The relationship between Guqin and Taoist culture

364 views · Organized by 辞惘 on 2022-09-17

Recently, Hunan Shaoyang and Guangdong Lingnan Guqin cultural exchange activities were held in Shaoyang. In the Yuqing Qin House of Yuqing Palace in Shaoyang, Chen Shiqiang, the non-hereditary inheritor of Lingnan Guqin art in Guangzhou, gave a special lecture on the title of "History of Guqin - Origin", and played the famous Guqin song "Mountain Residence". "Guqin art combines the aesthetic taste and wisdom of people from ancient times to the present. It is an art form that condenses the connotation of traditional Chinese culture, and shows the praise and pursuit of beautiful things by Chinese sons and daughters." said Wu Lizhi, vice president of China Taoist Association and abbot of Yuqing Palace.

The relationship between Guqin and Taoist culture

Among the traditional musical instruments in my country, the guqin is an important tool that often accompanies the Taoist immortals. In the past dynasties, the high Taoist often used the qin to play and play the qin as a metaphor for the heart, so that the guqin was linked to the core ideas, hermit culture and practice of Taoism.

In 2003, the Chinese guqin art was listed as a representative work of the intangible cultural heritage of mankind by UNESCO. In the special video on the application of Guqin to the World Heritage List, the old man who played the qin with five long beards and a fairy style is the Taoist priest Min Zhiting, the former president of the China Taoist Association. In 2006, Guqin art was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects.

The production of the guqin is in line with the Taoism's "Tao law of nature". As Cai Yong, a writer of the Eastern Han Dynasty, said in "Qin Cao": "In the past, Fuxi's family made a qin... The length of the qin is three feet, six inches and six minutes, like three hundred and sixty days; the width is six inches, like six together... Below the circle is the law of heaven and earth." The original guqin was the five strings of Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zheng, and Feather, symbolizing the five elements of earth, metal, wood, fire and water. Later, King Wen of Zhou and King Wu of Zhou each added a string to become the Wenwu Lyre, which has a history of more than 3,000 years. The three tones of the guqin, overtone, scattered tone, and pressing tone, can simulate and express "naturalness". The overtones are like the sounds of nature, giving people the feeling of being cold and immortal; the scattered sounds are loose and distant, making people think of ancient times; The overtones are like the sky, the scattered sounds are like the earth, and the sounds are like people.

Taoist priests often play the guqin in the breeze, bright moon, mountains and rivers, showing the reclusive temperament of Taoist culture. For example, the guqin performance scene described in "Mao Ci Fu" by Zhu Taozhu, a great hermit in the Tang Dynasty: "Pillow on the bright moon and play the qin, and drink slowly against the breeze. Look at the green pines on the ridge and listen to the white cranes among the clouds. Use the landscape as your heart, Playing the qin book for fun." As early as the Han Dynasty, the performance of the guqin was no longer limited to formal rituals and music occasions. It is not like the bells and drums that are displayed in the ancestral temple township party, but the bells and drums are not listed in the hanging, although in the poor alleys, deep mountains and valleys, the qin is still not lost." The poor alleys and deep mountains and valleys are all occasions where you can play the guqin. Yang Biaozheng, a famous qin learner in the Ming Dynasty said: "Everyone who plays the drum and qin must choose a clean room and a high hall, or on the top of the building, or between the forests and rocks, or on the top of the mountain, or swim in the water, or in the view of the universe, and it is worth two spirits. At that time, on the night of the clear breeze and bright moon, burn incense in a quiet room, sit still, keep the heart in peace, the spirit and blood are peaceful, the square and the spirit are in harmony, and the spirit and the Tao are in harmony." , the playing environment adds to the secluded temperament of the guqin.

Taoism believes that the timbre of the guqin is quiet, beautiful and deep, indifferent and refined, and is in line with "Tao". Guqin songs "You Orchid", "Lie Zi Yu Feng", "Xiao Yao You", "Pingsha Falling Geese" and "Mountain Residence" all contain the ideological connotation of "Tao". Therefore, in the past dynasties, high Taoists often linked the guqin with the practice of seeking "Tao", and this practice was mainly based on the cultivation of xinxing. The sound of the qin is connected with the human mind, and it is stated in the Annotation of Tongxuan Zhenjing, "If a person is good at the qin, if he has a heart of compassion, the sound will be desolate and desolate; If you have an admiration, you will sound like Pei Ran." Through the connection of "heart, hand, and object", the heart of the piano player can be expressed in the sound of the piano, and the sound of the piano will in turn affect the heart of the player. Wang Dongting, a Taoist priest in the Qing Dynasty, said that "playing the qin makes the mind calm, and because the eyes have to focus on the subtleties of playing the qin, there is no distraction." Qi and harmony, which is beneficial to xinxing cultivation.

