Tang-era piece: Chunying Zhuan
《春鸎囀》
compiled by David Badagnani (rev. 26 June 2023)
In an effort to make this information more accessible, this document contains resources related to the Tang-era piece entitled Chunying Zhuan《春鸎囀》or《春鶯囀》(The Singing of Spring Warblers or The Spring Warbler's Song), which exists in the form of instrumental parts for a suite in the Mixolydian mode on D, called Yue diao (越調) in Chinese and Ichikotsu-chō (壹越調) in Japanese.
As preserved in Sino-Japanese sources, this piece is called Shunnō-den『春鸎囀（しゅんのうてん）』, and it appears in the following score collections:
1) and 2) Sango Yōroku and Jinchi Yōroku, both of which were compiled in the late 12th century
3) Ruisō Chiyō『類箏治要』(1296 or c. 1261)
According to Chinese historical sources (including Jiaofang Ji and Yuefu Shiji), this suite, which is classified in Japanese historical sources as "new music" (Chinese: 新樂, xin yue; Japanese: しんがく, shingaku), was composed by the court musician Bai Mingda (白明达), who was of Kuchean origin, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong (r. 628-683) in the early Tang Dynasty. Its movement entitled "Bird Tune" (Chinese: Niao Sheng, 鳥聲; Japanese: Tesshо̄) is believed to have been inspired by the song of a Japanese bush warbler (Horornis diphone cantans, called uguisu, 鶯, in Japanese) that Gaozong heard once at dawn, then commanded Bai Mingda to copy it.
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Chinese historical sources mentioning Chunying Zhuan
● Jiaofang Ji《教坊记》(The Conservatory Records)
A collection of short essays by the Tang Dynasty scholar Cui Lingqin (崔令钦, fl. 749). The title appears as《春鶯囀》.
● Jiegu Lu《羯鼓錄》
Jiegu Lu is a book on music in two parts by Nan Zhuo (南卓, fl. 848-850). The first part was completed in 848 and the second in 850. This piece appears as Huangying Zhuan《黃鶯囀》
● Tang Huiyao《唐会要》(Institutional History of Tang) This history of the Tang Dynasty, comprising 100 volumes and 514 sections, was compiled by Wang Pu (王溥, 922-982) and presented to Emperor Taizu, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, in 961. This piece is mentioned in volume 33, where it appears as Chunying Zhuan Chui《春鶯囀吹》.
● Yuefu Shiji《乐府诗集》by Guo Maoqian (郭茂倩, 1041-1099)
The title appears in volume 47 as Huangying《黃纓》.
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Chinese poems and poetic lyrics mentioning Chunying Zhuan
《和李校书新题乐府十二首 其五 法曲》
作者：元稹（中唐）
by Yuan Zhen (mid-Tang Dynasty, 779-831)
吾闻黄帝鼓清角，弭伏熊罴舞玄鹤。
舜持干羽苗革心，尧用咸池凤巢阁。
大夏濩武皆象功，功多已讶玄功薄。
汉祖过沛亦有歌，秦王破阵非无作。
作之宗庙见艰难，作之军旅传糟粕。
明皇度曲多新态，宛转侵淫易沈著。
赤白桃李取花名，霓裳羽衣号天落。
雅弄虽云已变乱，夷音未得相参错。
自从胡骑起烟尘，毛毳腥膻满咸洛。
女为胡妇学胡妆，伎进胡音务胡乐。
火凤声沈多咽绝，春莺啭罢长萧索。
胡音胡骑与胡妆，五十年来竞纷泊。
* * * * * * * * *
《杂曲歌辞 春莺啭》
作者：张祜（唐）
by Zhang Hu (Tang Dynasty, c. 785-c. 849)
兴庆池南柳未开，太真先把一枝梅。
内人已唱春莺啭，花下傞傞软舞来。
《荆南席上咏胡琴妓二首》
Two Poems [About] Courtesans Singing [to the Accompaniment of] Barbarian Lutes at a Banquet in the [State of] Jingnan (Jingnan Xi Shang Yong Huqin Ji, Er Shou)
作者：王仁裕（唐末五代十国）
by Wang Renyu (late Tang Dynasty/Five Dynasties, 880-956)
其一
红妆齐抱紫檀槽，一抹朱弦四十条。
The red-made-up [ladies] together embrace [their instruments'] violet sandalwood soundboxes,
作者：王仁裕（唐末五代十国）
by Wang Renyu (late Tang Dynasty/Five Dynasties, 880-956)
其一
红妆齐抱紫檀槽，一抹朱弦四十条。
The red-made-up [ladies] together embrace [their instruments'] violet sandalwood soundboxes,
Each stroke on the vermilion strings [seemingly multiplied by] forty.
