("Historical Records Music Book")

3. In the past, Yu Shun ruled the world, played the five-stringed qin, and sang the poems of the south wind. (Lu Jia's "Xinyu · Wuwei Fourth")

The records from the middle of the Western Han Dynasty to the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty are:

1. At the beginning of Shennong, he made the qin, in order to return to God and his lewdness, instead of his celestial heart. (Liu An's "Huainan Honglie·Tai Ethnic Training")

2. Qin, made by Shennong. The words of the qin are forbidden, and the gentleman guards himself by restraining himself. (Huan Tan's New Treatise on Qin Dao)

3. In the past, Shennong made the qin to calm the mind, eliminate lust and lust, and reverse his innocence. (Yang Xiong "Qin Qingying")

4. In the past, Fuxi made the qin, so he resisted evil, guarded against obscenity, and cultivated his rationality, which was contrary to his innocence. (Cai Yong's "Qin Cao")

5. In the past, he sacrificed himself to make a piano. (Ma Rong's "Flute Fu")

6. Shiben: Shennong made the piano. (Ying Shao "Customs Tongyi")

Obviously, in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, various theories have pushed the creation of the qin from the "Shun made the five-stringed qin" in the pre-Qin and early Western Han Dynasty to the ancient Shennong. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the creation of the qin was extended to Fuxi (Paoxi) in the age of mythology. It should be noted here that the function of the qin has changed from a musical instrument of "song of the south wind" to an instrument of "self-cultivation and rationality" for gentlemen to "fight evil spirits and guard against obscenity". In the eyes of scholars in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the qin was not simply a musical instrument for singing and playing poetry, but a tool for self-cultivation and self-cultivation. This is why the creation of the qin is pushed up to the ancient holy kings; because the legendary holy kings are all represented by "virtue".

2. The image of piano making

1. In the past, following the reign of King Fuxi, Wutong made a qin with three feet and six inches, and there are six points, and the number of periods is: eight inches thick, three or six inches wide; six inches wide, like six rhythms. The upper part is round and convergent, and it is the heaven; the lower part is flat, and the earth is the law; (Huan Tan's New Treatise on Qin Dao)

2. The length of the qin is three feet, six inches and six centimeters, like three hundred and sixty days; the width is six inches, like the six-fold. Above the circle below, the law of heaven and earth is also. Wuxian Palace is also like the Five Elements. Those with big strings are gentlemen, gentle and gentle; those with small strings are ministers, clean and not chaotic. King Wen and King Wu added two strings, and the emperor and his ministers were kind. The palace is the ruler, the merchants are the ministers, the horns are the people, the levy is the matter, and the feathers are the things. (Cai Yong's "Qin Cao")

3. Today's qin is four feet and five inches long, and the law is four seasons and five elements. Those who have seven strings are the seven stars of the law. (Ying Shao "Customs Tongyi")

From the above, the Eastern Han people began to compare the shape of the qin with the four o'clock and five elements, and the astronomical calendar. Undoubtedly, this was influenced by Prophecy and Wei's Five Elements Theory at that time, but it also reflected the expectations of scholars at that time for the qin: it included not only the relationship between heaven, earth and human beings, but also the value of all things in the universe.

3. Qin Daoli said

1. The tone of the qin, the four seas and the seas, the seasons and the rivers and the virtues, the way of ghosts and gods, and the way of sacrifice. ... The qin knows the four seas, the tone of the qin, the feet and the four seas. ("Lewei·Music Association Map Sign")

2. Eight-tone broadcasting, Qinde is the best. Among the eight notes, only the strings are the most important, and the qin is the first. (Huan Tan's New Treatise on Qin Dao)

3. Playing the violin is forbidden, so licentiousness is forbidden, and people are righteous. (Ban Gu's "White Tiger Tongde On Liyue")

4. Yaqin, the system of music, goes hand in hand with the octave. (Ying Shao "Customs Tongyi")

5. Under the premise of Han and Confucianism that "the way of sound is connected with government", the status of the qin has been raised from a musical instrument used by scholars to sing songs, to a symbol of the four seasons and five elements, the harmony of heaven and earth, and the position of honor and inferiority. "The head of the octave", so the "Qindao" stands.

