Literary Mind Diaolong·Yuefu Original Text and Translation

Yuefu

Author: Liu Xie

Those who play Yuefu have eternal sounds and harmonious rhythms Sound. Juntian's nine memorials are his god; Getian's eight palaces are in love with the emperor. Since "Xian" and "Ying", there is nothing to say. As for Tushan's songs when waiting for people, they started to sound from the south; there are songs about flying swallows, but they started to sound from the north; Hajia sighed at Dongyang, and the east sounds started to sound; Yin thought about the West River, and the west sounds started to rise: the sounds are not uniform as time goes by. A commoner woman sings about the local customs, the poets and officials pick up their words, enjoys the rhythm of the quilt, feels the silk bamboo with ambition, and changes the breath into gold and stone: this is how Shi Kuang observes the ups and downs of the wind, and Ji Zha reflects on the ups and downs, and is extremely refined.

Fule is the heart of the music, so it resonates with the muscles and marrow. The former king was careful to prevent sexual abuse. When you train your disciples, you must sing the nine virtues, so you can express emotions from the beginning and move the eight winds. Since the elegant voice has faded, and the drunken voice has boiled, Qin Yi's "The Book of Music" was restored in the early Han Dynasty, and the clan system recorded its sonority, and his uncle and grandson determined his appearance. Therefore, "Wude" is as popular as the ancestors, and "Four Seasons" is more popular than Xiaowen. , although it imitates "Shao" and "Xia", it is quite based on the old Qin Dynasty, and the sound of neutralization will not be returned. Emperor Wu worshiped the rites and established the Yuefu, which combined the sounds of the Zhao Dynasty and captured the spirit of Qi and Chu. He extended the years with Man Sheng and coordinated rhythms, and Zhu Ma used Sao style songs. The miscellaneous tunes of "Guihua" are beautiful but not ordinary, and the group of "Red Wild Geese" The chapter is extravagant rather than typical, and Hejian recommends it for elegance but rarely forbids it. Therefore, it is so dark that it is ridiculed in "Tianma". As for Emperor Xuan's elegant ode, the poem is imitated by "Deer Ming", which is as close as Yuan Cheng. It has a slightly wider range of obscene music, but the correct music is obscene and vulgar. The difficulty is also the same. The temples in the suburbs of the Later Han Dynasty contained only a variety of elegant chapters. Although the diction was classic, the rules were not Kuang Kuang.

As for the three ancestors of Wei, they were bright and talented, with a cutting-edge tone and a flat tone. Looking at the many quotations from "Autumn Wind" written by him from the north, some describe a feast, some describe a garrison, and the aspirations are not based on wandering, and the words are not separated from mourning. Although it is the main tone of the three tunes, it is actually the Zheng tune of "Shao" and "Xia". During the Jin Dynasty, Fu Xuan Xiaoyin created Ding Yage to praise his ancestors; Zhang Hua's new chapter also filled the court. However, Du Kui's tune was smooth and elegant, while Xun Xu's tune was suspended, and his tone was sad and urgent. Therefore, Ruan Xian ridiculed his Li Sheng, and later generations examined his copper ruler. The exquisiteness of harmony and happiness are both external and internal.

Therefore, we know that poetry is the heart of music, and sound is the body of music; the body of music is in the sound, and it is the master's job to adjust the instrument; the heart of music is in poetry, and a gentleman should correct his writing. "There is no waste of happiness", that's why the Jin Dynasty is said to be far away; "it's a joke", that's why the Zheng Kingdom perished. Therefore, we know that Jizha is watching music, but he is not just listening to the sound.

If a husband sings sweetly and gracefully, and his poems are full of complaints and clichés, and his obscene words are in the music, how can they be heard properly? However, if people listen to the speed, compete for new jobs, and sing elegant songs with gentleness and courtesy, they will definitely owe their attention to the strange words. When you cut it, you will jump for joy; the sound of poetry is all solemn, and this is the stage! Fan Yue's words are called poems, and the sound of poetry is called songs. The sound comes and is said, and the words are complicated and difficult to control. Therefore, Chen Si said, "Zuo Yannian is free to add or detract from the ancient poems. If there are too many, it is better to reduce them." Minggui Yue. Watching Gaozu's chant "Great Wind", Xiao Wu's lament "It's too late", the singing boy and the quilt, no one dares to be dissatisfied. Zi Jianshi Heng, there are good chapters in Xian, but no actors. The stories are written in silk tubes, commonly known as guaidiao, Gai Weisi.

