CHAPTER 9
CHINESE THEORIES OF MUSIC
Traditionally, most Chinese theoretical writing on music was embedded in larger treatises that dealt with
history, philosophy or the rituals of the Confucian state. Since their authors were scholars, not
“professional” musicians, and since the purpose of the treatises was philosophical not practical, it is not
surprising to find that most traditional Chinese music theory is very far removed from the practical
concerns of the working musician. Though concepts such as pitch, scale and mode are discussed, it is their
cosmological significance that is usually the focus, not their practical manipulation in actual pieces of
music. Thus prior to the 20th century we know comparatively little about how a working musician thought
about the music he or she performed, or the process by which it was created. This situation parallels that of
Medieval Europe, where authors also did not waste much time or precious parchment writing about what
was considered to be mere technical craft.
But whereas in Europe the composition process gradually emerged as a separate craft apart from
performance, thus requiring “how-to” manuals to train composers, in China this division of labor never
occurred. Composition never became as divorced from performance as in the West, and the composition
process appears to have been much more of an intuitive one whereby performers derived new material from
old through performance. The “theory” needed to compose in this manner is not a separate body of
technical rules, but rather the holistic mastery of one’s instrument, performance tradition, and cultural sense
of aesthetics.
The Qin Pu or “Qin Manuals” which were published by Qin teachers from the Ming Dynasty onwards (see
chapter 5), provided the literati with a kind of theory designed to reinforce a player’s understanding of this
sacred instrument. After extensive chapters in which the philosophical theories were expounded, they
would then be applied, first in lessons on re-tuning the strings to play in different scales or modes, and then
in annotations to the actual pieces of music. But even in the numerous Qin Pu published over the centuries,
the connection between theory and actual music-making was never specifically detailed, the authors
perhaps assuming in true Daoist fashion, that “the theory which can be written down is not the true theory.”
Thus it is not until very recently, when Chinese musicians began experimenting with Western concepts of
harmony, form and orchestration that we find in-depth treatises on practical theory. In the 20 th century, as
China opened western style “conservatories” of music, practical theory became a respectable academic
subject. Western harmony and form were adopted enthusiastically by arrangers who added chordal
harmony and bass lines to traditional pieces in the hopes of making them more “modern.” Western
orchestrational ideas contributed to the development of the modern traditional Chinese orchestra in that
instruments were developed into “families” to more closely imitate the western orchestra.
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But music theorists also re-inspected the traditional Chinese repertoire with new attention to details of
melodic construction, form and timbre and developed new ways of understanding the “intuitive” theory of
the traditional performer/composer. They also re-visited the philosophical theories of ancient treatises and
reinterpreted cosmic concepts such as the “five tones” and the “eight sounds” in modern terms useful to the
working composer. In this chapter, we will take a brief look at the diverse and still emerging field of
Chinese music theory. Then, in the following chapter, we will apply some of these concepts to actual
pieces from the traditional repertoire.
Philosophical Roots
The earliest writings to contain references to music- the Yi Jing “Classic of Changes”, the Shu Jing “Classic
of History”, the Chun Chiu “Spring and Autumn Annals” and the Tso Zhuan “Tso Commentary,” date from
the early Zhou Dynasty. The Yi Jing presents a cosmology and a basis for decision-making based upon the
concepts of Nature, Dao and the principles of Yin and Yang. The other three present a kind of anecdotal
history of events and ritual practices of ages past. In these early sources musical terms derive from
numerology, cosmology and nature.
