Early Chinese Music Resources: Han
compiled by David Badagnani (rev. 25 December 2024)
In an effort to make it more accessible, this document contains resources related to the musical heritage of the Han Dynasty (汉朝, 206 BC-220 AD; also called "Former Han"), China's second imperial dynasty and its first long-lasting dynasty, which ruled China as a whole from 202 BC to 220 AD. The Han Dynasty is divided into two distinct periods: the Western Han (西汉, 202 BC-9 AD; also called "Later Han") and the Eastern Han (东汉, 25-220).
Links to textual sources are highlighted in green.
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Historical reference works about the music of the Han Dynasty
● Guanzi《管子》
Guanzi is an anonymously written text, originally comprising 86 chapters (although only 76 survive), which was compiled in the early Western Han Dynasty (although drawing on earlier texts dating to the Warring States period). Most of its chapters deal with government and the art of rulership, and music (including tuning theory) is discussed in several sections, most notably in Chapter 58, "Di Yuan" (地员), in which the sanfen sunyi (三分损益) tuning procedure, by which the twelve divisions of the octave are generated, is summarized.
● Han Shu《汉书》(The Book of Han), also called Qian Han Shu《前汉书》(Book of Former Han)
The official history of the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-9 AD; also called "Former Han"), which also covers the interregnum of the Xin Dynasty (新朝, 9-23), Han Shu was completed in 111, during the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is one of the Twenty-Four Histories (二十四史). Music is discussed in several volumes.
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/01hsyz/040.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/01hsyz/063.htm
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/01hsyz/063.htm
● Shiji《史记》(Records [of the Grand] Historian), also called Taishigong Shu 《太史公书》 (Book of the Grand Historian) or Taishigong Ji 《太史公记》 (Records of the Grand Historian)
The official history of China's pre-Han period, this text covers the world as it was then known to the Chinese, encompassing a 2,500-year period from the age of the legendary Yellow Emperor (黄帝, alleged to have reigned from 2698 BC to 2598 BC) to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (汉武帝, r. 141 BC-87 BC) in the author's own time, also including the Xia, Shang, Zhou, and Qin Dynasties. Shiji was completed c. 94 BC by the Western Han Dynasty historian Sima Qian (司马迁, c. 145 BC-c. 86 BC), after having been started by his father, Sima Tan (司马谈, c. 165 BC-110 BC), a Western Han historian and astrologer. It is one of the Twenty-Four Histories (二十四史). Music is discussed in several volumes.
● Shiming《释名》(Explanation of Names)
A dictionary employing phonological glosses, which is believed to date from c. 200 AD, during the Eastern Han Dynasty. There is controversy whether this dictionary's author was Liu Xi (刘熙, fl. c. 200 AD) or the more famous Liu Zhen (刘珍, d. 126 AD). The work includes a section entitled "Explanation of Musical Instruments" (Shi Yueqi, 释乐器).
https://ctext.org/shi-ming/shi-yue-qi
https://ctext.org/shi-ming/zh
● Fengsu Tongyi《风俗通义》(Comprehensive Meaning of Customs and Mores or Comprehensive Meaning of Customs and Habits)
Also known as Fengsu Tong《风俗通》, this book was written by the politician, writer, and historian Ying Shao (应劭), who was a long-time close associate of Cao Cao, around 195 AD, during the late Eastern Han Dynasty. The manuscript is similar to an almanac, which describes various strange and exotic matters of interest to the literati of the period, such as folk cultural practices, legends, mystical beliefs, and musical instruments. There were originally a total of 30 chapters, but only 10 remain. These chapters were recompiled by the Northern Song scientist Su Song (苏颂) from the works of Yu Zhongrong (庾仲容) and Ma Zong (马总). Some fragments of the lost chapters exist as quotations in other Chinese texts.
● Hou Han Shu《后汉书》(The Book of the Later Han)
The official history of the Eastern Han Dynasty (also called "Later Han"), covering the period from 6 to 189 AD, Hou Han Shu, which also covers the interregnum of the Xin Dynasty (新朝, 9-23), was compiled by Fan Ye (范晔, 398-445 or 446) and others in the 5th century, during the Liu Song Dynasty (420-479). It is one of the Twenty-Four Histories (二十四史). Music is discussed in several volumes.
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00hhsf/065.htm
https://www.guoxue123.com/Shibu/0101/00hhsf/108.htm
https://www.guoxue123.com/Shibu/0101/00hhsf/108.htm
● San Guo Zhi《三国志》(Records of the Three Kingdoms)
The official history of China's Three Kingdoms period, including the states of Wei (魏朝; also called Cao Wei 曹魏, 220-266), Shu (蜀; also called Shu Han, 蜀汉, 221-263), and Wu (吴; also called Eastern Wu 东吴 or Sun Wu 孙吴, 222-280), San Guo Zhi, which also covers the history of the late Eastern Han Dynasty (c. 184-220), was compiled for the most part by the historian Chen Shou (陈寿, 233-297), and the work was completed sometime between 263 and 280, during the Western Jin Dynasty. It is one of the Twenty-Four Histories (二十四史). Music is discussed in several volumes.
● Zizhi Tongjian 《资治通鉴》 (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance)
This massive reference work, which took 19 years to be completed, was published in 1084, during the Northern Song Dynasty. It covers 16 dynasties of Chinese history spanning nearly 1,400 years, including the Han Dynasty.
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/01zztjhz/044.htm
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Han-era poems about music
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Bibliography
● Brindley, Erica Fox. Music, Cosmology, and the Politics of Harmony in Early China. SUNY Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 2012. https://www.sunypress.edu/p-5363-music-cosmology-and-the-politic.aspx
● Goodman, Howard L., and Y. Edmund Lien. "A Third Century AD Chinese System of Di-Flute Temperament: Matching Ancient Pitch-Standards and Confronting Modal Practice." The Galpin Society Journal, vol. 62 (April 2009), pp. 3-24.
● Rom, Avital H. "Echoing Rulership—Understanding Musical References in the Huainanzi." Early China, vol. 40 (2017), pp. 125-165.
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Thanks to Patrick Huang, Yanjie Huang, and Lin Chiang-san for assistance with this page.
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