Saturday, March 11, 2017

Early Chinese Music Resources: Northern Song

Early Chinese Music Resources: Northern Song
compiled by David Badagnani (rev. 1 October 2023)

In an effort to make this repertoire more accessible, this document contains resources related to the known surviving pieces and songs from China's Northern Song Dynasty (北宋, 960-1127).
Links to scores are highlighted in blue.  Links to recordings and videos are highlighted in pink.
Links to textual sources are highlighted in green.

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A page from the Northern Song Dynasty source Yuyin Fashi《玉音法事》(c. 1111-1118),
including musical notation for a Daoist hymn entitled Buxu《步虛》.

Yuyin Fashi

Yuyin Fashi《玉音法事》(Rituals of the Jade Sounds) is the earliest surviving collection of scores for Daoist chants.  Completed by an anonymous author between 1111 and 1118 during the Zhenghe (政和) era of the reign of Emperor Huizong in the late Northern Song Dynasty, it is divided into three main parts, and uses a unique curvilinear notation system to indicate pitch contour.

● Vocal performance of Buxu《步虛》from Yuyin Fashi by Liu Tao (China, 2021)

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Northern Song-era music preserved in Korea

In the year 1114, following a request from Yejong (예종 / 睿宗, r. 1105-1122), the king of the Korean state of Goryeo (고려 / 高麗, 918-1392), the Song Emperor Huizong (宋徽宗, r. 1100-1126) sent a gift of 167 musical instruments, along with ten volumes of music and ten more volumes of performance instructions, to the Goryeo kingdom, whose capital and central palace were located at Kaesong, in what is today southern North Korea, about 60 km from Seoul (Pratt 2006, 98).  The instruments most likely included di and dongxiao (transverse and vertical bamboo flutes), bili (double reed pipes; also called guan), sheng (mouth organs), pipa (lutes), zheng (long bridge zither), konghou (angular harps), fangxiang (metallophones with 16 iron bars), and drums (Ibid.).  The 15-string da zheng (long bridge zither), 7-string yazheng (bridge zither scraped with a rosined stick), 6-piece paiban (hardwood clapper), and two specific types of drum:  the zhanggu (杖鼓, hourglass drum) and jiaofang gu (敎坊鼓, flat drum suspended from a frame) are also mentioned in the section of Goryeosa describing Dang-ak (당악 / 唐樂), a traditional Korean musical genre comprising songs and pieces introduced from China during the Northern Song Dynasty (though usually performed today in altered form).  Yejong had this music performed three times at his court in Gaeseong during the year 1114 (Ibid.).