Ba Yin “The Eight Sounds”
From the Ba Gua “Eight Trigrams” of the Yi Jing were derived the Ba Yin “Eight Sounds”- the eight
categories of natural materials out of which musical instruments were constructed. It was believed all
categories had to be represented in a ritual music ensemble in order to produce music in harmonious accord
with Nature. This Ba Yin system remained the basis for categorizing instruments in China until the 20 th
century. (See Chapter 8 on musical instruments)
Through the Ba Gua, the Ba Yin were also associated with other aspects of cosmology, as shown below:
Trigram
Name
Attribute Image
Family Member
Aspect
Season
Direction
Ba Yin
Yang
Creative
Strength
Father
Yang
Late Autumn
Northwest
Stone
Yin
Devotion Earth
Receptive
Mother
Yin
Late Summer
Southwest
Earth
(clay)
Active
First Son
Yang
Spring
East
Bamboo
Following Penetration Wind
First Daughter
Yin
Late Spring
Southeast
Wood
DepthSeeking
Second Son
Yang
Winter
North
Skin
Second Daughter
Yin
Summer
South
Silk
Arousal
Danger
Heaven
Thunder
Water
Attentive Awareness Fire
Still
Rest
Mountain Third Son
Yang
Late Winter
Northeast
Gourd
Joyous
Joy
Lake
Yin
Autumn
West
Metal
Third Daughter
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Wu Sheng The Five Scale Degrees
The Wu Sheng, were the “five scale degrees” of the most common scale in use in northern China during the
Zhou dynasty. They were given cosmological meaning by correlating them with the five directions, the five
planets, the five colors, and the five levels of the world:
Scale Degree
Direction Planet
Color
Societal Level
Gong
(C)
Center
Saturn
Yellow
King
Shang
(D)
West
Venus
White
Ministers
Jue
(E)
East
Jupiter
Blue
Green
People
Zhi
(G)
South
Mars
Red
Affairs of State
Yu
(A)
North
Mercury
Black
Natural World
These Sheng were not specific pitches such as our “A-440” (440 cycles per second), the pitch by which we
tune an orchestra. They were rather degrees of a scale, equivalent to the western terms do-re-mi-so-la
which could be transposed to begin on any pitch.
Lu-lu “The Twelve Pitches”
But these early sources also mention Lu-lu “pitch pipes” as instruments kept by the court which produced
specific pitches believed to be those of Nature itself. All instruments in the realm were carefully tuned to
these to insure a “harmonious” state. This is the earliest known application of what today we call “absolute
pitch.” Later sources provide much more detail on the system of pitches and scales used in Confucian
ritual music. A theoretical system of 12 pitches per octave was generated in the same manner used by the
Greek philosopher Pythagoras who lived during the same period. The first frequency of the system was
called Huangzhong “Yellow Bell” which served as the primal generator of the whole series of twelve.
Various methods were employed to determine this all important first pitch, from listening to birds, to
measuring a king’s middle finger! The second note of the series Linzhong “Forest Bell” was the fifth above
Huangzhong, and was produced by a pipe cut two-thirds the length of the Huangzhong pipe. The next
pitch Taichu “Great Frame” was a fourth below Linzhong and was produced by a pitchpipe four-thirds the
length of Linzhong. By rising a fifth and dropping a fourth via the numerical ratios of 2:3 and 4:3, a series
of twelve pitches is produced. The first of each pair is considered Yang or “generating,” the second is
considered Yin or “generated.”
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Assuming arbitrarily that Huangzhong equals “middle C”, the following chart provides a summary:
1
2
Huangzhong Linzhong
3
Taichu
4
Nanlu
5
Guxien
6
Yinzhong
7
Reibin
8
Dalu
9
Yiche
10
Jiazhong
11
Wuyi
12
Zhonglu
Yellow
Bell
Great
Frame
South
Pipe
Old
Purified
Answering
Bell
Luxuriant
Vegetation
Great
Pipe
Equalising
Rule
Pressed
Bell
UnNamed
Middle
Pipe
Forest
Bell
Yin pitches
Yang pitches
The thirteenth generation comes very close to closing the circle with a pitch just slightly higher than an
octave above the original pitch Huangzhong. The fact that the circle does not perfectly close has been an
endless source of irritation for numerologists in China and around the world, and a source of fascination for
their mathematical counterparts. The latter have investigated whether or not the circle would close to a
perfect octave after numerous further cycles of generation. Alas it does not! But the fact that the system
came close to closing after the twelfth pitch was enough for the Chinese to assume a correlation with the
natural cycle of the twelve moons (months) of the year and the double-twelve hours of the day.
