Poetry on the Qin
——Su Shi
If there is sound on the qin, why won’t it sound when placed in the box?
If the words are on your fingertips, why not listen to them on your fingertips?
Appreciation
Wei Yingwu of the Tang Dynasty wrote a poem "Listening to the sound of Jialing River water sent to the master": "The rocks drilled to release the rushing water are called the traces of the ancient god Yu. Ye Xuan Mountain I am alone in the store. The water is still in the clouds, and there is no sound in the stone. How can the two stir up, and the thunder turns to the sky and the mountain is shocked? This writer has doubts about the relationship between water and stone. Comprehension is also the same as Su Shi's Qin Zhi. This is actually a profound philosophical question, because from the perspective of Buddhism, everything is caused by the combination of causes and conditions, and things only exist because of the connection between them. That is to say, the so-called "four majors", Volume 5 of "Golden Guangming Sutra of the Most Victorious King" says: "For example, the organs are changed by karma, and the earth, fire, water, wind, etc. become the body. Following the causes and conditions, different results will occur, and they will conflict with each other in one place. Harmful, like four poisonous snakes with a basket. "The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment says: "Always think about this, I am in this body, the four elements are in harmony." The Shurangama Sutra once explained what "turbidity" is. For example, pure water has its original nature, that is, the relationship between dust and sand is blocked, and the two bodies are not consistent with each other. Some people in the world take the dust and throw it into pure water. The soil is blocked and the water is destroyed. , looks bubbly, and is called turbidity. That is to say, "turbidity" is formed by the interaction between dust and clear water. Another paragraph of discussion is more clear: "For example, harp, harp, and pipa, although they have wonderful sounds, without wonderful fingers, they will not be able to produce them." Su Shi's poem is simply the visualization of this passage.
Annotations to the poem
Literally, if the piano can make sounds on its own, then why does it lose its sound when placed in a box? If the sound is produced by the fingers, then why can't we put our ears close to our fingers and hear the music directly?
Su Shi’s thinking in this poem is: How does the piano make sound? In fact, the reason why the piano can play beautiful music requires not only the piano, but also the playing of human fingers. Only when the two complement each other can beautiful music be played.
The poem is very philosophical and full of Zen ideas. Buddhism regards existence as non-being, life as destruction, and pursues the soundless formlessness that never arises or diminishes. The reality of music is nothingness, so music does not matter whether it is real or not. We must "harmonize the soundless music, and take contentment as harmony" and "reverse hearing." Self-nature, nature becomes the supreme way." Through inner feelings, one can achieve self-sufficiency and realize the Zen way. "Inscribed on Shen Junqin" denies the relationship between the qin and the finger and the sound of music. Its thoughts are consistent with the "Shrangyan Sutra": "Sound has no cessation, and sound has no birth. The two circles of birth and death are separated, and this is always true." Connected.
It is worth noting that the relationship between the qin and the sound mentioned in the poem "Inscribed on Shen Junqin" is also a matter of image and meaning in qin music, which implies the meaning of "forgetting to say something with pride", and Tao Yuanming's "If you only know the fun in the piano, why bother to play the strings" has different meanings but the same purpose. "Meaning" is one of the most emphasized aesthetic categories in traditional Guqin aesthetics. The idea of ??"meaning" in qin music was first seen in Volume 5 of "Han Shi Wai Zhuan":
Confucius learned the qin from his teacher Xiangzi but did not advance. The teacher Xiangzi said: "Master, you can advance."
Confucius said: "Qiu has found its curve, but not its number."
There was a moment, and he said: "Master, you can enter."
Said: "Qiu has obtained the number, but not the meaning."
After a while, he replied: "Master, you can come in."
Said: "Qiu has already I have found his intention, but I have not found him yet.”
After a while, he replied, “Master, you can come in.”
He said, “Qiu has found him, but he has not yet found him. "It's like this."
You Jian said: "Looking far away, like a sea, like a wing, I must have this kind of joy! It's dim but dark, almost yet long, to rule the world and to rule the dynasty. Among the princes, he is King Wen!"
Master Xiangzi avoided the table and bowed again, saying: "Good! Master, I think this is King Wen's behavior." Therefore, Confucius understood King Wen's character.
The article records the process of Confucius learning "Wen Wang Cao", from getting its tune (melody) to getting its number (structure), then getting its meaning (implication), getting its person (being a person), and finally To achieve its kind (physical appearance). This is the first place where the aesthetic category of "meaning" is applied to Guqin music, and obtaining the inner meaning of music is regarded as an important stage of aesthetics. After that, "meaning" as an aesthetic category has always been used throughout subsequent guqin theory, and has had a significant impact on traditional guqin aesthetics. There is a wonderful discussion in Song Dynasty's "Qin Lun", which puts forward the aesthetic proposition that "playing the piano should not be painful", and believes that "most of the methods of playing the piano are based on complacency. Even if you don't forget to sleep and eat, you can't play only one or two pieces." Shen Kuo of the Song Dynasty praised Yihai's superb piano skills, and said that "Hai's skill does not lie in the sound, but his meaning and rhyme can be obtained from the sound, which is beyond the reach of others" ("Mengxi Bitan·Supplementary Tan") ) words.
Tao Yuanming's proposition "If you only know the interest in the piano, why bother to play the sound on the strings" also believes that the true meaning of music is not in the sound itself, but outside the sound, which expresses his pursuit of the meaning beyond the strings. An affirmation of the beauty of "no strings". Therefore, Guqin aesthetics attaches great importance to the relationship between image and meaning, and gradually forms a pattern in Guqin aesthetics that emphasizes meaning over image, pursuing the meaning beyond the strings as the highest state of Guqin performance.