Book 71 of Goryeosa (고려사 / 高麗史, History of Goryeo, compiled between 1392 and 1451) includes the titles of 48 Dang-ak pieces, along with detailed text for each explaining how it should be performed (often along with vocal music or dance). Many of these pieces probably had texts based on ci (词), a form of lyric poetry with variable line lengths that enjoyed great popularity in late Northern Song-era China. The pieces listed in Book 71 of Goryeosa are as follows:
1. Xian Xiantao《獻仙桃》/ Heon Seon Do 「헌선도」 (Offering the Peaches of Immortality)
2. Shou Yan Chang《壽延長》/ Su Yeon Jang 「수연장」 (Extended Longevity)
3. Wu Yang Xian《五羊仙》/ U Yang Seon 「오양선」 (The Five Goat[-riding] Immortals)
4. Buxuzi《步虛子》/ Boheoja 「보허자」 (Pacing the Void) - ling (令 / 영)
5. Pao Qiu Le《抛毬樂》/ Po Gu Rak 「포구락」 (Joyfully Playing Ball)
6. Lianhua Tai《蓮花臺》/ Yeon Hwa Dae 「연화대」 (Lotus Flower Seat)
7. Xi Nu Jiao《惜奴嬌》/ Seok No Gyo 「석노교」 - qu po (曲破 / 곡파)
8. Wan Nian Huan《萬年歡》/ Man Nyeon Hwan 「만년환」 (Ten Thousand Years of Happiness) - man (慢 / 만)
9. Yi Chui Xiao《憶吹簫》/ Eok Chwi So 「억취소」 (Recalling the Playing of a Xiao) - man (慢 / 만)
10. Luoyang Chun《洛陽春》/ Nakyang Chun 「낙양춘」 (Spring in Luoyang)
11. Yue Hua Qing《月華淸》/ Wol Hwa Cheong 「월화청」 - man (慢 / 만)
12. Zhuan Hua Zhi《轉花枝》/ Jeon Hwa Ji 「전화지」 - ling (令 / 영)
13. Gan Huang'en《感皇恩》/ Gam Hwang Eun 「감황은」 (Gratitude for the Emperor's Grace) - ling (令 / 영)
14. Zui Taiping《醉太平》/ Chwi Taepyeong 「취태평」
15. Xia Yun Feng《夏雲峯》/ Ha Un Bong 「하운봉」 (Summer Clouds on the Peak) - man (慢 / 만)
16. Zui Penglai《醉蓬萊》/ Chwi Bongrae 「취봉래」 - man (慢 / 만)
17. Huang He Qing《黃河淸》/ Hwang Ha Cheong 「황하청」 (The Yellow River is Clear) - man (慢 / 만)
18. Huan Gong Yue《還宮樂》/ Hwan Gung Ak 「환궁악」 (Returning to the Palace Music)
19. Qingping Yue《淸平樂》/ Cheong Pyeong Ak 「청평악」
20. Lizi Dan《荔子丹》/ Ryeoja Dan 「려자단」 or Yeoja Dan 「여자단」 (The Lychees are Cinnabar-Red)
21. Shui Long Yin《水龍吟》/ Su Ryeong Eum 「수룡음」 (Call of the Water Dragon) - man (慢 / 만)
22. Qing Bei Yue《傾杯樂》/ Gyeong Bae Ak 「경배악」 (Tilted Cup Music)
23. Jin Dian Yue《金殿樂》/ Geum Jeon Ak 「금전악」 (Golden Temple Music) - man (慢 / 만), 踏歌唱 (답가창)
24. Anping Yue《安平樂》/ An Pyeong Ak 「안평악」 (Music of Peace and Tranquility)
25. Qian Qiu Sui《千秋歲》/ Cheon Chu Se 「천추세」 (A Thousand Autumns) - ling (令 / 영)
26. Ai Yue Ye Mian Chi《愛月夜眠遲》/ Ae Wol Ya Myeon Ji 「애월야면지」 - man (慢 / 만)
27. Xi Hua Chun Zao Qi《惜花春早起》/ Seok Hwa Chun Jo Gi 「석화춘조기」 - man (慢 / 만)
28. Di Tai Chun《帝臺春》/ Je Dae Chun 「제대춘」 (Spring in the Royal Terrace) - man (慢 / 만)
29. Feng Zhong Liu《風中柳》/ Pung Jung Ryu 「풍중류」 - ling (令 / 영)
30. Han Gong Chun《漢宮春》/ Han Gung Chun 「한궁춘」 (Spring in the Han Palace) - man (慢 / 만)
31. Hua Xin Dong《花心動》/ Hwa Sim Dong 「화심동」 (Blossoming Heart's Desire) - man (慢 / 만)
32. Yu Lin Ling《雨淋鈴》/ U Rim Ryeong 「우림령」 (Rain-Soaked Bells) - man (慢 / 만)
33. Xing Xiang Zi《行香子》/ Haeng Hyang Ja 「행향자」 (Walking with Incense Sticks) - man (慢 / 만)
34. Yu Zhong Hua《雨中花》/ U Jung Hwa 「우중화」 (Flowers in the Rain) - man (慢 / 만)
35. Ying Chun Le《迎春樂》/ Yeong Chun Rak 「영춘락」 (Joy in Welcoming the Spring) - ling (令 / 영)
36. Lang Tao Sha《浪淘沙》/ Nang Do Sa 「낭도사」 (Waves Washing the Sand) - ling (令 / 영)
37. Yu Jie Xing《御街行》/ Eo Ga Haeng 「어가행」 (Walking the Imperial Road) - ling (令 / 영)
38. Xi Jiang Yue《西江月》/ Seo Gang Wol 「서강월」 (Moon Over the West River) - man (慢 / 만)
39. You Yue Gong《遊月宮》/ Yu Wol Gung 「유월궁」 (Journey to the Moon Palace) - ling (令 / 영)
40. Shao Nian You《少年遊》/ So Nyeon Yu 「소년유」 (The Young Traveler)
41. Gui Zhi Xiang《桂枝香》/ Gye Ji Gyang 「계지향」 (Osmanthus Spray Fragrance) - man (慢 / 만)
42. Qing Jin Zhi《慶金枝》/ Gyeong Geum Ji 「경금지」 (Celebrating the Golden Branch) - ling (令 / 영)
43. Bai Bao Zhuang《百寶粧》/ Baek Bo Jang 「백보장」 (Adorned with a Hundred Treasures)
44. Man Chao Huan《滿朝歡》/ Man Jo Hwan 「만조환」 (A Court Full of Happiness) - ling (令 / 영)
45. Tianxia Le《天下樂》/ Cheon Ha Rak 「천하락」 (All Under Heaven Rejoice), sometimes misspelled Cheon Ha Ak 「천하악」 (All Under Heaven Music) - ling (令 / 영)
46. Gan En Duo《感恩多》/ Gam Eun Da 「감은다」 (Abundant Gratitude) - ling (令 / 영)
47. Lin Jiang Xian《臨江仙》/ Im Gang Seon「임강선」 (The Immortal Looks Down Over the River) - man (慢 / 만)
48. Jie Pei《解佩》/ Hae Pae 「해패」 (Untying the Belt Pendants) - ling (令 / 영)

