Sunday, July 24, 2022

Musical instrument: wuxian pipa (五絃琵琶)

Musical instrument:  wuxian pipa
(五絃琵琶)
compiled by David Badagnani (rev. 22 August 2023)
Detail of mural depicting a standing musician playing a wuxian pipa.  Tang Dynasty (618-907).  From the tomb of Yan Fei, or Consort Yan (燕妃墓, 609-671), part of the Zhaoling Mausoleum (昭陵唐墓) complex, the burial place of Emperor Taizong of Tang (唐太宗, 598-649; r. 626-649), the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, located at Jiuzong Mountain (九嵕山), 76 km northwest of Xi'an, near Liquan County (礼泉县), Shaanxi province (陕西省), northwest China. "Zhao" (昭) means "the light of the sun," "ling" (陵) means "grave mound of an emperor," and Jiuzong Shan (九嵕山) literally means "Nine-Crest Mountain").  The Zhaoling Mausoleum, built for Emperor Taizong of Tang, is the largest royal mausoleum in the world.

In an effort to make this information more accessible, this document contains resources related to the Chinese musical instrument called wuxian pipa (五絃琵琶, literally "five-stringed pipa"), also known as wuxian (五絃) or wuxian qin (五絃琴)--a pear-shaped lute with five strings and four (or sometimes five) raised frets--as documented in the Chinese historical record.

The wuxian pipa, whose pegbox is straight rather than bent backwards as is the case for the quxiang pipa (曲項琵琶, literally "bent-necked pipa"), appears in iconography in India in the second century AD; in India it was called kacchapi (Sanskrit: कच्छपी), deriving from a term meaning "female tortoise" or a kind of small tortoise; the related term kacchapa (कच्छप) means "tortoise" or "turtle." It was introduced to China from Central Asia during the first few centuries AD, during which time it enjoyed popularity in Central Asian states such as Sogdiana.

As transmitted to Japan, the wuxian pipa is called gogen-biwa (五絃琵琶 / ごげんびわ).  As of the late 20th century, both the wuxian pipa and gogen-biwa have been revived by some period ensembles for the reconstructive performance of Tang-era music.

The wuxian pipa's four raised frets were placed so that the first fret is a whole step (c. 200 cents) above the nut, with the remaining three frets each being a half step (c. 100 cents) above the first fret.  Including open strings, this allows for the production of 20 pitches (some being unisons), and the notation system in use since at least the 7th century uses twenty different tablature symbols to represent these pitches.  Unlike the modern pipa, string bending was not used.

The origin of the word pipa (originally spelled 枇杷, and pronounced biba in Middle Chinese) is explained in the "Explanation of Musical Instruments" (Shi Yueqi, 释乐器) section of the Shiming《释名》(Explanation of Names), a dictionary employing phonological glosses from c. 200 AD, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, as follows:
「枇杷，本出於胡中，馬上所鼓也。推手前曰枇，引手卻曰杷。象其鼓時，因以為名也。」
The pipa originated from the Western barbarians, who played the instrument while on horseback.  Pushing [the plucking hand] outward is called "pi," while drawing [the plucking hand] inward is called "pa."  That's [what the instrument sounds] like when it is played, hence the name.
Note that, at the time the Shiming was written, the term pipa referred to a long-necked fretted lute with round (moon-shaped) body, which would later be known as Qin pipa (秦琵琶), ruanxian (阮咸), or yueqin (月琴).

Fengsu Tongyi《风俗通义》(Comprehensive Meaning of Customs and Mores or Comprehensive Meaning of Customs and Habits), from 195 AD, during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, contains the following passage describing the pipa:

批把

謹按：此近世樂家所作，不知誰也。以手批把，因以為名。長三尺五寸，法天地人與五行，四絃象四時。


Links to textual sources are highlighted in green.

