Jiang Kui, also known as Jiang Baishi, was one of the foremost poets of the Southern Song Dynasty. 'Gu Yuan' (Ancient Lament) appeared in a collection of his songs printed in 1202. In addition to the song text, the publication also included the melody, and a tablature for the guqin, this last being one of the oldest tablatures extant, not only for the guqin, but for any stringed instrument anywhere.The guqin is the Chinese seven-stringed zither, long esteemed by polite society in China as the pre-eminent musical instrument. 'Gu Yuan' belongs to the genre known as 'qinge' (guqin song), in which the guqin essentially doubles the vocal line. An instrument commonly coupled with the guqin is the xiao (a recorder-type instrument) and this realization of the score gives the vocal line to the xiao.

A major challenge in sequencing guqin music is the realization of the rich palette of tone colours. Two basic types of tones are differentiated:
1 Shi yin (concrete tones) - which are produced by plucking or striking the strings;
2 Xu yin (empty tones) - produced by means of sliding the finger up or down the fingerboard to reach different notes after the production of a 'shi yin'.

Additionally, 'shi yin' can be realized either on one of the seven open strings, on a stopped note, or as a harmonic. Different ways of plucking or striking the strings also affect the timbre. Finally, there are the peripheral, very audible noises produced by the finger sliding up and down fingerboard to realize portamenti and a host of other ornaments (or to produce 'xu yin') and the characteristic percussive thud that is heard when a string is struck against the fingerboard to produce some notes. All these noises are an integral part of any performance on the instrument.
The task of realizing Gu Yuan in MIDI format is made easier by its antiquity. Older tablatures rely more heavily on open strings, reducing markedly the scope for portamenti, and the whole gamut of grace notes implied or specified by later tablatures. Similarly, the tablature also suggests a a more restrained interplay of contrasting tone colours so typical of later guqin performance practice.In the 1202 publication, Gu Yuan is preceded by a preface in which Jiang elaborates on the unusual tuning for the piece; giving a set of open strings tuned to a series which he makes clear was no longer customary in his day.

The notes of the open strings are sounded at the beginning of the file. The unusual tuning is probably the most striking aspect of the piece to the casual listener. Indeed, many modern interpreters of the piece, troubled by a number of strange melodic progressions suggested by the tablature, shy away from a literal interpretation, and tweak the musical text here and there in an attempt to 'normalize' the melody. The tablature itself is open to interpretation on certain points due to the use of some figures which differ from later practice. My interpretation takes the tablature quite literally, the way I learnt it from my teacher, Chen Wen. On the surface, the poem expresses the sorrow of a woman lamenting her lost youth and her advancing age. On a deeper level the lament is a subtle metaphor for the poet’s grief at the humiliation of the Chinese nation after having recently lost the northern half of the country to the Jurchen.

Listeners who wish to learn more about the piece might want to read the excellent (if somewhat technical) article by L.E.R. Picken, 'A Twelfth-Century secular Chinese song in zither tablature' in _Asia Major_ 16 (1971), pp 102-120.

 

Looi Siew Teip - Copyright - All Rights Reserved

Excerpts from a broadcast on China Radio International about Jiang Kui:

"Gu Yuan” [Ancient Lament]
from “Baishi Daoren Gequ Qinqu Gu Yuan” [White Rock Taoist’s Song
Qin Score Ancient Lament] 1202

Jiang Kui, whose alias was Taoist White Rock, lived during the Southern Song Dynasty, which ran from 1127 to 1279 AD. He is known as one of the greatest Ci poets in the history of Chinese literature and an accomplished musician who created many new tunes.

Ci poetry is similar to a lyric which developed from popular songs into a literary genre. It originated in the Tang Dynasty and was fully developed in the Song Dynasty. The lyrics were put to music and sung.

The lyrics of this song imitate the style of Chu songs in the Warring States Period, between 475 BC and 221 BC. This song expresses the composer's sorrow at his old age. Flowers falling to the earth are a metaphor for the short time we have to bloom on this earth before we die.