Chinese music has developed to an extremely mature level during the Three Kingdoms period. Due to the emphasis on music by traditional ethics, all dynasties have regarded music as a classic for governing the country and carrying it forward. Shi Kuang in the pre-Qin Dynasty and Li Yannian in the Han Dynasty all made unique contributions to the development of music. During the Three Kingdoms period, with the development and changes of society, there were also some musical works with the characteristics of the times, as well as musicians and their theories that represented the characteristics of the times and marked the level of music development at that time. Among them, Ji Kang, Ruan Ji, Cai Yan, etc. are the representatives, and they have had an important influence on the history of Chinese music development.

Ji Kang and his guqin piece "Guangling San"

In addition to making important achievements in literature and thought, Ji Kang also left precious wealth for future generations in music.

Ji Kang has loved music since he was a child, has a special ability to feel music, and has extremely high talent. "Book of Jin·Ji Kang's Biography" says that Ji Kang "learned without being taught by his teacher, and learned everything he should know". This has a lot to do with his wild and unrestrained thoughts and his lack of restraint by etiquette and law.

Ji Kang can be described as a wizard in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. He was good at the flute, better than the qin, and also good at music. In particular, his hobby for the piano and its music left various fascinating legends for future generations. According to the "Linggui Zhi" quoted in "Taiping Guangji" 317: Ji Kang was playing the piano under the lamp, and suddenly there was a man more than ten feet long, wearing black clothes and leather belt, who looked familiar. Then he blew the fire to extinguish it and said: "Shame and evil spirit compete for glory." After a while, there was a pavilion named Yuehua on the way for dozens of miles. If you go to this pavilion, you will kill people. Zhongsan (characterized by Ji Kang) is relaxed and relaxed in his heart, with no fear at all. At the first watch, he started to perform various tricks on the qin. His elegant sound was played freely, and he was praised in the air for his good deeds. Zhongsan played the harp and called out to him: "Who is you?" He replied: "I am an old friend, and I am hiding here. I heard you playing the harp, and the music was clear and harmonious. I liked it in the past, so I came to listen. Unfortunately, I died in an unreasonable manner, and my body was disabled. It is not appropriate to meet a gentleman. However, I love your harp and want to meet you. Don’t blame me for being evil.” Zhongsan resumed playing the harp for the festival: “It’s been a long time, why don’t you come?” What's the point?" He hit his head with his hand and said, "When I hear the piano playing, my mind is awakened, and my mind is enlightened. It's like a temporary life." He invited me to discuss the meaning of the sound, and his speech was very clear, so he called it Zhongsan. He said: "You try to play the piano and see it." So he played "Guangling San" and listened to it, and he got the result. What Zhongsan received first is not as good as that of Zhongsan. He swore an oath with Zhongsan: not to teach others. Tianming said in his words: "Even if we meet today, we can be together for thousands of years. We will never be together forever."

Ji Kang had a very precious piano. For this piano, he played After selling his old business in Dongyang, he also asked Shangshu Ling for a piece of river jade, cut it into thin slices and inlaid it on the surface of the piano as an emblem. The piano bag is made of jade curtain sheets and shrunk silk. This piano is priceless. Once, his friend Shantao wanted to cut open the harp while drunk, but Ji Kang threatened his life, which caused great disaster to the harp.

The four pieces of Qin music composed by Ji Kang, namely "Changqing", "Duanqing", "Changside" and "Shortside", are known as the "Four Nongs of Ji", which are similar to the "Four Nongs of Ji" composed by Cai Yong. Cai's Five Nongs, collectively known as the Ninth Nongs, are a group of famous qin music in ancient my country. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty once made playing "Nine Nongs" one of the conditions for recruiting scholars, which shows its great influence and high achievements.