Full text of Book 71 of Goryeosa:
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E9%AB%98%E4%B8%BD%E5%8F%B271%E5%8D%B7
As of the 20th century, only two ci songs remained in the Dang-ak repertory of South Korea:  Luoyang Chun《洛陽春》and Buxuzi《步虛子》.  From sources found in South Korea, in the 1980s the musicologist Jonathan Condit (1981 and 1984) was able to reconstruct versions of both pieces that approximate the way these songs may have been performed in the 11th century.
Luoyang Chun《洛陽春》, called "Nakyang Chun" (낙양춘 / 洛陽春, "Spring in Luoyang") in Korean, has a text by the Northern Song poet Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072).
Score in jianpu, as reconstructed by David Badagnani in 2016, based on the reconstructions in staff notation by Jonathan Condit (1981 and 1984):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8442333@N05/30531284511/

Original instrumental score (for komungo, kayagum, and bipa), from chapter 6 of "Sogak Wŏnbo" (속악원보 / 俗樂源譜, the Original Source for Popular Music), which was compiled in the 19th century, during the late Joseon Dynasty, page 1 of 2:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8442333@N05/34474971196/

Original instrumental score (for komungo, kayagum, and bipa), from chapter 6 of "Sogak Wŏnbo" (속악원보 / 俗樂源譜, the Original Source for Popular Music), which was compiled in the 19th century, during the late Joseon Dynasty, page 2 of 2:

Video of the 16th-century version of "Luoyang Chun," performed by an ensemble from South Korea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6p3wERcbec
Recording of David Badagnani's reconstruction of "Luoyang Chun," performed by vocalist Xue Yu (于雪) and the Cleveland Chinese Music Ensemble of Cleveland, Ohio, United States, recorded live in performance at Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio, United States, October 2, 2011; the poem is first read aloud, in modern Mandarin Chinese, by Ms. Yu:
https://soundcloud.com/dbadagna/track-1
Video of the Carleton College Tang-Song Music Ensemble's performance of "Luoyang Chun" (video 1):
Video of the Carleton College Tang-Song Music Ensemble's performance of "Luoyang Chun" (video 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC1nKvrk_40 Buxuzi《步虛子》, also known as Buxuzi Ling《步虛子令》, has an anonymous text that is based in Daoist philosophy.
Video of the 16th-century version of "Buxuzi," performed by an ensemble from South Korea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf1KyiMFwhA