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Charts like the following were common in musical treatises into the 20 th century:
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Ascertaining the “correct” Huangzhong pitch was obviously of critical importance in a musical culture
which assumed that the universe resonated to a particular frequency, and it often took on political
significance as well. In their campaigns to discredit their predecessors and prove their own virtues,
founders of dynasties usually commissioned research which determined that the old ruler had had the
wrong pitch, thus leading his State to confusion and chaos. Surveys by modern scholars suggest that a new
Huangzhong was determined at least 35 times between about 400 BC and 1700 AD, with the pitch varying
between c1 and a1.
Scales and Modes
Scales
The five note scale (Wu Sheng) consists of the first five notes generated by the system above and is the
scale first mentioned in early sources. Later sources (Han Dynasty) mention the 7 note scale which adds
the (raised) fourth and seventh scale degrees (western names fi and ti) to complete a scale like the western
Lydian modal scale: do-re-mi-fi-sol-la-ti (or fa-sol-la-ti-do-re-mi). These extra two pitches are the next
ones generated by the above system.
Here are the two scales:
Five Note Scale:
Gong
Shang
Jue
Seven Note Scale:
Gong
Shang
Jue
Western Scale Degrees:
Do
Re
D
Western Notes (Assume C=Do) C
Zhi
Yu
Bienzhi
Zhi
Yu
Biengong
Mi
Fi
Sol
La
Ti
E
F#
G
A
B
Undoubtedly these two scales were in common usage in Zhou Dynasty China, and theory was developed to
explain and systematize contemporary practice. The Li Ji- the Han dynasty reconstruction of the Zhou
Dynasty “Book of Rites,” describes the transposition of these two scales to any of the 12 notes of the Lu-Lu
system. A scale in which Gong (Do) is placed upon the pitch Huangzhong would be called Huangzhong
Gong. Scales called Linzhong Gong or Zhonglu Gong would establish Gong on those respective pitches of
the Lu-Lu cycle. This is the equivalent of moving “do” around the twelve pitches of the western scale to
create the scales of A Major, Bb Major, etc.
Diao “Modes”
By the Song dynasty, theorists were discussing the concepts of modes- subsets of scales in which each
scale degree can be thought of as the “tonic” or final note of a scale. (The eight modes of ancient Greece or
the “Eight Church Modes” of Medieval Europe are exact parallels.) Thus, once a scale has been selected,
such as Huangzhong Gong, the following modes are available:
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The Five Diao (Modes) of a Five Note Scale based on Huangzhong Gong: (assuming Huangzhong =C)
Gong
Shang
Jue
Zhi
Yu
Gong
Shang
Jue
Gong Mode
C
D
E
G
A
Shang Mode
D
E
G
A
C
Jue Mode
E
G
A
C
D
Zhi Mode
G
A
C
D
E
Yu Mode
A
C
D
E
G
Zhi
Obviously, a seven note scale would have seven diao.
The scale degree marked here in boldface type is the “final” or “tonic” of the mode- the one upon which the
tune would usually end. Interestingly enough, the Shang mode does not seem to have been used during the
Zhou dynasty, perhaps because its name is the same as that of the previous (and thus discredited) dynasty!
Pieces of music based on these different modes have quite different qualities since they tend to emphasize
and come to a close on different pitches of the scale. Unfortunately, like their European counterparts,
Chinese writers on music did not explain in detail the way musicians thought of these different qualitieshow the modes were perceived by listeners or manipulated by performers and composers. Again, the job of
the writer on music was not to teach practical craft, but rather to investigate the size, nature and order of the
musical universe.
