Music is beauty of sound. But scientifically speaking, every single tone, which must combine with others to become music, has a definite pitch. Poetry is also beauty of sound in the articulation of the syllables of the words. In Chinese poetry the characters used in the poems are applied in definite rhyme and with differentiation in the four tones. In the poetry of the West, rhyme and rhythm are also applied but poetry is entirely independent from music. Strictly speaking, even in Chinese the articulation of the characters with rhyme and the required tonal enunciation cannot be considered music, because there is no definite tonality. The reading of poetry, with some trends toward melody, is called chanting. When definite pitch is applied to each character of the poem, it becomes a song.
The Book of Odes is made up of songs. But is there proof they were sung with definite pitch? Archeological findings indicate the development of music preceded the writing of poetry. The scientific calculation of tonality was discovered very early and became one of the basic elements of Chinese culture.
Providence had laid the foundations for an ancient musical culture in the growth of mulberry trees and silkworm. Silk could be made into thread and this could be woven into cord of great strength. When stretched at high tension, the string could produce sounds of high pitch. Thus the origin of music.
Found among the oracle-bone characters of the Shang dynasty (1401-1155 B.C.) is the character 系, meaning music, which is ㄠ silk on wood. On the bones there are other characters pertaining to musical instruments, such as ku for drum, ching melody stone, Yu a flute of bamboo with three holes, Ho 和 and Yen 言. According to Erh Ya, the earliest Chinese dictionary and compiled before the time of Confucius, 和 was a reed instrument with thirteen tubes which was suggestive of twelve plus one. 言 was an instrument with twenty-three tubes of bamboo, suggesting two sets of twelve tones minus one. These instruments were not mentioned in later dictionaries; they long had been obsolete.
With such evidence of the existence of musical instruments of multiple tonality, it is obvious that the music of the early period must have been quite advanced. This is also confirmed by statements in other classics.
The twelve-tone notation is applied to the twelve months in the "Monthly Order" chapter 月令章 of the Book of Rites 禮記. It corroborates the statement in Shang Shu 尚書 edited by Confucius:
"Regulate the tones and measurements according to the calculation of the months and days".
Because of the loss of the Book of Music, also edited by Confucius, the system of calculating tonality is not quite clear. But there are passages about music in nearly all the classics and minor classics of the pre-Chin (before 255 B.C.) era. Upon analysis of all the quotations, a system of twelve tones of definite pitch played on strings of silk can be clearly defined. This corresponds to the overtone series of Western music.
The following passage is found in the "Book of Yu" chapter of Shang Shu:
"Poem expresses idea;
"Put it to song
"According to the melodic sound,
"With the tones of li,
"Blending with eight kinds of tonality;
"There is no contradiction,
"But in harmony with god and men.
It is clearly stated that in singing the poem, tones of li were used, so the poems for singing did have a melody of definite pitch in the time of Yu (around 2255 B.C.).
Other Instruments
In the "Section of Music" in the Book of Rites, there is this statement:
"Shun made a five-string chin to sing the Song of the South Wind."
Shun was the ruler at the time of Yu. The only musical instrument used at that time was the chin which is now called ku-chin because of its early origin, ku meaning ancient. The five strings probably were in five tones which became popular in the Chou dynasty (1122-255 B.C.).
In another chapter of Shang Shu, "Book of Hsia" if (the Hsia dynasty covered the period from 2205-1766 B.C.), we find that other instruments were used to accompany singing during that period:
"Beat the precious rock,
"Play chin and se for singing with the rhythm of po fu,
"Play chin and se for singing with rhythm
"For ancestor's celebration;
"Blow the flutes and beat the drum,
"Stop the music with chu and yu;
"Sheng and Yung are played alternately,
"That birds and beasts would dance.
During the Chou dynasty (909-225 B.C.), music was greatly elaborated, as is indicated in the book Rites of Chou; Passages of this book denote the names of the twelve tones and the five-tone tonality which was used for singing six kinds of poems:
"The officers of music hold six tones of li and six tones of lu corresponding to the sound of yang and ying. The tones of yang are huang chung, tai tsu, ku si, jui ping, i tse, and wu i (corresponding to C, D, E, F#, G#, and A#, respectively). The six tones of ying are ta lu, chia chung, hsiao lu, han chung, nan lu, and ying chung [corresponding to C#, D#, F, G, A, and B, respectively].
"They are set to five tones of kung, shang, ku, tse, and yu (the present do, re, mi, sol, and la). They are used on eight kinds of instruments: metal, rock, earth, leather, silk, wood, reed, and bamboo.
"They teach six kinds of poems: feng, fu, pi, hsing, ya, and sung, based on six elements of virtue, and are put to six tones of music."
Three Categories
In discussing the uses of music, philosophical concepts were always applied—for instance, that beautiful and harmonious sound was the result of the peacefulness and righteousness that emerges when good people live together. Poetry was used to express thought through song. That was how early poetry came into being. Five tones of definite pitch were applied in singing these poems to the accompaniment of stringed instruments.
The Book of Odes edited by Confucius contains 305 poems selected from 3,000 written between 1122 and 570 B.C.