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Historical tunings documented for the wuxian pipa

This is the list of historical tunings used by the wuxian pipa given by Wolpert:

1) EBdf♯a
2) EBdeA
3) DAdea
4) F♯Bdf♯a

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Chinese historical reference works discussing the wuxian pipa

● Tongdian《通典》(Comprehensive Institutions)
Written by Tang scholar and historian Du You (杜佑, 735-812) between 766 and 801, Tongdian mentions the wuxian pipa in many sections.
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E9%80%9A%E5%85%B8#.E6.A8.82.E5.85.B8
http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/01tdf/index.htm

● Yuefu Zalu《乐府杂录》(Miscellaneous Notes Regarding the Music Bureau)
A collection of small essays (biji, 笔记) by the scholar Duan Anjie (段安节, fl. 880-898), published around 890 near the end of the Tang Dynasty. This work survives in no fewer than 23 different editions. An extensively annotated German translation was published by Martin Gimm (b. 1930) in 1966. It includes a brief section on the wuxian pipa, which is referred to simply as "wuxian."

● Jiu Tang Shu《旧唐书》(The Old Book of Tang), also known simply as Tang Shu 《唐书》 (The Book of Tang)
This historical work in 200 volumes was completed in 945, actually during the Later Jin (后晋) Dynasty, one of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (五代十国) period following the fall of the Tang Dynasty.  It is one of the Twenty-Four Histories (二十四史).

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Chinese poems mentioning the wuxian pipa

《琵琶》
Pipa
作者：无名氏（唐）
Anonymous (Tang Dynasty)

粉胸绣臆谁家女，香拨星星共春语。
This woman with white-powdered chest and embroidery-graced bosom, to whose household does she [belong]?
Her fragrant plectrum, in scintillating style, [evokes] a tête-à-tête between lovers in spring.
七盘岭上走鸾铃，十二峰头弄云雨。
Across Qipan Ridge, luan bells walk,
As the Twelve Peaks conjure clouds and rain.
千悲万恨四五弦，弦中甲马声骈阗。
[She pours out] a thousand sorrows and ten thousand regrets on [her instrument's] four or five strings,
And on these strings [she produces] the sound of armored horses riding two abreast.
山僧扑破琉璃钵，壮士击折珊瑚鞭。
A mountain-dwelling monk smites a glass bowl,
And a warrior cracks a coral whip.
珊瑚鞭折声交戛，玉盘倾泻真珠滑。
As the coral whip cracks, it sounds "khau-khat,"
While pearls, poured out onto a jade plate, skitter smoothly.
海神驱趁夜涛回，江娥蹙踏春冰裂。
The sea god urges on [his dragons], and nocturnal waves swirl;
The River Maidens tread and trample, and the spring ice cracks.
满坐红妆尽泪垂，望乡之客不胜悲。
Teardrops fall from the [eyes of] all the red-made-up beauties in attendance;
Being far from home and longing for their hometowns [is an] unbearable sorrow.
曲终调绝忽飞去，洞庭月落孤云归。
At the piece's end, the tune breaks off as if suddenly floating away;
The moon sets [over] Dongting [Lake], and a solitary cloud returns.

Notes:

● "Fragrant plectrum" (Chinese:  long xiang bo, 龙香拨) refers to a pipa plectrum made from a material called long xiang mu (龙香木, literally "dragon incense wood").  "星星" (pronounced "seng-seng" in Middle Chinese) was probably intended by the poet as onomatopoeic as well as metaphorical.
● Qipan Ridge (Chinese:  Qipan Ling, 七盘岭), also known as Wupan Ridge (Chinese:  Wupan Ling, 五盘岭) or the Qipan Mountains (Chinese:  Qipan Shan, 七盘山), was located in modern-day Guangyuan, northeastern Sichuan, and was part of Ba Prefecture (Chinese:  Bazhou, 巴州) during the Tang Dynasty.
● Luan bells are a set of bells that were attached to the bridles of horses (especially those of cavalry regiments) or the crossbars in the front of horse-drawn vehicles, which were said to produce a sound like the chirping of the mythical luan (鸾) bird.  This is probably a reference to the mountain goddess Yaoji (瑶姬), also known as Wushan Shennü (巫山神女), who in the poem Shennü Fu《神女赋》(Rhapsody on the Goddess), which is attributed to the Late Warring States poet Song Yu (宋玉, c. 298 BC-c. 222 BC), but which is probably by a later author, rings luan bells upon taking her leave from King Qingxiang of Chu (楚顷襄王, r. 298 BC-263 BC).
● The Twelve Peaks (Chinese:  Shi'er Feng, 十二峰) refers to the twelve peaks of Wushan (巫山, literally "Shaman Mountains"), on the border between eastern Sichuan (modern-day northeastern Chongqing) and western Hubei, at the western entrance to Wu Gorge (Chinese:  Wu Xia, 巫峡), the second of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.  Of these twelve peaks, the tallest, Goddess Peak (Chinese:  Shennü Feng, 神女峰), was believed to be the abode of the goddess Yaoji (瑶姬), also known as Wushan Shennü (巫山神女), who at daybreak took the form of morning clouds, and each dusk into driving rain.  A legendary story about the meeting, in a dream of King Huai of Chu (楚怀王, r. 328 BC-299 BC), with this goddess is recounted memorably in two poems attributed to the Late Warring States poet Song Yu (宋玉, c. 298 BC-c. 222 BC), but which are probably by a later author:  Gaotang Fu《高唐赋》(Rhapsody on the Gaotang Shrine) and Shennü Fu《神女赋》(Rhapsody on the Goddess), and the sexual liason described therein inspired the idiom yunyu (云雨, literally "clouds and rain"), which is a euphemistic metaphor for lovemaking between men and women.  By the Tang Dynasty (and in particular in the works of the poet Yuan Zhen), references to the Wushan Goddess were used as a literary device indicating eroticism.
● "Coral whip" (Chinese:  shanhu bian, 珊瑚鞭) refers to a horsewhip whose handle is decorated with precious red coral gemstones.  An implement called a "seven-treasure whip" (Chinese:  qi bao bian, 七宝鞭) is described in Jin Shu《晋书》(The Book of Jin), the official history of the Jin Dynasty (266-420), and the coral whip (as a variety of seven-treasure whip) is mentioned in numerous poems dating to the Southern Dynasties and Tang periods.
● "Sea god" probably refers to Yu Qiang (禺强), the legendary god of the northern sea, wind, and plague, who was associated with the Chu culture.  According to the Shan Hai Jing《山海经》(Classic of Mountains and Seas), a compendium of mythological lore from pre-Qin China, Yu Qiang had a human face and a bird's body, with a pair of green snakes decorating his ears, and he traveled astride a pair of large red snakes (which are often interpreted as snake-like dragons).
● "River Maidens" (Chinese:  Jiang'e, 江娥) is another name for the Goddesses of the Xiang River (the daughters of the legendary Emperor Yao, who drowned themselves in the Xiang River out of grief upon the death of their husband, the legendary Chinese Emperor Shun), who are called Xiang Jun (湘君) in Chinese.
● The Xiang River, which flows generally northeast through the provinces of Guangxi and Hunan, flowed into Dongting Lake (located in northeastern Hunan, near the border with Hubei) through the ancient kingdom of Chu, whose songs in the worship of the Goddesses of the Xiang River have been recorded in a work attributed to the Warring States-period poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BC-278 BC).