Correspondingly, when playing the guqin, the player needs to be calm. "The Complete Book of Lv Zu" said: "The qin is the Tao, and it is all mysterious! But when the drum is played, the mind must be quiet, the air must be peaceful, the fingers must be relaxed, not attached to the body, not attached to things, and not attached to the environment. It is not attached to the qin. If you keep your mind out of your mind and become one with Taixu, then whatever you play with your fingers is the sound of the ancient times!" The way of the qin is mysterious, and the sound of the qin is closely related to people's character and mood. The playing of the guqin is in the It was carried out in the experience of Shenyou Xiaohan. Sima Chengzhen, a high-level Taoist in the Tang Dynasty, also cited the examples of Xu You in the Yao period and Rong Qiqi in the Spring and Autumn Period in the "Suqin Biography", connecting the image of a poor hermit living in a humble house and wearing brown clothes with the "Qin De" of the guqin. "Qin De" is in line with the hermit's quiet and vipassan spiritual realm: "The original Xian lived in a room surrounded by blocks, with a penthouse, a urn and a brown plug, and a string of songs. This gentleman lives in peace with his qin virtue. King, play the qin and Jishan; in the Rongqi period, the deer and fur wear ropes, carry the qin and sing, this hermit is also prosperous with the virtue of the qin... He knows the qin as a tool, and virtue is in it."

There are many people who are good at playing the guqin in the past dynasties and have been recorded in the history of the development of the guqin. According to records such as "Biography of Immortals", in the pre-Qin period, there were Wuguang, Juanzi, Qin and other high-level immortals who liked to play the piano. "Heavenly Wind Ring"; At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, after the establishment of institutional Taoism, there were countless Taoists who were good at guqin. Zhang Daoling is "silent in nature, loves ancient books and history, and also learns about star Qi and Wei, especially playing the qin, don't be really interesting." Sun Deng, a Taoist priest in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, "reads the "Book of Changes" well, plays a stringed qin, and everyone who sees it will enjoy it." Tao Hongjing, a Taoist priest from the Qi and Liang Dynasties in the Southern Dynasties, was "good at qin, chess, and cursive calligraphy", as well as poetry and prose. Sima Chengzhen, a Taoist priest in the Tang Dynasty, mastered the melody, was good at composing, and was able to make the violin. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Leng Qian, a Taoist priest, "knows the rhythm, is good at the drum and the qin, and has a lot of fun outside the dust." Set the rhythm, author of "Sixteen Laws of Leng Xianqin Sound".

Zhang Kongshan, a Taoist priest from Qingcheng Mountain in the late Qing Dynasty, carefully checked and approved hundreds of qin pieces and score collections collected over the years, and selected 145 pieces and compiled them into "Tianwenge Piano Score". , rhythm, winding method and other aspects of the theoretical theory. Zhang Kongshan has created many qin pieces. He processed the guqin piece "Flowing Water" in the Spring and Autumn Period, adding many techniques of "rolling, whisking, chaoing, and betting", imitating the sound of turbulent water and creating "Seventy-two Rolling Brush" Running Water has become the first choice for later generations to learn the piano.

Today, Peng Jie, one of Zhang Kongshan's seventh-generation direct disciples, is the intangible inheritor of the municipal-level Guqin art in Xichang City, Sichuan Province. One of her original Guqin songs can make people feel the indifference and refinement of "qin virtue". "To play the guqin well, you must have a solid foundation of traditional Chinese culture. Therefore, while learning Guqin culture, I also learned Chinese medicine, calligraphy, tea ceremony, Tai Chi, and integrated various traditional cultures." Peng Jie said.

Reference materials and contributors
道教文化赋予古琴的“尘外之趣”

Involving musical instruments

Guqin (pinyin: Gǔ Qín) is a traditional Chinese musical instrument with a history of at least 3,500 years. Guqin is also known as Yaoqin, Yuqin and Seven-stringed Qin. The guqin has 13 emblems that mark the rhythm, and is also a ritual and musical instrument. It belongs to the silk in the octave. Guqin has a wide range, deep timbre and long aftertone.

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