When Ji Kang was young, he stayed overnight at Huayang Pavilion in Luoxi. The light clouds and gentle wind aroused his elegance, so he began to play the piano. Unconsciously, the drums were beaten three times, and the night was getting late. Just as he was about to put away the piano, he saw an old man standing behind him, listening to him playing attentively. The old man's body was hunched and his eyes were dull and dull. Luan Kang asked casually: "Can the old man play the piano? Please give me some advice." The old man smiled humbly and said, "I know a little bit about it."
Ji Kangzheng was young and energetic, conceited and talented, so he Deliberately trying the old man to try: "Please tell me, old man, what are the shortcomings of my piano skills?" The old man said with his gray beard: "Your fingering is very skillful, but unfortunately you don't have enough emotion. You played the tragic ancient music too softly. It's tactful." Ji Kang never expected that this unattractive old man would find fault with him, and his face suddenly turned red. He felt that what the old man said was reasonable, and he sincerely begged him for advice.
The old man did not refuse and asked Ji Kang to light a furnace of red sandalwood. He cleaned his hands, straightened his clothes, and sat cross-legged. He stopped playing the piano and closed his eyes to meditate for a long time. Then, the old man calmly plucked the strings, and the Tongqin made a dull sound, as if black clouds were pressing down on the city, making people feel depressed and suffocated. Then, the old man played a sonorous and powerful melody, like clouds opening and the moon shining brightly, giving people hope, confidence and encouragement. The old man waved his hands on the strings, and the melody was ever-changing, sometimes like waves hitting the shore, sometimes like whispers. Later, the strings emitted a tragic and desolate tune, weeping and complaining, leaping outside the pavilion, and the lake seemed to be sobbing too.
The sound of the piano stopped suddenly, and Ji Kangcai woke up as if from a dream. At this time, Ji Kang looked at the old man again, his eyes were bright and he was full of energy. He was so impressed that he respectfully asked the old man to teach him this unique skill. The old man happily agreed and told him the origin of this classic. It turns out that this ancient song was circulated in Guangling (now Yangzhou) and was called "Guangling San". "San" is the name of a kind of piano music. "Guangling San" describes the story of the warrior Nie Zheng's assassination of the King of Han:
Nie Zheng's father made a sword for the King of Han, but he violated the deadline and was killed by the King of Han. Nie Zheng found an opportunity and sneaked into the palace to assassinate King Han to avenge his father. After being discovered by the guards, he fled into the mountains. He heard that King Han liked to listen to the piano, so he wanted to pretend to be a piano player and get close to King Han. In the mountains, he hired a teacher to teach him how to play the piano. In order to pass the checkpoint without being recognized, he painted his cheeks with paint and knocked out his teeth with rocks; in order to change his voice, he swallowed coals of fire to make his throat hoarse. After many years, he finally became good at playing the piano.
One day, he was playing the piano under the gate of the capital city. "The spectators were like a crowd, and the horses and cattle stopped listening." Koreans were all conquered by his piano skills. When the King of Han learned that there was such a master at playing the piano, he sent someone to bring him into the palace to perform.
The opportunity for revenge came. When entering the palace, Nie Zheng hid the dagger in the belly of the piano. The music he played won praise from the king of Han and his ministers. At this moment, Nie Zheng suddenly pulled out his dagger and stabbed King Han to death. Then, he cut off his eyelids, lips, nose, and ears, completely disfigured his face, and committed suicide. The Koreans exposed his body in the street and offered a large sum of money to find out the assassin's surname and place of origin.
When Nie Zheng’s mother heard the news, she guessed that only her son could do such a thing, so she came to the body, picked up the body, cried loudly, and said to the onlookers: "This is my son Nie Zheng. He killed the tyrant to avenge his father, but he was afraid of harming his family and being disfigured. But how could I be greedy for life and not let my son be famous in the world!" She cried until she died, and finally got angry. Absolutely dead.
After the old man finished telling this story, Ji Kang was so shocked that he was speechless for a while. The old man was silent for a long time, and then said: "To play the piano, it is not enough to rely solely on fingering proficiency. You must also understand the content and spirit of the music. You must integrate your own feelings into the music. Only when you are moved can you move people." Then, The old man personally taught Ji Kang how to play.
It was almost dawn. When Ji Kang looked at the old man again, he didn't know when the old man had disappeared. From then on, Ji Kang's "Guangling San" was played exquisitely. This ancient song is linked with Ji Kang's name and is famous all over the world.
Later, the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest" gradually disintegrated under the threats and inducements of the Sima Group. Ji Kang was a tough guy who always refused to attach himself to the Sima family. The irreconcilable attitude between Ji Kang and the Sima Group finally brought disaster to himself. They piled up charges and wanted to kill him.
In 262 AD, the ruler Sima Zhao ordered Ji Kang to be executed. On the execution ground, three thousand imperial students petitioned the imperial court to pardon Ji Kang and to worship Ji Kang as their teacher. This clearly demonstrated Ji Kang's academic status and charisma to the society, but of course this "unreasonable request" Will not be accepted by those in power. What Ji Kang was thinking about at this moment was not that his splendid life was about to end, but that there was no successor to this wonderful piece of music. He asked for a harp, and on the high execution platform, facing thousands of people who came to see him off, he asked for a harp and played the last "Guangling San", with the clanging sound of the harp, The mysterious melody was overwhelming and floated into everyone's heart. The passionate and tragic sound of the piano moved the onlookers to tears. He put away the qin, raised his head and sighed to Changtian: "It is not a pity to die. It is a pity that "Guangling San" will be lost!" After finishing playing, Ji Kang calmly started playing. He was only thirty-nine years old.
Ji Kang was killed. He was only forty years old when he died.
Fortunately, "Guangling San" was not lost. It first passed through the hands and mouths of luthiers. After more than 900 years, it was finally recorded in the book "Magical Secret Music" by Zhu Quan, a dedicated musician. The piece is divided into five parts: minor preface, major preface, main tone, chaotic tone, and post-introduction. It has forty-five sections in a row, making it one of the longest guqin pieces available today.