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《秦中吟十首 其八 五弦（一作五弦琴）》
作者：白居易（唐） 
by Bai Juyi (Tang Dynasty, 772-846)

清歌且罢（一作停）唱，红袂亦停舞。
赵叟抱五弦，宛转当胸（一作胸前）抚。
大声粗（一作徂）若散，飒飒风和雨。
小声细欲绝，切切鬼神语。
又如鹊报喜，转作猿啼苦。
十指无定音，颠倒宫徵（一作商）羽。
坐客闻此声，形神若无主。
行客闻此声，驻足不能举。
嗟嗟俗人耳，好今不好古。
所以绿（一作北）窗琴，日日生尘土。

More information:

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《新乐府 五弦弹－恶郑之夺雅也》
New Yuefu [Poem]:  Five Strings Plucked:  Truly Disgusted by Zheng's Usurpation of the Elegant and Refined
(Xin Yuefu:  Wu Xian Tan, Wu Zheng Zhi Duo Ya Ye)
作者：白居易（唐） 
by Bai Juyi (Tang Dynasty, 772-846)

五弦弹，五弦弹，听者倾耳心寥寥。
Five strings plucked, five strings plucked,
As the listeners tilt their ears, hearts filled with loneliness.
赵璧知君入骨爱，五弦一一为君调。
Zhao Bi knew his gentle listeners loved [this music] in their bones,
So he tuned his five strings for them, one by one.
第一第二弦索索，秋风拂松疏韵落。
The first and second strings whispered,
As an autumn breeze whisks the pines, creating a quietly graceful effect.
第三第四弦泠泠，夜鹤忆子笼中鸣。
The third and fourth strings were crisp and clear,
Like a nocturnal crane pining for her son, now singing in a cage.
第五弦声最掩抑，陇水冻咽流不得。
The fifth string's sound was the most covered of all,
Like the Long River with its frozen throat, which allows no flow.
五弦并奏君试听，凄凄切切复铮铮。
When all five strings were played together, we gave a careful listen,
Hearing chill misery intercut with pressing urgency and reverberant clangor.
铁击珊瑚一两曲，冰泻玉盘千万声。
For the first piece or two, it sounded like iron striking coral,
Then ice gushing onto a jade plate, making ten million sounds.
铁声杀，冰声寒。
The iron sounded deadly, and the ice sounded cold.
杀声入耳肤血憯，寒气中人肌骨酸。
As these slaughterous sounds entered my ears, my skin and blood were pierced with sorrow;
A chill enveloped my person, and my muscles and bones were permeated by sourness.
曲终声尽欲半日，四坐相对愁无言。
As the melody ended and the sound died away, a time that seemed like it might last for half a day,
Those seated throughout the space faced one another, filled with sadness and without a word.
座中有一远方士，唧唧咨咨声不已。
In one seat there was a gentleman from a faraway place,
Uttering praise in an incessant stream.
自叹今朝初得闻，始知孤负平生耳。
He sighed to himself:  "Today is the first time I have had the opportunity to listen [to this music],
And only now am I aware of the fact that my ears have been waiting in vain for it for my whole life."
唯忧赵璧白发生，老死人间无此声。
"I only worry that Zhao Bi will grow white hair;
Once he grows old and dies people will no longer be able to hear these sounds."
远方士，尔听五弦信为美，吾闻正始之音不如是。
Gentleman from afar, you have listened to the five strings and believed them to be beautiful, but I have heard that the Correct Beginning Music was not like this.
正始之音其若何，朱弦疏越清庙歌。
So what was the Correct Beginning Music like?
Vermilion strings produced a depth and transcendence like the purest temple song.
一弹一唱再三叹，曲澹节稀声不多。
A single pluck or sung note could call forth three sighs of praise;
Its melodies were tranquil, its rhythms sparse, and its sounds few.
融融曳曳召元气，听之不觉心平和。
Happy and harmonious, gently floating and fluttering, it induced vigor and vitality,
And listening to it, one couldn't help but feel their heart at peace.
人情重今多贱古，古琴有弦人不抚。
But human sentiments are much cheaper today than they were in the past,
And if presented with an ancient qin (even one properly strung), people wouldn't touch it.
更从赵璧艺成来，二十五弦不如五。
After having experienced Zhao Bi's artistic achievements,
It's clear that 25 strings can't compare to five.