Modern Chinese theorists have analyzed Chinese traditional repertoire from the earliest surviving and
decipherable manuscripts (from the Tang-Song period) and determined that perhaps a third of the 84 sevennote modes or 60 five-note modes theoretically possible were in use in practical music-making. They have
attempted through analysis of many melodies to determine the characteristics of each mode and how it
flavors the music it governs. One modern analytical system describes the following characteristics for each
of the five primary modes: (assuming Gong = C)
Characteristic Intervals
Closest
Western Equivalent
C
Major third, Fourth
Ionian Mode
Shang-Zhi-Yu-Shang (D-G-A-D)
D
Fourths
Dorian Mode
Jue
Jue-Yu-Gong-Jue
(E-A-C-E)
E
Minor Third, Fourth
Phrygian Mode
Zhi mode:
Zhi
Zhi-Gong-Shang-Zhi (G-C-D-G)
G
Fourths
Mixolydian Mode
Yu mode:
Yu
Yu-Shang-Jue-Yu
A
Fourths
Aeolian Mode
Name
“Tonic”
Emphasized Pitches
Gong mode:
Gong
Gong-Jue-Zhi-Gong (C-E-G-C)
Shang mode:
Shang
Jue mode:
Final
(A-D-E-A)
This theory postulates that a traditional melody, composed “intuitively” by a performer, manifests certain
structural and affective characteristics according to its mode. For instance, a melody which emphasizes the
pitches Zhi, Gong, Shang and (octave) Zhi (sol,do,re, sol in western terms) and which tends to come to its
final cadence on Zhi (sol) is likely to be based on the Zhi mode and to emanate the kinds of expressive
qualities of that mode.
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A certain kind of “common tone modulation” also seems to have been used in which an interval
emphasized in two different modes could be interpreted as belonging to either, thus allowing smooth
transition from one mode to another. Placed in the right order, one can see how the five primary modes
could be arranged to create a full cycle of smooth modulation, somewhat similar to the “circle of fifths” of
the western tonal system.
Cycle of “Common Tone” Modulation
Mode
Emphasized Pitches and Common Intervals
Zhi:
Shang:
Yu:
Jue:
Gong:
Zhi-Gong-Shang-Zhi fourth
Shang-Zhi-Yu-Shang fourth
Yu-Shang-Jue-Yu
third
Jue-Yu-Gong-Jue f ourth
Gong-Jue-Zhi-Gong (leads back to beginning)
Fourth
A piece of music does not always end on its “final” or “tonic” scale degree. Chinese theory refers to
cadences on the final as Zheng Sha “complete stop,” in contrast to cadences on other scale degrees of the
mode which are called Ce Sha “side stop.” Thus, just as in Western modal music, the last note of a piece
does not automatically reveal its mode. Other factors must be inspected such as the emphasized pitches
and the general qualities of the melody.
To see how these concepts are applied in a piece of music, here is a famous piece which has been
used as the basic structure underlying many pieces of traditional music. Lao Liuban “Old Six Beat”
originally had six “measures”, hence the name six-beat. Here it is in its original form. (Though usually
played in the diao “key” of D, it is presented here in C to match the mode charts above.)
(Assume Gong = C)
The piece uses the scale of Gong (“Do” or C) but the piece seems to revolve around the pitches Zhi (“Sol”
or G), Gong (“Do” or C), and Shang (“Re” or D.) Furthermore it cadences on Zhi (G) with an intervening
“half-cadence” on Shang (D) and thus shows itself to be in the Zhi mode.
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Later Lao Liuban was extended into a eight bar phrase, and then further extended with another tune entirely
which acts as a contrasting “B Section.” The first tune partially returns at the end to close off the basic
structure. Here is the version of Lao Liuban as it is played today.
The brackets indicate the beats added to the original six beat phrase to make it an eight beat phrase. The
boxed letters indicate the two sections, A and B.
The A section is still in the Zhi mode, but the B section is in the Gong mode, cadencing on the pitch Gong
(C) with a secondary emphasis on the pitch Zhi (G). The shift in mode from Zhi to Gong and back are
effective and noticeable but very smooth, utilizing a common pitch Zhi (G) with which the A section ends
and the B section begins an octave higher.