The poems are classified in three categories:
1. Kuo feng - native airs or folk songs. Some are satirical in nature. Most reveal lyrically the sentiments of the people. This group contains 160 pieces from 15 kingdoms and districts.
2. Ya - songs used for celebration, 105 pieces.
3. Sung - songs for ceremonies in honor of deities, 40 pieces classified into three groups, chou sung, lu sung, and shang sung.
Sze-Ma Chien, famous historian of the Han dynasty (second century B.C.), wrote in his Historical Records that the 305 poems all were sung to stringed accompaniment.
A description of the use of percussion and wind instruments is found in one of the songs of sung, which is translated as follows:
"Blind Master of Music, Blind Master of Music,
"In the court of Chou,
"Wooden racks are gathered together,
"Decorated with beautiful feathers;
"Hung are the drums big and small,
"Melody rocks, wooden instruments and all;
"Everything is prepared and ready to perform,
"Bamboo flutes of all size and forms;
"With sound high and low,
"Harmoniously they blow,
"For the ancestor's audition,
"With my guests in celebration,
"Listening to the end of the dedication.
Wordings Changed
In the books of history from each dynasty there is nearly always a section on ritual and music for the ceremonies of the temple, including the use of the songs of Sung with new wordings for each dynasty. The old melody for the poems of sung—with four characters to each verse—invariably has been the same with regular beat and pentatonic tonality.
Following is translation of a poem of stanzas used in singing for the ceremony in the Confucian temple in the Ching dynasty (1644 - 1910 A.D.). The melodies are transcribed from the twelve-tone notation to the Western scale.
For Gods, Ghosts
An outstanding poet of the pre-Chin era was Chu Yuan (343-277 B.C.). Chu established the style of irregularity as compared with the prevailing poems of regularity. He also helped to bring out a particular music characteristic of his native place, Chu, known as "sound of Chu". His poems are called Chu tzu.
Chu wrote "Nine Songs" which were offered to gods and ghosts. In these songs Chu described the use of different kinds of musical instruments, singing to the tones of li and dancing to the rhythmic beat.
All poems of Chu tzu were supposed to be sung to the music of the strings. Poems in Chu's masterpiece, Li Sao, are widely used in 13 available books of ku-chin scores.
Another indication of Chu's poems being sung is the use of the term luan at the end of a piece. Luan was used later as a term of music, a postlude at the end of a piece.
Chu Yuan lived a very unhappy life, being banished several times because his advice offended King Huai of Chu. He foresaw the crisis that would be visited on his native country by the rising Kingdom of Chin, but could do nothing because no one would listen to him. His poems were written with extraordinary selection of characters of sonorous exuberance to express his deep pathos.
A few passages from Li Sao and Embracing the Sand are translated as follows:
Li Sao
"God of heaven has no partiality
"Watches over people virtuously.
"Only by their wisdom are the saints and sages
"Fit to govern the land throughout the ages.
"Recalling the past and looking toward the future,
"For the welfare of the people I ponder,
"Save only the righteous ones and the pure
"Are able to render the service of virtue.
"My life is now in peril of death,
"I would never regret my former petition;
"Though it resembles an unfit handle for he hachet,
"Which may attain my extreme persecution.
"With pain and grief I sigh,
"Aching that I was born in untimely reign of woe;
"Picking fragrant grass to wipe my tears I cry,
"Which on my clothes unceasingly flow.
......
Embracing the Sand
"Glorious early summer days,
Green grass and leaves abundantly sway;
"With everlasting sadness in my heart,
"To the south I now depart.
"I glance toward the far away place,
"In deep silence and grace;
"Agony and grievance intertwine,
"Aching heart endlessly does repine.
"Searching for the truth to redress
"Injustice and wrong in myself I suppress;
"From square to roundness they alter,
"Without regard to the old order.
......
"With love of honor and righteousness,
"And boundless kindliness,
"Chung Hua will not come again;
"Who would realize my aim free from strain?
"Saints and sages never came at the season, "Who could tell the reason?
"Tang and Yu were far away,
"Too distant to follow their way.
"Overlooking hatred, avoiding anger,
"I restrain myself, keen and eager;
"Hardship and unhappiness however offending,
"Could not render my purpose bending.
......
"The life of the people
"Has each its disposition;
"With peace at heart and full of ambition,
"Why should I fear of my condition?
"Pensive pain and lingering torment
"Put me forever in agonizing lament;
"The whole chaotic world doesn't understand me,
"To change the heart of the people how could it be?
Family Treasures
The sorrowful feeling of Chu Yuan's poems was expressed in music with a minor strain of melody, which was put in the book of ku-chin compositions under the "Key of Melancholy".
There is an old tradition in China that knowledge was handed down generation after generation through a teaching system or within a family, especially the knowledge of music and art.