As for Xuan Qi’s advocacy of the cymbals in the Han Dynasty, although they were used for military and funeral purposes, they were integrated into the Yuefu. Miao Wei’s changes can also be counted. Xizi Zhengpinwen, poetry and song are different, so there is a brief section on music to mark the boundaries of the area.

Praise:

The eight-syllable text is composed of tree words. The wild scenery is filled with gold and stone.

The sound of "Shao" is difficult to trace, but the sound of Zheng is easy to start. Is it just to watch music and understand the etiquette?

Classical Chinese translation:

"Yuefu" is the seventh chapter of "Wen Xin Diao Long". "Yuefu" was originally an institution in the feudal government of the Western Han Dynasty. "Fu" refers to the government, and "Yuefu" is the government that manages music. Later, some people gradually called the songs kept in this institution "Yuefu", so these two words changed from the name of an official government to the name of a poetry genre. The scope of this genre gradually expanded to include not only works created and preserved in the Yuefu institutions of the Han Dynasty, but also new poems produced by later generations of writers who studied these works. The difference between "Yuefu" and ordinary poetry is that it is coordinated with music, but the so-called Yuefu poetry of later generations also includes many works that have nothing to do with music. What Liu Xie discusses in this article is mainly Hele's poetry, but also involves a few non-Hele works.

The whole article is divided into three parts. The first part talks about the origin of Yuefu and its educational role. The second part talks about the development history of Yuefu poetry in the Han, Wei and Jin dynasties. The third part explains the relationship between music and poetry, and explains why he wrote another piece "Yuefu" in addition to "Ming Poems".

Ancient Yuefu poetry not only originated from the folk, but the fine tradition of Yuefu poetry is also mainly reflected in Yuefu folk songs. Later, a few literati writers were able to write some better Yuefu poems, which was related to their learning from excellent Yuefu folk songs. However, Liu Xie's article mainly discusses literati temple music, which is a serious limitation. However, it was mentioned in the first paragraph that the ballads of the common people can express public opinion, and in the final summary, it was also said that Yuefu came from folk songs; if we look at it in connection with the later chapter "Xie Yin", although Liu Xie did not pay enough attention to folk creation, it was related to feudalism. Compared with other critics in society, he still has a preliminary understanding of folk songs.

(1)

The so-called "Yuefu" uses the tones of Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zheng (zhǐzhi), and Yu to extend the poetic meaning, and also uses Huang Zhong, Da Lu and other twelve rhythms come to coordinate with the five tones. Not only is it said that "Ten Thousand Dances" is often played in the sky, but also eight songs were played during the days of Ge Tianshi in ancient times. In addition, it is impossible to study the "Xianchi" written by the Yellow Emperor, the "Five Heroes" written by the Emperor Ku, etc. now. Later, during the reign of Emperor Xia and Yu, the Tushan girls sang "Waiting for People Xi Yi", which was the beginning of southern music. The two daughters of the You family sang "Yan Yan Flying", which was the beginning of northern music. In the Xia Dynasty, Kong Jia composed the song "Broken Ax" in Dongyang, which was the beginning of Eastern music. In the Shang Dynasty, Zheng Jia missed his former residence in Xihe and composed a song, which was the beginning of Western music. The evolution of musical tones in the past dynasties is very complicated. Ordinary people sang local ballads, and poetry collectors used them to collect public opinions. Musicians composed scores for these songs, so that people's emotions and temperaments could be expressed through various musical instruments. Therefore, the musician Shi Kuang of the Jin State could tell the rise and fall of the Chu State's morale from the songs of the South, and the prince Jizha of the Wu State could also tell the rise and fall of the Zhou Dynasty and the various vassal states from the music of the Book of Songs. This is true. It's very subtle. Music is originally used to express people's mood, so it can penetrate into the depths of people's souls. The previous emperors paid great attention to this and must prevent all evil and inappropriate music. When educating the children of the nobles, they must choose music related to political merit. Therefore, the emotions expressed in music can move heaven, earth, people, and the four seasons of spring and autumn; its educational effect can reach far and wide.