Faced with the dark rule of the Sima family, Ji Kang was indignant. In order to show his resistance, he often fled into the mountains and visited the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest. Yuan Yanbo's "The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest" says: "Uncle Ji picked herbs at night and encountered them in the mountains. In winter, he was covered with hair, and in summer, he wove grass into clothes and played a harp, and the five sounds harmonized." It is precisely because of Ji. Kang's cynical performance made him achieve remarkable achievements in music creation and performance.

The "Guangling San" mentioned above is a large-scale ancient Qin music, which has been published since at least the Han Dynasty. There are always different opinions on its content, but the general view is that it is connected with the piano music "Nie Zheng Assassins the King of Han". "Nie Zheng Assassins the King of Han" mainly describes the tragic story of Nie Zheng, the son of a swordsmith during the Warring States Period, who stabbed the King of Han to death and then committed suicide in order to avenge his father's murder. Regarding this, Cai Yong's "Qin Cao" has a more detailed description.

The existing music score of "Guangling San" was first seen in the "Magical Secret Score" (1425) compiled and printed by Zhu Quan of the Ming Dynasty. "Guangling San" and "Nie Zheng Assassins the King of Han" are subtitles for each section of content such as "Reporting the Sword", etc. Therefore, ancient qin composers regard "Guangling San" and "Nie Zheng Assassins the King of Han" as different songs with the same name.

"Guangling San" played by Ji Kang is a piece of this ancient famous tune that was processed by Ji Kang. In the long-term circulation process, just like a folk song, it embodies the meaning of the past dynasties. The work of the preacher. According to "Shishuo Xinyu Yaliang":

Ji Zhongsan was about to be executed in Dongshi, but his demeanor remained unchanged. Play the piano. Play "Guangling". The song ends with: "Yuan Xiaoni asked to learn this prose, but I, Jin Gu, refused to agree. Guangling San is now extinct!" This made this classical music piece famous. To a certain extent, "Guangling San" became "famous" because of Ji Kang. But the so-called "it is now dead" does not refer to the music itself. It mainly reflects Ji Kang's angry words when he was about to be executed. In fact, the Qin music "Guangling San" has been preserved by the "Miraculous Secret Manual" and has been circulated to this day.

Precisely because Ji Kang had profound musical skills, before he was sentenced to death, three thousand Tai students *** asked Sima to "please be their teacher", but they were not allowed, so " All people in the country will feel pain for him" (the original biography of "Book of Jin"). Therefore, Ji Kang's name is always associated with "Guangling San".

The whole score of "Guangling San" has forty-five sections, divided into six parts: finger, minor sequence, major sequence, main tone, random tone, and post sequence. Before Zhengsheng, it mainly expressed sympathy for Nie Zheng's unfortunate fate; after Zhengsheng, it expressed praise and praise for Nie Zheng's heroic deeds. The main part of the music is the main part, which focuses on Nie Zheng's emotional development process from resentment to indignation, and profoundly depicts his will to revenge without fear of rape and death. The whole song is always characterized by the interweaving, ups and downs, development and changes of the two themes. One is the main tone of the main tone found in the second paragraph of "Zhengsheng":

The other is the main tone of the chaotic tone that first appears at the end of the main sequence:

There are many main tunes of the main tone. At the beginning of the section, its main conductor is highlighted. The chaotic main tune is mostly used at the end of a section. It brings various changed tunes into a single tone, marking the section and unifying the whole song.

The melody of "Guangling San" is passionate and generous. It is the only existing guqin music in my country that has a fighting atmosphere. It directly expresses the fighting spirit of the oppressed against the tyrant and has great significance. High ideological and artistic quality. Perhaps Ji Kang saw the spirit of resistance and fighting will in "Guangling San" and why he loved "Guangling San" so much and had such deep feelings for it.

"Guangling San" was once famous in history. After the founding of the People's Republic of my country, Mr. Guan Pinghu, a famous guqin master in China, organized and notated it according to the tunes contained in "Magical Secret Score", making this wonderful guqin music Music is back in the world.