1. The qin has been improved and enhanced from a more primitive stringed instrument:

From the Warring States Period to the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the qin originally used as a sacrificial instrument in the ancestral temple fell into disrepair due to the collapse of rituals and music, so it was scattered among the people.

Because of its relatively light and small shape and easy to carry, it has aroused people's idea of improving it. The result is: the resonant box was changed to a long-strip full-box model to increase the volume of the piano. The tuning mechanism has been improved, and the strings with higher tension can be splayed on the surface. The technology of piano surface treatment has also been improved. The application of lacquer and piano ash can make the piano surface flat and enhance the hardness of the piano surface, so that the left-hand pressing technique can be applied. The geese's feet changed from "one foot" to two, which means that the qin must be placed more smoothly to accommodate the movement of the left hand on the surface of the qin.

On the other hand, the body of the piano also gradually increases with the range of the left-hand pressing. The development of the left-hand technique enables the qin to play more complex melodies, thus becoming a melodic instrument that can express complex music.

2. The musical function of the qin has been greatly improved, and its performance has surpassed that of the serenade:

The improvement of the qin requires a long period of time, and it is believed that it will not be completed until the middle of the Han Dynasty; and its shape did not stabilize until the end of the Han Dynasty.

After the improvement of the qin, its superiority can be shown immediately: in addition to its lightweight body, it can play continuous and portamento, which is lacking in most ancient instruments (including the ser). The improved qin, due to the application of the left-hand technique, can play music that slides in continuously. When singing a poem, it is more in line with the polyphonic characteristics of the Chinese language, reflecting the musical beauty of the poem.

The musical function of the qin has surpassed that of the se, which can only play one string and make one sound. Therefore, it soon replaced the traditional position of the se, and became a musical instrument for scholars to sing and poetry; it even became a special instrument for scholars at home.

3. The piano has developed into an independent music genre:

Over time, the records of qin music in Han Dynasty literature gradually increased:

1. Yang Xiong (32-7 BC) "Qin Qingying": "Zi'an's Cao" and "Pheasant Chaofei Cao".

2. Huantan (25-56 BC) "Qin Dao Pian": "Yao Chang", "Shun Cao", "Yu Cao", "Weizi Cao", "Wen Wang Cao", "Bo Yi Cao" and "Yu Cao" Ji Zi Cao" and other seven songs.

3. Cai Yong (132-192 AD) "Qin Cao": twenty-one chapters of five poems, nine quotations, twelve exercises, and Hejian miscellaneous songs.

The gradual increase and accumulation of the qin repertoire means that the qin is not only a musical instrument that accompanies poetry and singing, but has developed into an instrument that can be played solo, and has become an independent music genre: qin music.

It is believed that this is due to the development of the left-hand technique of the guqin, which has led to the development of overtone performance. This further enriches the timbre of the qin and improves the musical function of the qin. At the end of the Han Dynasty, the shape of the qin should have stabilized, and the setting of the thirteen emblems on the surface of the qin has also been completed.

The qin has been able to use its unique and changeable tones to express profound and meaningful musical meanings, and can play qin pieces with extremely rich genres and contents, such as "smooth", "exercise" and "introduction".

The qin developed from a musical instrument that accompanies poetry and sings to a solo instrument that can express profound and meaningful musical compositions; it has become a special tool for scholars to tune their minds and cultivate their minds at home. Therefore, it is endowed with extremely lofty value: it contains the way of heaven and earth, ghosts and gods, and the four seas and the whole world, which is called "the way of the piano".

The "Qin Dao" based on the theory of qin in the Han Dynasty seems to be solidified; with the inheritance of qin for more than 2,000 years, it has also been passed down among qin people until today. This is indeed very rare in the history of world music and culture. It is necessary to find out the era and social background of the formation of the "Qin Dao", and to reveal the reason and process of the "deification" of the guqin. Let us find out the answer from the musical life of the Han Dynasty and the social thought of Confucianism.