Not only is this “common pitch” used to smooth the transition, but the two modes share other pitches and
intervals in common as shown below:
(Assume Gong = C)
Zhi Mode
Final
Other Emphasized Pitches
Final
G
C
G
D
(E)
Fourth---- Second---- Fourth--------------------
Gong Mode
G
Final
Other Emphasized Pitches
Final
C
(D)
C
E
G
Fourth-----Third-------------------- Third------ Fourth-----------------Second---- Second---Fourth-------------------
Because many pitches are shared, the change of mode is smooth just as the change from G major to C
major is smooth in a piece of Western Classical music. (Note that Zhi and Gong are next to each other in
the “Cycle of Common Tone Modulation” chart above just as G major and C major are next to each other
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in the Western “circle of fifths.”) Because some but not all intervals are shared (i.e. both modes have
fourths and seconds, but only Gong emphasizes thirds) the flavor is subtly but distinctly changed. Also, it
must be noted that the shift in mode expands the tessatura or range of the notes up to the high C in
measures 15-16 creating a dramatic climax. The following measures drop back down to the lower range of
the Zhi mode, thus preparing effectively for the smooth return of that mode in measure 27.
Harmony and Texture
Harmony in traditional Chinese music is a substantially different concept from that of the West. Being
primarily a melodic tradition, there has been relatively little use of deliberate counterpoint, and the concepts
of “chords” and “bass lines” are utterly foreign until the 20 th century. Chinese “harmony” arises out of
three primary effects: modal context, heterophony and temperament.
Modal Context
A Chinese performer or listener perceives a piece of music within his or her understanding of its mode. As
the melody moves within the structure of its modal scale, the listener understands it as resting on or moving
through those emphasized pitches which define the mode- now implying tension, now moving towards
degrees of resolution, etc. Like the modal chants of the medieval European Church, “harmony” is a matter
of hearing the colors and implications of individual scale degrees, of whole phrases, and of varieties of
cadences.
The one Chinese instrument which characteristically plays a kind of “harmony” is the Sheng (bamboo
mouth organ.) Since it is easy to produce two to three notes simultaneously, the Sheng has from ancient
times been able to play melody notes accompanied by those emphasized pitches of the modal scale. The
predominant intervals produced are fourths and fifths with a few thirds. The following is a typical “D
Diao” (D major) scale as it might be played by a Sheng.
The ascending scale is in the middle, surrounded by other pitches which reinforce the modal context. (The
pitches E and G may be duplicated if desired (as above) since there are two pipes for each.) It is possible
that in early Chinese ritual music, the Sheng may have sustained all appropriate notes of a given phrase in a
kind of harmonic cloud amidst which other instruments played the melody. This can still be heard in the
Japanese ritual music tradition of Gagaku (originally based on Tang Dynasty Chinese court music) where
the instrument is called Sho.
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Heterophony
When two or more voices or instruments play a piece together, they each play essentially the same melody,
but render it according to the idiomatic traditions of the instrument. Thus a voice may sing a melody in
long notes with mild vocal ornamentation, while a Dizi (bamboo flute) plays the same melody with turns,
trills and vibrato, and a Yangqin (hammered dulcimer) hides the melody under cascades of arpeggios, runs
and variations. The resulting “simultaneous variation” or “heterophony” produces a rich spectrum of
harmonic sound. At any given time, the notes of the melody are present but surrounded by other notes
appropriate to the phrase and the mode thus making audible the “modal context” discussed above.
Heterophony in Chinese music is usually heard as a texture every bit as much as a harmonic effect. Just as
one can listen deep down into the textures of European counterpoint, one can listen to the complex
simultaneities of a Chinese ensemble playing a traditional piece. Each line remains separate and audible,
with its unique instrumental timbre and its idiomatic style, yet together they produce a remarkably rich,
harmonious and complex listening experience.