湘水凌波惭鼓瑟，秦楼明月罢吹箫。
[Amid the] rippling waves of the Xiang River, [the Goddesses] are too embarrassed to play the se,
While in the Tower of Qin, under a bright moon, [Nongyu and Xiao Shi] give up blowing their xiao.
寒敲白玉声偏婉，暖逼黄莺语自娇。
寒敲白玉声偏婉，暖逼黄莺语自娇。
Cold taps on white jade [produce] a sound of rare and delicate beauty,
Warmly compelling the golden oriole to chirp sweetly to himself.
丹禁旧臣来侧耳，骨清神爽似闻韶。
丹禁旧臣来侧耳，骨清神爽似闻韶。
In the cinnabar-painted Forbidden Palace, aged ministers incline their ears to listen,
[Their] bones cleansed and spirits refreshed, as if listening to the most sublime of ceremonies.
其二
玉纤挑落折冰声，散入秋空韵转清。
Delicate jade-white [fingers] flick upwards, then drop down, [producing] a sound like the snapping of ice,
Delicate jade-white [fingers] flick upwards, then drop down, [producing] a sound like the snapping of ice,
Scattering into the autumn sky with lingering echoes that fade into nothingness.
二五指中句塞雁，十三弦上啭春莺。
二五指中句塞雁，十三弦上啭春莺。
[With the player's] two sets of five fingers [moving] amidst a curving line of wild geese from the northern frontier,
[She conjures] the twittering of spring warblers on [her] thirteen strings.
谱从陶室偷将妙，曲向秦楼写得成。
谱从陶室偷将妙，曲向秦楼写得成。
The score, stolen from the pottery studio, is eminently exquisite and profound;
Its melody, emanating from the Tower of Qin, is expressed in a fine and accomplished manner.
无限细腰宫里女，就中偏惬楚王情。
无限细腰宫里女，就中偏惬楚王情。
Immeasurably slender are the waists of the women in the palace,
And there is about them an uncommonly uninhibited and carefree [air that could] arouse the King of Chu's desire.
Notes:
● Jingnan (荆南), also known as Nanping (南平), was a small dynastic state with its capital at Jingzhou (荆州, modern-day south-central Hubei), which existed from 924 to 963, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
● "Huqin" (胡琴) refers here to plucked (rather than bowed) lutes of Central Asian, Turkic, or Middle Eastern origin.
● Silk musical instrument strings of the highest quality, called zhu xian (朱弦, literally "cinnabar/vermilion strings"), were red in color.
● The reference to the Xiang River is an allusion to the Goddesses of the Xiang River. According to Bowu Zhi by Zhang Hua (张华, 232-300) of the Jin Dynasty, the legendary Chinese Emperor Shun (舜, who is said to have lived sometime between 2294 BC and 2184 BC) made an inspection tour of the south and died suddenly of an illness while in Cangwu, near the Xiang River in eastern Guangxi. His wives Ehuang (娥皇) and Nüying (女英), the daughters of the legendary Emperor Yao, raced there and wailed in sorrow by the river for days, then drowned themselves, becoming the Goddesses of the Xiang River (Xiang Shui Shen, 湘水神), who are said to have played the se (瑟), a 25-stringed bridge zither that has been used in China to play court and ritual music since ancient times. Qu Yuan's "Goddess of the Xiang River" and "Lady of Xiang" from the Chu Ci are likely based on this folklore. The Xiang flowed into Dongting Lake through the ancient kingdom of Chu, whose songs in their worship have been recorded in a work attributed to Qu Yuan.
● The reference to the Tower of Qin is an allusion to the legend of Xiao Shi (萧史) and Nongyu (弄玉), the son-in-law and daughter of Duke Mu of Qin (秦穆公, r. 659 BC-621 BC, during the Spring and Autumn Period. According to the legend, after the couple had retired to the seclusion of the middle peak of Mount Hua, one day Nongyu took her jade sheng and mounted a colorful phoenix, and Xiao Shi took his jade xiao and stepped onto a golden dragon. For a time, the dragon and the phoenix flew into the air. The so-called Tower of Qin (Qin Lou, 秦楼) was built by Duke Mu of Qin for his daughter Nongyu, and this term eventually acquired the additional metaphorical meaning of "brothel" (a place where music was often performed). It seems likely that, in the first of the two poems, the original (historical) meaning is intended, whereas in the second poem the same term is used metaphorically to refer to the area of the Jingnan palace occupied by female courtesan-musicians.