In addition to being famous for playing "Guangling San", Ji Kang also made unique contributions to music theory, which are his "Qin Fu" and "Soundless Sad Music Theory".

"Qin Fu" mainly expresses Ji Kang's understanding of Qin and music, and also reflects Ji Kang's views that are inconsistent with traditional Confucian thought.

"Soundless Music Theory" is the author's direct and concentrated criticism of the Confucian idea of ??"music governing the world". Ji Kang’s insights into music shine through.

Cai Yan and his "Eighteen Beats of Hujia"

Cai Yan, also known as Wenji, was the daughter of Cai Yong, a famous writer, musician and calligrapher in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Influenced by a good family environment since childhood, he is "erudite, talented in eloquence, and good at music." According to the "Farewell Biography of Cai Yan": "Wen Ji, Shaocong Hui Xiuyi, was six years old. She played the harp in Yong night and the strings were broken. Yan said: 'The first string'. Yong therefore broke a string and asked about it. Yan said : 'Fourth String'..." It can be seen that she has had high musical talent since she was a teenager.

However, Cai Yan's life was extremely miserable. At first, he wandered around with his guilty father, and then married Wei Zhongdao. Soon, her husband died, and Cai Yan returned to Ningxia without any children. At this time, wars were still frequent. In the second year of Emperor Xian's reign (195), he was captured by Dong Zhuo's men and sent to the southern Xiongnu. He married King Zuo Xian and stayed there for twelve years, and gave birth to two sons. After Cao Cao unified the north, the situation was relatively stable, so he sent envoys to redeem Cai Yan with a golden jade, and then married Cai Yan to Dong Si. This extremely painful life made her suffer a lot in the world, so she wrote her special feelings into a long poem "Eighteen Beats of Hujia" (there has been controversy in the academic circles about whether this poem was written by Cai Yan, and neither party has any idea. There is sufficient evidence, so there is no conclusion. For details, please refer to "Hu Jia Eighteen Pai Discussion Collection", but its content does describe Cai Yan's life experience).

The musical composition of the same name, based on "Eighteen Beats of Hujia", is an outstanding classical piece in the history of Chinese music. It tells the tragic experience of Cai Yan's life with a very touching tune, reflects the serious disasters caused by the war to the people, and expresses the protagonist's deep thoughts about the motherland and his old friends, as well as the painful feelings of separation from his flesh and blood. This piece of music was very popular in the Tang and Song dynasties. According to the statistics of guqin expert Mr. Zha Xifu, there are 39 different versions of the music. Among them, only Sun Pixian's "Qin Shi" in the Wanli Period of the Ming Dynasty (1611) is the most popular. With words.

"Eighteen beats of Hujia" is a novel style of music created by Cai Yan by translating the tones of the eighteenth beat of Hujia into the guqin. In fact, she created it by integrating the northern and southern styles. , to some extent, reflects the intersection of northern and southern music cultures.

"Beat" is a section of music, and eighteen beats equals eighteen sections. The following article introduces the musical effects of "Hujin Eighteen Beats".

The first beat is the introduction of the whole song, summarizing the author's tragic experience of living in troubled times and being in a foreign land. The starting tune is as follows:

The two three-bar sections are the introduction of the whole song. The core tone, the basic melody of the entire song is derived from this. The first beat has great emotional ups and downs, and also lays the foundation for the continued development of each section of music. There is a decorative inflection in the second beat, which makes the emotional expression quite strong. Until the tenth beat, the sadness of leaving home is deepened step by step, forming the first part of the music. The eleventh and twelfth beats are the turning point of the whole song, especially the twelfth beat, which is the only passage with a cheerful and clear tone, expressing the joy of the nation and the joy of returning home.

The music starts from a high note, with a broad rhythm, forming a stretched phrase:

This melody has a higher range, expressing extremely exciting emotions.

