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7. The Yuefu Poems
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
- Chapter
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The Yuefu Poems "Melody comes from following the lengthening of the spoken word, and music is made by mixing the melodious." That then is what we mean by yuefu ("music department", "music house" - as the name ofthe institution, ofthe place, the music, the vocal music, the lyrics or poem related to or ultimately derived from such music). Where the endlessly repeated performance took place was in mid-heaven, in the abode of the gods; and the eight songs were sung in the days of the legendary emperor Getian, in primeval times. Ofthese, as ofHuangdi's Xianchi and Di Ku's Wuying, we no longer have knowledge. But we do know that "Waiting" sung by the Lady of Tushan marked the beginning of the southern music, Yousong's song of"Flying swallow" initiated the northern, eastern music arose in the sighs ofKongjia ofthe Xia dynasty for a disappointing son, western music in the musings of Zhengjia of the Shang in a mood of nostalgia.1 Thus the development ofmusic cannot be given a quick summary. The peasant man and the peasant woman chanted the songs of their land, the government collector came and picked their lyrics, the blind musician set them to music again, and passions gave life to strings and pipes, to chimers of jade and brazen bells. It was possible for Shikuang to detect the promise of victory or defeat, for Jizha to know the first inklings ofrise and fall, when these emanated from sincerity. For music proceeded from the mind, and penetrated to For details ofthese accounts, see "Yinchu" Chapter ofLiishi chunqiu in Zhuzijicheng (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1954) vol. 6, p. 58. 24 I The Book ofLiterary Design the marrow ofthe bones. The kings ofyore were cautious with music, and would stop up excesses and floodings; in educating the noble young they always harped on the nine virtues of polity. In these ways they ensured that their music moved man, earth, heaven and the four seasons, and touched and tamed the whole human world. When the classical music went into a decline, an indulgent music usurped its place. In the first years of the Han period attempts were made to restore the Music Classic that had been burned by the Qin, with Mr Zhi retrieving its music, Shusun Tong formalising its rituals. The Wude dance was as a result designed for the first Han emperor, the Sishi for the third. Although these were modelled on the Shao and Xia suites of antiquity they also came under the influence of the traditional music ofQin, and soul-soothing harmony was not to be discovered in them. Wudi the fifth emperor was a great promoter of the good life, and it was he who instituted the yuefu. The ditties of Zhao and Dai (of central China) were gathered together by the government, as were the airs of Qi and Chu (of the north-east and east). Zhu Maichen and Sima Xiangru composed songs in the style of the Li Sao, and Li Yannian made harmony with his mellifluous voice. But such songs as "Cassia" and "Red Geese" were, however attractive, not good. When Prince Xian presented ancient music to Wudi, it was basically rejected, and Wudi's own "Pegasus Song" was mocked at by Ji An. The seventh emperor Xuandi had a taste for orthodox poetry and wrote in the manner of the Shijing. But Yuandi and Chengdi who came immediately after again gave licence to the lascivious. It is clear that the insistence on orthodox music against popular preference is immensely difficult. In the later Han period the music oftemple and sacrifice was furnished with new lyrics. These were elegant but they were not matched with music of the calibre ofa Kui or a Shikuang. The three princely rulers of Wei, the three "progenitors", were all men of magnificent genius. They dissected old songs to make up sweet melodies in even tempi. But if you will consider such suites as "Travelling in the cold" and the "Northern songs", which describe feasts and drinking sessions, or picture the frontier soldiers' plight, you will see that their theme is invariably excessive and indulgent, their manner inescapably dolorous, so that even if they belong to the established conventions of yuefu they are a far cry from the nobility of Shao and Xia. In Jin times the musical Fu Xuan made new songs in praise ofhis forefathers, and Zhang Hua's fresh compositions were adopted for the Wan dance at court. Against the judgement...