Temperament
To an uninitiated ear, one of the most salient characteristics of much Chinese music is its temperament or
“tuning.” Despite the venerable mathematical and cosmological theories, actual Chinese music displays an
astonishing range of scales, tunings, and resulting timbres. The popular scales of one region may differ
from those of another. The tunings of pitches within a scale may vary, creating “flavors” unique to a region
or to a musical genre. In particular, those two pitches not in the old five-note scale, namely the fourth and
seventh scale degrees (fa and ti) are particularly likely to be treated as “color” tones. In certain regions or
musical traditions they may be consistently altered to be a bit sharp or flat, providing a pungency to the
musical dialect. In other cases, they may vary up and down in pitch within a piece depending on the
musical context of the phrase. (A western equivalent of this practice might be the “blues third” which
varies in pitch depending on the phrase but is rarely an “equal-tempered” third.) Pitch bending is a
ubiquitous phenomenon in much Chinese music (probably partly the result of the melodious quality of the
spoken language) and this too contributes to a sense of flexible pitch. Most Chinese instruments are
capable of considerable pitch bending- from the portamento slides of the Erhu to the embouchure
manipulation of the double reeds to the wide vocal vibrato of the opera singer. When groups of similar
instruments play in unison (for instance Jinghus and Erhus in an opera orchestra, or several Suonas in a
Luogu ensemble) the resulting discrepancies in pitch can be startling for the western ear. But the Chinese
musician delights in such pungent moments and indeed creates them deliberately as a timbral
ornamentation.
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Rhythm, Meter and Phrasing
Traditional Chinese music utilizes a looser and therefore wider concept of rhythm than does the western
classical tradition. Like vibrato, timbre and the subtle variations of tempo and dynamics used constantly in
western classical music, rhythm in the Chinese tradition is considered an expressive tool of the performer,
to be applied in accordance with the traditions of the genre and the instrument. Just as those western
techniques were traditionally considered “beyond notation” and thus not precisely indicated in a western
score, in the various systems of musical notation developed in China rhythm was less precisely notated than
was pitch. Far from being a “weakness” in the notational systems (as westerners have frequently assumed)
this looseness of rhythmic notation indicates just how important to the Chinese musician rhythm was as an
expressive device- too subtle to be precisely indicated in notation.
The term ban means beat, usually indicating a “strong beat” similar to the western notion of a “downbeat.”
Weak beats are called yan and define the subdivisions of the ban. The term you ban “has beat” refers to
passages which are played in a steady tempo. In contrast, san ban “loose beat” refers to passages played
with an expressively flexible tempo, somewhat analogous to recitative passages in western opera. Often,
compositions begin with an introductory san ban section, move into a main theme section in you ban, and
then conclude with a cadential passage in san ban.
Meter in traditional Chinese music is almost always duple. Yuan ban “primary meter” is equivalent to 2/4
time, man ban “slow meter” is equivalent to 4/4 time. Other meters include 1/4 time, “fast 2/4,” “fast 4/4,”
and 8/4. Meters often imply tempi as well- 1/4 being the fastest, followed by 2/4 and then 4/4 and 8/4.
Whereas in the Western Classical tradition phrases are most often of uniform length, in traditional Chinese
music phrases are very often asymmetrical- containing varying numbers of measures. This irregular
“phrase rhythm” is a prominent characteristic of Chinese melody and may date back to the “Ci” poetry of
the Tang and Song dynasties which expressively utilized uneven poetic line lengths. (See Lao Liuban
above for an example of effective asymmetrical phrases.)
Structure
Much Chinese instrumental music is narrative or descriptive. Like the tone poems of 19 th century European
classical music, pieces unfold according to their stories or images rather than following pre-existing formal
patterns. Still, certain general principles were noted by theoreticians including an archetypal pattern for
logical development which included four sections:
Qi- introduction
Cheng- presentation of theme
Zhuan- transition to new viewpoint
He- summing up
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Composition
Unlike the Western Classical tradition which placed the composer as the central figure, the Chinese
tradition considered composition an occasional, secondary activity of a skilled performer. Indeed, well into
the 20th century, many pieces entered the standard repertoire anonymously, with no one particularly
interested in the identity of the composer. The reasons for this lie in the nature of the compositional
process.