Two years later, in 1116, after a further request from King Yejong, Huizong sent another, even larger gift of musical instruments (numbering 428 in total) to the Goryeo court, this time being those used for yayue (雅乐, ritual music), beginning Korea's tradition of a-ak (아악 / 雅樂). This was the music Yejong had originally desired in his initial request of 1114, but he was sent yanyue (燕乐 or 宴乐, banquet music) instruments instead in that year.

Huizong's lavish gifts were most likely part of a campaign to seek Goryeo's favor in hopes of receiving military assistance against the Jurchens, who had united in 1114 and established the Jin Dynasty (金朝) in Northeast China the following year.  Goryeo remained steadfastly neutral, however, and the Northern Song Dynasty fell to the forces of the Jurchen-led Jin Dynasty on January 9, 1127.  It is believed that most of the considerable number of musical scores and lyrics held in the palace library in the Song capital of Bianjing (汴京, modern-day Kaifeng, Henan) were destroyed in the sacking of the city.

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 Dasheng Yuepu

The Dasheng Yuepu 《大晟乐谱》 (Dasheng Music Scores), called Daeseong Akseo 『대성악서』 in Korean, compiled by a Chinese scholar named Lin Yu (林宇, called Im U 임우 in Korean) in 1349, during the late Yuan Dynasty, contains a set of 16 ritual songs. This obscure book, which was preserved only in Korea, no copy surviving to the present in China, is named for the Dasheng Institute (Dasheng Fu, 大晟府) of the early 12th century (late Northern Song Dynasty), which was founded by the Song Emperor Huizong in 1105, and the ritual melodies notated therein are said to be those used by that institution.

More information about this source:
http://earlychinesemusic.blogspot.com/2017/03/early-chinese-music-resources-yuan.html

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Historical reference works about the music of the Northern Song Dynasty

Northern Song-era musical reference works include the following:

● Taiping Guangji《太平广记》(Extensive Records of the Taiping Era)
Taiping Guangji is a collection of stories compiled in the early Northern Song Dynasty under imperial direction by the scholar and bureaucrat Li Fang (李昉, 925-996).  The work was completed in 978 and printing blocks were cut, but it was prevented from publication on the grounds that it contained only xiaoshuo (fiction or "insignificant tellings") and thus "was of no use to young students."  It survived in manuscript form until it was eventually published in the Ming Dynasty.  The collection, which is considered one of the Four Great Books of Song, is divided into 500 volumes and consists of about 3 million Chinese characters.  It includes about 7,000 stories selected from over 300 books and novels from the Han Dynasty to the early Song Dynasty, many of which have been lost.  Some stories are historical or naturalistic anecdotes, and each is replete with historical elements, and were not regarded by their authors as fiction, but the topics are mostly supernatural, about Buddhist and Taoist priests, immortals, ghosts, and various deities.  They include a number of Tang Dynasty stories, especially chuanqi (tales of wonder), that are famous works of literature in their own right, and also inspired later works.  Music is discussed in a great number of volumes (many more than those three labeled "Music").

● Taiping Yulan《太平御览》, an encyclopedia of general knowledge compiled by a committee of officials coordinated by Li Fang from 977 to 983
Considered one of the Four Great Books of Song, this huge leishu encyclopedia was commissioned by the imperial court of the Song dynasty during the first era of the reign of Emperor Taizong. It is divided into 1,000 volumes and 55 sections, which consist of about 4.7 million Chinese characters.  Music is covered in a section entitled "Music Division" (Yuebu, 乐部), beginning with Yuebu 1 (乐部一) in chapter 563 and ending with Yuebu 22 (乐部二十二) in chapter 584.
http://ctext.org/taiping-yulan/zhs
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hans/%E5%A4%AA%E5%B9%B3%E5%BE%A1%E8%A6%BD/0563
● Yuefu Shiji《乐府诗集》by Guo Maoqian (郭茂倩, 1041-1099)