Chu Yuan's favorite disciple, Sung Yu, was a musician. Sung was noted for his criticism of "Bright Spring and White Snow", a ku-chin composition by Sze Kuang of the Chou dynasty. When Sung heard the "Bright Spring and White Snow" being sung, he said: "The melody is beautiful but the accompanying effect is not satisfactory. "
Sze Kuang was a person of the sixth century B.C., while Sung Yu lived during the third century. It is obvious that written notation of ku-chin was already in existence at that time, otherwise Sung would have been unable to listen to a composition of 300 years before. Also, he could not have made the criticism of Sze Kuang's works without some better compositions for purposes of comparison. The likeliest one would be Chu Yuan's Li Sao. Both "Bright Spring and White Snow" and Li Sao still exist in available books of ku-chin scores.
Sung Yu had written poems in the style of Chu tze with one specially dedicated to his teacher Chu Yuan. Most of his works are lost, but in some available works the term luan was used at the end of the piece to indicate the change of melody and rhythm.
While in the old classics, the ya music was based on the pentatonic scale, the "Sound of Chu" used seven tones. This seven-tone scale was the "Key of Chu". This key, on the Western scale, forms a major scale with raised fourth, that is do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, and ti.
In the book Poems of Yueh Fu, edited by Kuo Mao-chien of the Sung dynasty, there is a group of poems for songs under the "Key of Chu". This group was taken from the Record of Music Old and New, edited by the monk Chili Chiang in the second year of Kuang Ta (569 A.D.) of the Chen dynasty. In turn it was taken from the Record of Feasts and Merry Making compiled by Wang Seng-chien in 460 A.D., the third year of Ta Ming of the Sung dynasty.
In the Record of Feasts and Merry Making, there were five songs under the "Key of Chu". Two were written by ladies of the Han dynasty. They were "Sigh for the White Head" by Cho Wen-chun and "Song on a Poem of Grief" by Pan Chieh-yu.
These two poems express feelings of sadness:
Sigh for the White Head
"Pure and white is the mountain snow,
"Bright is the moon among the clouds on high;
"Untrue is your love as I know,
"That is why I've come to say goodbye.
"Today with wine and feasting we dine,
"Tomorrow to the side of the stream I'll go,
"Up to the bank with steps lagging and slow,
"Where the waters east and west flow;
"Sighing, sighing and sighing again,
"At marriage why should a girl cry in vain?
"She wishes to have one with a true heart,
"Till the head is white and never to part.
"Bamboo branches are wavering in the height,
"Fish tails flashing under the waters bright.
"Man's sentiment and gait
"Could take the place of money for bait.
Song on a Poem of Grief
"Newly cut fine white silk,
"Pure and white as frost and snow,
"Is made into lover's fan,
"Round as the moon.
"In and out of your sleeves and bosom,
"Soft breeze is produced when it's set in motion,
"Always I fear the corning of autumn,
"When cold wind takes the place of the hot one,
"In a basket it is discarded,
"The love of it is thus ended.
These poems were written with five characters to each verse. In singing them, either the seven-tone scale was used or new melodies were written later. During the reign of Wu Ti of Han (140-86 B.C.), an office of music was established called Yueh Fu to collect songs. These songs included songs of Yueh, Tai, Chin, and Chu. Probably the melodies of the poems by these two ladies were derived during that time.
Another evidence that the old compositions have been handed down in a family is a book of ku-chin scores, Ya Chin by Sze Chung. According to historians' research, Sze Chung was a descendent of Sze Kuang, the famed Chou musician.
During the reign of Hui Tsung (1101-1126 AD.) of the Sung dynasty, a Department of Music was established. Ku-chin scores were collected throughout the country and accumulated in the palace.
Later, when the Sung dynasty was forced by barbarian tribes to move its capital from Kaifong to Hangchow in the south, most of the scores were lost. A part came into the possession of Yang Shou-tsai, a relative of two empresses of Ning Tsung (1195-1225 AD,) and Tu Tsung (1265-1275 AD.). The compositions in his possession were 468 in number.
Yang compiled these compositions into a book Scores of the Purple Cloud Cave. He revised everyone of them into simple pentatonic tonality. Disregarding the movable "do" system of having "do" on each of the seven strings, he used only one form of tuning, with "do" on the third string and in pentatonic tonality.
In all the books of scores of ku-chin, every composition is classified under a certain key, as in the compositions of the West. There are signatures at the beginning of a piece, denoting the key formation. When the way of tuning was changed, the composition sounded entirely different.
Sung Lien of the Ming dynasty, who wrote the History of Yuan and set the ritual and music of the Ming dynasty in order, criticized the work of Yang Shou-tsai, declaring Yang was ignorant of musical theory and tonality.
Tai Yen-yuan, author of the Origin of Ku-chin, and Tsao Tse-gang, famous scholar of the Yuan dynasty, also criticized Yang as without sense of pitch.
However, according to Chin Ju-li of the Ming dynasty, there were some compositions untouched by Yang, which he compiled in Scores Outside the Cloud, Li Sao is among them under the "Key of Melancholy", without indication of the tuning of the strings.
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Miss Hsu Wen-ying holds degrees in composition and music research from George Peabody College and the New England Conservatory of Music in the United States. This article was presented as a lecture before the China Society in Taipei. The poetry quoted in the text was translated by Miss Hsu.