Like so much else in Chinese culture, music was treated as a revered tradition, not to be tampered with
lightly. Whether sacred ritual music or melodies for the opera, students were taught to replicate exactly the
performances of their teachers in order to understand and master the tradition. Only after thorough mastery
was it assumed anyone might possibly have anything of one’s own to add. Thus “composers” were
invariably skilled performers thoroughly imbued with all aspects of their craft, for whom tradition tended to
be more important than innovation. Those individuals who are named in history as having significantly
altered musical traditions (such as Wei Liangfu, credited with refining the musical style of Kunqu opera)
are conspicuous by their rarity.
Just as much original literature, poetry and philosophy was created as a “gloss” on a revered traditional
text, so much music was created by improvising or elaborating on an existing tune. Some tunes were so
frequently used for this kind of process that they largely lost their identity as pieces in their own right and
became formulas or templates for composition. Lao Liuban (see above) is such a tune from Northern
China, which is the foundation for literally hundreds of pieces, including tunes for Chinese opera. All
pieces derived from an original tune are considered related to the original Qupai “labeled tune” and share
features in common such as melodic contours, rhythms and phrase lengths.
The process by which an individual player “composes” is rarely discussed in traditional written sources. Of
course, most musical traditions were oral and never produced written sources at all. Even those that did,
such as the Qin tradition, rarely allude to such advanced activities probably because it was assumed it
would come naturally to an experienced player. Or, if assistance was given, it would have been given by
word of mouth from teacher to student, rather than shared with the uninitiated in published form.
There is one brief description of the composing process of a scholarly amateur in The Story of the Stone
(Dream of the Red Chamber), the great 18th century novel by Cao Xueqin. Here the young heroine Lin
Daiyu has been playing the Qin in her garden pavilion and decides to “compose” a poem with music for
recitation.
…”I’ll write four stanzas and set them to an air for the Qin. Then tomorrow I can make a copy
and send it to Chai.” She told Snowgoose to bring in her brush and inkstone, which were on the table
outside, and moistening the ink, began to write. When she had completed four stanzas, she took a Qin
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handbook from her shelf and looked through it. She decided to make a suite out of the two old melodies,
Lonely Orchid Pavane and Saintly Virtue. Having done the pointing, she wrote out a copy of the words
there and then to send to Bao-chai, and asked Snowgoose to fetch the three-quarter size Qin she had
brought from home, which was stored in a trunk. She tuned the strings and did a few preliminary fingerexercises. Her natural aptitude compensated for her lack of practice, and it was not long before all that she
had learnt as a child came back to her.
-The Story of the Stone
(translated by John Minford, vol. 4, page 166-7)
Clearly this is more of an adaptation of melodies to new words rather than the composition of a new
melody, but it does serve to illustrate the freedom with which composers or poets dealt with previously
existing compositions.
Notation
Most musicians in Chinese history learned their craft without the aid of notation. Students imitated their
masters precisely, fostering the unaltered transmission of the revered musical heritage. Many musicians
were illiterate, spending their lives as servants or itinerant entertainers and would have had no use for
written notation. Only in those few cases where there was scholarly interest were notational traditions
developed. These primarily included ritual music, Qin music, certain limited instrumental traditions, and
Kunqu opera.
As mentioned above, these systems were far more precise regarding pitch than rhythm, which was often not
notated at all. For average players, such notations served primarily as reminders of pieces already learned
and thus did not need to be complete in all details. For master performers, such notations served as the
basic skeleton for expressive improvisations which were far more elaborate and subtle than indicated in the
score.
Some of these notational systems indicated pitches through note names, some through symbols and some
through descriptions of how to produce the given note on the particular instrument.