● Mengxi Bitan《梦溪笔谈》(Dream Brook Essays) by Shen Kuo (沈括, 1031-1095; name sometimes romanized Shen Gua)
Completed after 1086 and published soon after, this work comprising 26 chapters includes wide-ranging discussions of music in chapters 5 and 6.
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hans/%E5%A4%A2%E6%BA%AA%E7%AD%86%E8%AB%87

● Yue Shu《乐书》(The Book of Music/Monograph on Music) by Chen Yang (陈旸, 1064-1128)
Completed in 1104 and consisting of 200 chapters, Yue Shu was the first Chinese encyclopedia of music.  Since then it has been published in many different editions.

 More information about Chen Yang from the website of John Thompson:

● Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian Shibu《续资治通鉴长编拾补》(Supplement to the Long Draft of the Continuation of Zizhi Tongjian [Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance]:  Lost Fragments)
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/01jtjcpsb/index.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/01jtjcpsb/033.htm

● Song Shi《宋史》(The History of Song)
The official history of the Song Dynasty (both Northern and Southern), comprising 496 chapters, Song Shi was completed in 1346 (actually during the late Yuan Dynasty).  It is one of the Twenty-Four Histories (二十四史).
http://www.guoxue123.com/Shibu/0101/00songsf/index.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/126.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/127.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/128.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/129.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/130.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/131.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/132.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/133.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/134.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/135.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/136.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/137.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/138.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/139.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/140.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/141.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/142.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/142.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/480.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00songsf/490.htm
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hans/%E5%AE%8B%E5%8F%B2

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 Bibliography
● Condit, Jonathan.  Music of the Korean Renaissance:  Songs and Dances of the Fifteenth Century.  Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 1984.
https://www.amazon.com/Music-Korean-Renaissance-Fifteenth-Century/dp/0521243998
● Condit, Jonathan. "Two Song-Dynasty Chinese Tunes Preserved in Korea." In Music and Tradition: Essays on Asian and Other Musics Presented to Laurence Picken, ed. D. R. Widdess and R. F. Wolpert. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981, pp. 1-39.
https://www.amazon.com/Music-Tradition-Essays-Presented-Laurence/dp/052110596X/
https://www.amazon.com/Music-Tradition-Essays-Presented-Laurence/dp/0521224004/
● Provine, Robert C.  Essays on Sino-Korean Musicology:  Early Sources for Korean Ritual Music.  Seoul: Il Ji Sa, 1988.
● Lee, Hye-Ku.  Essays on Traditional Korean Music.  Translated and edited by Robert C. Provine.  Seoul:  Published for the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch by Seoul Computer Press, 1981.
● Pratt, Keith.  Everlasting Flower:  A History of Korea.  London:  Reaktion Books, 2007.
https://www.amazon.com/Everlasting-Flower-History-Keith-Pratt/dp/1861893353
● Thrasher, Alan R., ed.  Qupai in Chinese Music:  Melodic Models in Form and Practice.  New York and London:  Routledge, 2016.
https://www.amazon.com/Qupai-Chinese-Music-Routledge-Ethnomusicology/dp/1138936243

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Other links

● The Center for Song Dynasty Music Study (Song Dai Yinyue Yanjiu Zhongxin, 宋代音乐研究中心) at the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, Hangzhou
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/SmwRbs_yVyZBARdLvBc-fQ

● 2009 Symposium on Song Dynasty Music (Shanghai Conservatory of Music)
https://musicology.cn/papers/papers_5390.html
https://musicology.cn/news/news_5061.html (call for papers)

● 2013 Symposium on Song Dynasty Music (Shanghai)

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Song-era poems about music

 http://earlychinesemusic.blogspot.com/2018/09/poems-about-music-song.html

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 Thanks to Jianyu Huang, Patrick Huang, Lin Chiang-san, Youxuan Wang, and Yanchen Zhang for assistance with this page.

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