Early Chinese Music Resources: Northern Wei and Eastern Wei
compiled by David Badagnani (rev. 29 July 2022)
In an effort to make it more accessible, this document contains resources related to the musical heritage of the Northern Wei Dynasty (北魏, 386-534) and the Eastern Wei Dynasty (东魏, 534-550), two of the Northern Dynasties (北朝) during the Northern and Southern Dynasties (南北朝) period.
The Northern Wei Dynasty was founded by the Tuoba clan of the Mongolic Xianbei people, and ruled northern China. Described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change," the Northern Wei Dynasty is particularly noted for having unified northern China in 439; it was also a period of introduced foreign ideas such as Buddhism, which became firmly established. Many antiques and artworks from this period, both Daoist and Buddhist, have survived.
The Eastern Wei Dynasty was also ruled by the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei. It was followed by the Northern Qi Dynasty (北齐, 550-577), another of the Northern Dynasties.
Links to textual sources are highlighted in green.
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Historical reference works about the music of the Northern Wei Dynasty and Eastern Wei Dynasty
● Wei Shu 《魏书》 (The Book of Wei)
The official history of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Wei Shu was compiled from 551 to 554 by Wei Shou (魏收, 505, 506, or 507-572), during the Northern Qi period. It is one of the Twenty-Four Histories (二十四史). Music is discussed in several volumes.
● Nan Shi 《南史》 (History of the Southern Dynasties)
This 80-volume work covers the period from 420 to 589, primarily focusing on the Southern Dynasties (the Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang and Chen dynasties), but also including some information about the music of the Northern Dynasties. The book was started by Li Dashi and completed by his son Li Yanshou following the elder Li's death, sometime between 643 and 659, during the early Tang Dynasty. It is one of the Twenty-Four Histories (二十四史).
● Luoyang Qielan Ji 《洛阳伽蓝记》 (Record of Buddhist Temples in Luoyang)
A description of the capital city of Luoyang, especially of its Buddhist monasteries, during the Northern Wei period, written by the 6th-century official Yang Xuanzhi.http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0301/00lyjljz/index.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0301/00lyjljz/007.htm
● Bei Shi 《北史》 (History of the Northern Dynasties)
This historical work, comprising 100 volumes, covers the period from 386 to 618, including the histories of the Northern Wei, Western Wei, Eastern Wei, Northern Zhou, Northern Qi, and Sui dynasties, and also discusses the music of the "Western Regions" (西域, Xiyu, i.e., Central Asia). The book was started by Li Dashi and completed by his son Li Yanshou following the elder Li's death, sometime between 643 and 659, during the early Tang Dynasty. It is one of the Twenty-Four Histories (二十四史).
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Northern Wei- and Eastern Wei-era poems about music
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