More information:

Zheng (卫) and Wei (郑) were states during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, whose music was disparaged by some conservative Confucians as immoderate or lascivious; "the music of Zheng and Wei" subsequently became an idiom referring to vulgar "popular" music used for superficial entertainment or sensual pleasure rather than moral cultivation.

Notes:

More information:

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《五弦行》
作者：韦应物（唐）
by Wei Yinwu (Tang Dynasty, c. 737-c. 792)

美人为我弹五弦，尘埃忽静心悄然。
古刀幽磬初相触，千珠贯断落寒玉。
中曲又不喧，徘徊夜长月当轩。
如伴风流萦艳雪，更逐落花飘御园。
独凤寥寥有时隐，碧霄来下听还近。
燕姬有恨楚客愁，言之不尽声能尽。
末曲感我情，解幽释结和乐生。
壮士有仇未得报，拔剑欲去愤已平。
夜寒酒多愁遽明。

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《和李校书新题乐府十二首·五弦弹》
(Wu Xian Tan)
作者：元稹（中唐）
by Yuan Zhen (mid-Tang Dynasty, 779-831)

赵璧五弦弹徵调，徵声巉绝何清峭。
辞雄皓鹤警露啼，失子哀猿绕林啸。
风入春松正凌乱，莺含晓舌怜娇妙。
呜呜暗溜咽冰泉，杀杀霜刀涩寒鞘。
促节频催渐繁拨，珠幢斗绝金铃掉。
千靫鸣镝发胡弓，万片清球击虞庙。
众乐虽同第一部，德宗皇帝常偏召。
旬休节假暂归来，一声狂杀长安少。
主第侯家最难见，挼歌按曲皆承诏。
水精帘外教贵嫔，玳瑁筵心伴中要。
臣有五贤非此弦，或在拘囚或屠钓。
一贤得进胜累百，两贤得进同周召。
三贤事汉灭暴彊，四贤镇岳宁边徼。
五贤并用调五常，五常既叙三光耀。
赵璧五弦非此贤，九九何劳设庭燎。

Notes:

引用典故：三贤事汉

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Historical specimens

Front and back of the antique inlaid Tang Dynasty 5-stringed pipa (螺鈿紫檀五絃琵琶 / らでんしたんのごげんびわ) in the collection of the Shōsōin Repository (正倉院) in Nara, Japan.  This instrument was probably made in China and presented to the Japanese court in the 8th century.

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Bibliography

● Nelson, Steven G. スティーヴン・G・ネルソン.  "Gogen-fu shinkō:  Omo ni gogen-biwa no jūsei oyobi chōgen ni tsuite"「五絃譜新考一主に五絃琵琶の柱制及び調絃について一」 [The Gogen-fu, a Japanese Heian-Period Tablature Score for Five-Stringed Lute:  Concentrating on the Fret System and Tunings of the Instrument].  Tōyō ongaku kenkyū 『東洋音楽研究』[Journal of the Society for Research in Asiatic Music], vol. 50 (1986):  pp. 13-76.  [Contains a detailed English summary of sections 4 through 9.]
● Nelson, Steven G.  "Issues in the Interpretation of Notation for East Asian Lutes (Pipa/Biwa) as Preserved in Scores of the Eighth to Twelfth Centuries."  Nihon Ongakushi Kenkyū:  Studies in the Historiography of Japanese Music, vol. 8 (September 2012), pp. 1-41.
● Wolpert, R. F.  "The Five-Stringed Lute in East Asia."  Musica Asiatica, vol. 3 (1981), pp. 97-106.
● Wolpert, R. F.  "A Ninth-Century Score for Five-Stringed Lute."  Musica Asiatica, vol. 3 (1981), pp. 107-135.

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Glossary

● 拨子 (bozi) - plectrum used for plucking the strings of the wuxian pipa and other lutes
● 琵琶槽 (pipa cao, literally "pipa trough") - the hollow soundbox/resonator of a wuxian pipa, forming the instrument's back, which was usually carved from a single block of hardwood

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Thanks to Lin Chiang-san for assistance with this page.

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