(2)

Since the decline of Yazheng music, obscene music has gradually emerged. Qin Shihuang burned the "Book of Music", and in the early Western Han Dynasty he wanted to restore ancient music. The musician Zhishi wrote down the syllables, and Shusun Tong set the etiquette and laws. "Wude Dance" was composed during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, and "Four Seasons Dance" was composed during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. Although they learned from the ancient "Shao Music" and "Daxia", they also inherited the old music of the Qin Dynasty. Therefore, Zhongzheng Heping's It is difficult to see the tune again. Emperor Wu paid great attention to rituals and music, established the Yuefu institution, synthesized northern syllables, and adopted southern accents. Li Yannian also used his beautiful voice to match the music, and Zhu Maichen and Sima Xiangru used the genre of "Chu Song" to write lyrics. . Movements such as "Song of Anshifang·Guihua" have gorgeous diction but violate convention; works such as "Song of Suburban Sacrifice·Red Wild Goose" have beautiful language but not legality. Liu De, the king of Hejian Xian, once recommended ancient music, but Emperor Wu rarely used it, so Ji An expressed dissatisfaction with Emperor Wu's "Tianma Song". The music composed during the reign of Emperor Xuan often imitated "Deer Ming" in "The Book of Songs". By the time of Emperor Yuan and Emperor Cheng, obscene music was gradually promoted. Because Yazheng's music cannot adapt to the hobbies of ordinary people, it is difficult to develop. For the suburban temple worship in the Later Han Dynasty, Liu Cang, King of Dongping, wrote new lyrics. Although the lyrics were elegant, the syllables were different from those of ancient music. By the time of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao Rui of Wei had a noble temperament and wonderful talents. They used ancient inscriptions and Yuefu to write about current affairs, and their syllables were also beautiful and peaceful. However, after reading Cao Cao's "Bitter Cold Journey" and Cao Pi's "Yan Ge Journey", I feel that whether they describe banquets or lament about the expedition, the content is overly indulgent, and every sentence is inseparable from the sad mood; although it is directly inherited from the Yuefu of the Han Dynasty Poetry, however, is far inferior to ancient music such as "Shao Le" and "Da Xia". In the Jin Dynasty, Fu Xuan was proficient in music and wrote many elegant and upright songs to praise the ancestors of the Jin Dynasty; Zhang Hua also wrote some new chapters as the "Wan Wu" for the court. However, the rhythm adjusted by Du Kui was slow and upright; while the musical instruments adapted by Xun Xu in the early Jin Dynasty had more sentimental and rapid syllables. Therefore, Ruan Xian once criticized his uncoordinated setting. Later, someone examined the ancient bronze ruler and realized that Xun Xu's modification was wrong. It can be seen that the reason why harmonious music can achieve exquisiteness is that all aspects must cooperate.

(3)

It can be seen from this that poetry is the core of Yuefu, and the rhythm is the shape of Yuefu.

Since the shape of the Yuefu lies in the rhythm, the musicians must adjust the instruments well; since the core of the Yuefu lies in the verses, the scholar-bureaucrats should write good lyrics. "Tang Feng" said: "If you like entertainment, don't overdo it." Jizha called it far-sighted. "Zheng Feng" said: "Men and women tease each other." Jizha believed that this was a sign of the country's subjugation. It can be seen that when Ji Zha listened to the performance of "The Book of Songs", he did not just pay attention to its tone. As for the later Yuefu poems, they wrote about lingering love or broken resentment; if these inappropriate works were compiled into scores, how could good music be produced? But generally popular ones tend to be novel movements. Yazheng's Yuefu poems are gentle and serious, and people are so bored that they yawn and stare. The strange Yuefu poems feel very kind, and people like it so much that they clap their thighs and jump up. So the verses and the tone went astray, and they got worse and worse from then on. The words of Yuefu are poems, and the verses combined with the rhythm become songs. When the rhythm is matched with words, if the words are too complicated, it will be difficult to control. Therefore, Cao Zhi said that Zuo Yannian was good at adding and subtracting from the original works. If there were too many, he would delete some. This shows that the lyrics should be refined. Take a look at "Song of the Great Wind" by Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty and "Song of Mrs. Li" by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. There are not many words, and the singers can easily match the syllables. Later, Cao Zhi, Lu Ji and others wrote better poems, but they did not ask the musicians to compose the music, so they could not be played. Most people think that their poems are not in tune, but in fact this is a nitpick without careful consideration. In addition, there is also a legend that the Yellow Emperor ordered Qi Bo to compose "Drumming Music", and in the Han Dynasty "Rao Song" and "Elegy" appeared. Although the content is different from military and funeral, they are all considered to be a type of Yuefu. There are also works by Miao Xi, which are also worthy of our attention. In the past, Liu Xiang organized his articles and separated "poetry" and "song"; so now I write another article "Yuefu" to express the difference between them.

(4)

In short, various musical instruments produce all kinds of beautiful music, and good lyrics are the backbone of it. First, ballads were produced in the countryside, and various kinds of music were composed in the court. Excellent ancient music is difficult to inherit, but improper music is easy to develop. From here we not only see the evolution of music, but also the rise and fall of etiquette. Classical Chinese Translation Han Shu Original Text and Translation