Beats 13 to 17 are the second part of the music, still mainly expressing sadness, mainly expressing the yearning for childishness. The eighteenth beat is the end of the whole song, ending the whole song in passion.

[Attached] Partial score of "Eighteen Beats of Hujia"

Ruan Ji and his "Drunken Madness"

As one of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove" Ruan Ji not only made important achievements in literature, but also was unparalleled at the time in music.

Influenced by his father Ruan Yu, Ruan Ji is an expert at playing the piano. His poem "Yong Huai" says: "I can't sleep at night, I sit up and play the piano", which shows his determination under the dark rule of the Sima family. The depression and sadness caused by not cooperating with it.

As a literary creation with individual characteristics, Ruan Ji's poems are obscure and tortuous, "the words are in the ears and the eyes, and the feelings are expressed in the world." However, as a musical work, Ruan Ji can express it in this way. The form of expressing emotions expresses the infinite emotions in the heart. It is said that his work "Drunken Madness" vividly expresses Ruan Ji's true mentality of fear, worry, anger and avoidance under the dark rule of the Sima clan who massacred people and rejected dissenters.

According to the explanation of Zhu Quan’s "Miraculous Secret Manual": "This is a piece of music composed by Ruan Ji. Ji lamented that the Tao was not working and was out of step with the times, so he forgot about the world and worried about the body, and he was inspired by it. Drinking for fun is a lifelong ambition. If this is the case, how can you really be addicted to wine? The beauty lies in it, so it is not a vulgar person, but the master can get it. The true background of "Crazy".

"Jiu Kuang" is included in various musical notations such as "Magical Secret Music" (1425), "Fengxuan Xuanpin" (1539), and "Revisiting True Biography" (1585). According to Mr. Yao Bingyan's notation (refer to the first issue of "Wind Music Art" 1981, Yao Bingyan's "Notation Process of Lyre Music "Jiu Kuang""), "Jiu Kuang" adopts the rhythm of three beats, which is rare in guqin music. The musical theme of the song is a phrase that keeps jumping up and down again:

The characteristic of this theme is that stable tones such as the modal tonic and dominant tone are used as the fulcrum at the beginning and end of each beat, with embedded in the middle. Big jumps in intervals, resulting in the effect of reversing the weight of the beat, depicting the drunken and staggering look of the drinker. After that, the repeated transitional sentences in the two sections are characterized by the emphasis on unstable modal sounds and changes in rhythm, expressing the author's inner despair and pain:

The whole song deepens the feelings through the cyclic variation of five paragraphs. , the protagonist's ambivalence about being strongly dissatisfied with the dark reality but unable to find a way out is fully expressed through the image of a drunkard. The music technique is concise, the image is rich, and the thoughts are profound. This is exactly the reflection of the literati's high cultural accomplishment in the music. "Drunken Madness" can be regarded as a treasure in ancient Chinese music.

[Attached] Music score of "Jiu Kuang"

In addition to the musical work "Jiu Kuang", Ruan Ji also has a music theory work "Music Theory".

"The law of Lu Xie means that yin and yang are harmonious; the sound is harmonious, and all things are in harmony; men and women do not change their places; monarchs and ministers do not violate their positions; the four seas share the same view; the nine states have the same order." Ruan Ji also criticized "Zheng and Wei's voices". It is called "the song of lewdness" and "the sound of lewdness." This kind of ideological understanding is of course obviously related to Sima's dark politics, but it is not isolated. Deep in Ruan Ji's thoughts, there are still many contents that he is opposed to on the surface. For example, his son Ruan Hun "has a temperament similar to that of his father, and he also wants to achieve success." The infantry (Ruan Ji was the infantry captain, known as Ruan infantry in the world) said: "Zhongrong (Ruan Ji's nephew Ruan Xian) has predicted it, and you can't return to him." '" ("Shishuoxinyu"). Shen Yue saw this very clearly. He said: "The suppression of the Hun is the reason why it is achieved by suppressing the Hun without realizing it" ("Seven Sages in the Bamboo Forest"). Ruan Ji resisted Sima from another angle. That is to say, he originally upheld ethics, but because he was dissatisfied with Sima's monopoly, he deliberately behaved weirdly. This shows that he endured great pain in his heart to resist Sima. Ruan Ji's duality in thought and behavior is actually the manifestation of real "people" in real society.