● "Wen shao" (闻韶) is an allusion to the famous anecdote from the Analects in which Confucius was so overwhelmed by the beauty of the Shao (韶) ritual music of the State of Qi that "for three months he did not know the taste of meat."
● "Wild geese" (yan, 雁) refers to the bridges of the zheng, which are lined up in a diagonal row like a flock of wild geese in flight, and "thirteen strings" is a metonymic reference to the zheng (筝), a bridge zither with 12 or 13 silk strings, which enjoyed great popularity in the court music of the Tang Dynasty.
● The reference to the King of Chu is an allusion to King Ling of Chu (Chu Ling Wang, 楚灵王), the king of the State of Chu between 540 and 529 BC, with his capital at Ying (郢) near Jingzhou (荆州, modern-day south-central Hubei). Lecherous by nature, he was famously fond of beauties with extremely thin waists, causing many of them to starve themselves in order to remain in his favor. In the sixth year of his reign, he spent extravagantly to build his grand Zhanghua Palace (章华宫), where he lived a life of luxury, feasting and enjoying music and dance performances by a vast array of court maidens day and night. A chengyu (4-character idiom) dating to the Yuan Dynasty, "Chu Guan Qin Lou" (楚馆秦楼), memorializes this king's reputation, using "Qin Lou" (秦楼) in its metaphorical sense to indicate that his palace was in essence a huge brothel.
题注：一作奉使荆南高从诲筵上听弹胡琴
其一：《十国春秋·高从诲世家注》载首二句，云是从诲作。
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Videos and recordings of Chunying Zhuan
● Recording of Chunying Zhuan (the full 10-movement suite), as supervised by Laurence Picken and performed by a small ensemble of gagaku instruments, with female vocalist (probably Tokyo, Japan, perhaps c. 1972)
https://sounds.bl.uk/search?q=Shunn%C5%8Dden
● Studio recording of a movement of Chunying Zhuan by the Shanghai Chinese Ancient Music Ensemble (Shanghai, 1988); Chunying Zhuan starts at 29:14
● Studio recording of a movement of Chunying Zhuan by the Shanghai Chinese Ancient Music Ensemble (Shanghai, 1988); Chunying Zhuan starts at 29:14
● Cross-cultural performance of a movement of Chunying Zhuan by the Eurasia Consort (Seattle, 2016)
● Performance, with dance, of a movement of Chunying Zhuan by Xu Ge and his ensemble (China, 2019)
● Performance, with dance, of a movement of Chunying Zhuan by Xu Ge and his ensemble, with dance (China, 2019)
● Performance of a movement of Chunying Zhuan by Xu Ge and his ensemble (Weihai, Shandong province, China, 2020)
● Performance, with dance, of a movement of Chunying Zhuan by Xu Ge and his ensemble (Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China, 2020)
● Performance of a movement of Chunying Zhuan by Xu Ge and his ensemble (Beijing, 2021)
● Full-ensemble realization of Chunying Zhuan, done by Tokinori Yanagita using synthesized sounds (Japan, 2021)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdWsw4JvrnI
● Full-ensemble realization of Chunying Zhuan, done by Tokinori Yanagita using synthesized sounds, revised version (Japan, 2021)
● Four movements from Chunying Zhuan, performed on bili and heng di by Bilibili user Beilin Zhai Zhuren (北林斋主人) (China, 2021)
● Full-ensemble realization of Chunying Zhuan, done by Tokinori Yanagita using synthesized sounds, revised version 2, with the modes of some movements changed (Japan, 2022)
● Ensemble version of Chunying Zhuan, performed by Bilibili user Beilin Zhai Zhuren (北林斋主人) (China, 2022)
● Realization of the pipa part of two movements of Chunying Zhuan by Bilibili user 雪狼的天空 using synthesized sounds (China, 2022)
● The ru po movement of Chunying Zhuan, performed on bili and heng di by Bilibili user Beilin Zhai Zhuren (北林斋主人) (China, 2023)
● The ru po movement of Chunying Zhuan, performed by Bilibili user Beilin Zhai Zhuren (北林斋主人), bili and heng di (China, 2023)
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Bibliography
● Laurence Picken, ed., with Rembrandt F. Wolpert, Allan J. Marett, Jonathan Condit, and Elizabeth J. Markham, and with Yōko Mitani and Noël J. Nickson. Music from the Tang Court, vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
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Thanks to Qihan Liu for assistance with this page.
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