The most basic systems indicated a tune by naming its pitches either in absolute terms using the Lu-lu
names such as Huang Zhong, Tai Chu, Gu Xien (C,D,E etc.), or using the Wu Sheng names such as Gong,
Shang, Jue (Do, Re, Mi etc.). These were used primarily to notate ritual music and are now not in use.
Other systems used symbols to designate pitches of a scale, and often included other symbolic markings for
rhythm and meter. The oldest of these systems comes from the 10 th century AD and is the system used to
notate the musical pieces from the Dunhuang Caves. (see chapter 4) A more recent version of this type of
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system is the Gongche notation used to notate Kunqu opera from the 16th century onwards. The following
symbols were used to notate a scale:
These symbols may have originated as tablature for wind instruments since some of the symbols seem to
refer to wind fingering technique. For example, the symbol used to indicate the first scale degree is the
character He meaning “to close”, perhaps originally telling a player to close all holes. Several other
characters for “six” and “five” also seem to indicate the order for opening holes to produce pitches. The
following is an example of vocal music (Qu) notated in this system. Beneath the western notation is the
libretto text. Beneath that are the pitch symbols and at the bottom are the symbols marking the rhythm,
indicating the ban (
)and yan (
) strong and weak beats.
(Transposed to F)
Other notational systems were specific to particular instruments and described how to produce a particular
pitch. The most prominent of these is the system used for the Qin. As early as the Tang dynasty, pieces
were notated in lengthy, detailed descriptions of left-hand finger placement, right-hand plucking technique
and added ornaments such as vibrato or glissando. By the Ming dynasty, these descriptions had been
reduced to a series of efficient “character complexes” containing parts of various characters- each complex
containing all the necessary information for playing a note. This system is still in use by modern Qin
players, though they may also read and use more modern notations as well. (For more on Qin notation, see
Chapter 5.)
In the early 20th century, Chinese music educators began to adopt a numerical notation used successfully by
a French musician in Japan. Commonly called Jianpu (simple notation) today, it substitutes Roman
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numerals for the Gongche pitch symbols and adds a more precise rhythmic notation. The following
fragment illustrates its simplicity.
Scale degrees are indicated by numbers- 1 is Do, 2 is Re, 3 is Mi etc. Rhythm is indicated by lines
underneath the numbers. No line indicates that the note takes one beat. Two notes with a line under them
indicates that they are each half a beat or “eighth notes.” Two lines indicates “sixteenth notes.” A note
followed by a dash indicates that the note sustains through the next beat. A “0” indicates a rest. Dots
above or below a number indicate that the pitch is in the octave above or below the middle octave; middle
octave pitches have no dots. Sharps or flats are placed in front of numbers to indicate their alteration, and
grace notes are written in smaller numbers preceding the primary pitch. This system became the primary
notational system in China in the 20th century and remains the preferred notation of most Chinese
musicians today.
In the following chapter, we will examine a number pieces from the traditional repertoire across a variety
of genres, and begin to understand how some of these concepts are applied in actual pieces of music.
Further Reading
Music of the Billion
Liang Mingyue, Heinrichshoffen, 1985
Musical References in the Chinese Classics
Walter Kaufmann, Detroit Monographs in Musicology No. 5, Information Coordinators Inc. 1976
Chinese Music and Orchestration: A Primer on Principles and Practice
Shen Sin-yan, Chinese Music Society of North America, 1991
From Confucius to Kublai Khan: Music and Poetics Through the Centuries
Lulu Huang Chang, Ottowa: Institute of Medieval Music, 1993
“Silk and Bamboo” Music in Shanghai: The Jiangnan Sizhu Instrumental Ensemble Tradition
J. Lawrence Witzleben, The Kent State University Press, 1995
The Way of the Pipa: structure and imagery in Chinese lute music
John Myers, Kent State University Press, 1992
Chinese Music
J.A. Van Aalst, Paragon Book Reprint Corporation, 1964
Sonq Dynasty Musical Sources and Their Interpretation
Rulan Chao Pian, Harvard University Press, 1967
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