(The above musical information about Ji Kang, Cai Yan, and Ruan Ji are all based on Liu Zaisheng's "A Brief Introduction to the History of Ancient Chinese Music".)

Other literati musicians

Ruan Yu

Ruan Yu, one of the "Seven Sons of Jian'an", Ruan borrowed his father. He was very good at music. When Cao Cao heard about Ruan Yu's elegant name, he recruited him as an official, but Ruan Yu refused to take up the post. Later, Cao Cao cherished his talent and used various methods to force him to take office. Ruan Yu had no choice but to flee into the mountains. Cao Cao still refused to let him go, and sent people to burn down the mountains and forests, and finally found him. Ruan Yu was probably moved, so he expressed his willingness to work with Cao Cao, and Cao Cao asked him to manage the recording office together with Chen Lin.

But Ruan Yu was still somewhat reluctant, so when Cao Cao hosted a banquet for his guests, Ruan Yu didn't say a word. Cao Cao got angry and drove him into the ranks of musicians in order to humiliate him. However, Ruan Yu could understand the music. He was good at playing the harp, but he didn't feel it was humiliating himself, so he strummed the strings and sang, impromptu singing: "Yi Yi, the gate of heaven is open, and the Wei Dynasty is in good luck. Qing Gai patrols the nine states, and people in the west and east are complaining. The scholar is dead, and the woman is Those who like it play. If kindness and righteousness are applied smoothly, how can others be confused?" The tune was harmonious and beautiful, and Cao Cao was very happy.

Ruan Yu later became an important literary member of the Cao Group.

Ruan Xian

Ruan Xian, also known as Zhongrong, is one of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest". Shan Tao thought that he was "chatty and few in desire, deeply aware of the pure and the turbid, and could not move anything. If he were to be an official, he would be extinct" (see the original biography of "Book of Jin"), but Emperor Wu of Jin thought that he was drunk and vain. Not for use. Like Ruan Ji, he was wild and unruly. He once had a private relationship with his aunt's Xianbei maid. When his mother died, his aunt wanted to return home according to etiquette, but Ruan Xian asked to keep the maid, which was not tolerated by etiquette at the time. Later, the maidservant left, and Ruan Xian borrowed a donkey to ride on him and chased her. He finally chased the maidservant back and gave birth to a son named Ruan Fu, who was ridiculed by the world.

Ruan Xian has a wonderful interpretation of music and is good at playing the pipa. There is an ancient pipa named "Ruan Xian". He once discussed music rhythm with Xun Xu. Xun Xu thought he was far inferior to Ruan Xian, so he was extremely jealous. Ruan Xian was demoted to the post of Shiping Prefect.

Ruan Xian also wrote "Lv Yi" handed down to the world, see the notes of "Shishuoxinyu·Shujie".

Ruan Zhan

Ruan Zhan, courtesy name Qianli, is the son of Ruan Xian. Pure nature, few desires, contentment. When reading, I don’t really study it, but I understand its essentials tacitly. If you are good at playing the piano, no matter how high or low you are, as long as you want to listen to the piano, you will play it. It does have the legacy of its ancestors. Ruan Zhan served as an official in the Jin Dynasty, so he omitted it.

Xun Xu

Xun Xu, courtesy name Gongzeng, was born in Yingyin (now Xuchang, Henan). You Conghui was once praised by Zhong Yao. As he grew older, he was erudite and talented. He served successively as General Cao Shuang of the Wei Dynasty, and then moved to Zhongshu Tongshilang. Cao Shuang was executed, and he went to hang him despite being implicated in the crime. He was later appointed as the Order of Anyang and transferred to Hussar as a Zhonglang. After the death of the Wei Dynasty, he was favored by Sima Zhao, who was highly appreciated by Sima Zhao. He was appointed as the Supervisor of the Zhongshu, and was promoted to the position of Minister Guanglu.

Xunxu was once in charge of music and had legal orders with Jia Chong. He also repaired the law and practiced it in the world. In his early years, he heard on the road that a businessman from Zhao had a very good music. When he came to take charge of the music, he felt that the music was not in tune. He thought that it would be better if he had a cowbell from Zhao, so he asked all the prefectures and counties to send the bells. Found the cowbell that made the original sound.

Miu Xi

Miu Xi's main achievement is in literature, but he is also proficient in music. He once changed the twelve Han Yuefu tunes into Wei drum and percussion music. See the literature section of this book for details.

Zuo Yannian

Zuo Yannian, Huang Chuzhong (220-226), was favored for his ability to innovate new songs, often modifying old ones, and later became the general of Xielu Zhonglang. He is proficient in music and is good at Zheng Sheng. See the literature section of this book for details.

Du Kui

Du Kui, whose courtesy name was Gongliang, was known as Yalelang for his knowledge of music. In the fifth year of Zhongping (188), he was dismissed from office due to illness. Later, he avoided chaos in Jingzhou, and Liu Biao made him and Meng Yao the Han Emperor and Ya Le. After Liu Cong surrendered to Cao Cao, Cao Cao asked Du Kui to plan wine sacrifices for the army, participate in Tai Le Shi, and also asked him to create elegant music. Du Kui was good at Zhonglu, extremely intelligent, and could do anything with the eight notes of silk and bamboo. At that time, Sanlang Deng Jing and Yin Qi were good at singing elegant music, the singer Yin Huneng sang the music for the ancestral temple suburbs, the dancers Feng Su and Fu Qiao knew all the dances of the ancestors, and President Du Kui studied the classics from afar, collected stories from near, and taught and told them. Ready to make musical instruments. He has made great contributions to the excavation and arrangement of ancient music.

Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor, and Du Kui became the commander of Taiyue Ling and Xielu. As early as Cao Cao's time, Chai Yuqiao, a Han copper caster, was talented and had many exquisite shapes and shapes, which were loved by the nobles at that time. Du Kui asked Chai Yu to cast a bronze bell, but most of its clear and turbid sounds did not meet the requirements. Du Kui asked Chai Yu to destroy and recast the bell many times. Chai Yu was very dissatisfied, saying that Du Kui acted arbitrarily and refused to comply. So the two told each other to Cao Cao. Cao Cao took the bell made by Chai Yu and tried it repeatedly according to Kui's request. Then he thought that Du Kui was right and Chai Yu was wrong. Cao Cao punished Chai Yu and others and ordered them to raise horses. scholar. When he arrived at Cao Pi, Cao Pi was particularly fond of Chai Yu. He once asked Du Kui and Zuo (Ma Zhen) to play the sheng, drum and harp among the guests. Du Kui looked embarrassed and refused to obey, so Cao Pi was very unhappy. Later, because Du Kui was implicated in other matters, Cao Pi asked Zuo (Ma Zhen), Du Kui and others to study with Chai Yu. Du Kui thought that what he practiced was Yayue, and that he had achieved many achievements from Cao Cao to the present, so he was not satisfied with Cao Pi's actions. Later, Cao Pi dismissed him from his palace position.

Du Kui had disciples such as Shao Deng, Zhang Tai, Sang Fu and others, all of whom were appointed to Tai Le Cheng. His disciple Chen Wanguan was promoted to General Si Lü Zhonglang.

Although Zuo Yannian and others were good at music and pronunciation, their hobbies and achievements in ancient music were not as good as those of Du Kui