Qin Dao
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Qin Dao |
Qin Dao |
Qin is a string instrument that emerged in China some 5,000 years ago. The Chinese people deeply hold the view that Qin was created by their original ancestors, Shennong and Fuxi. Qin-playing, chess, calligraphy and painting – these “four arts” (cultivated by men of letters) represent Chinese art in its finest forms. Among them, Qin always ranks in the first place, perhaps because it was the first to appear in the life of China’s people. What is Qin? Qin was originally taken as a ceremonial tool for intercourse between mankind and the universe [heaven-and-earth] -- helping to bridge their communication. Prior to the Spring and Autumn Period [in 8th to 5th centuries BC], none except shamans could play Qin. In other words, at the outset, Qin wasn’t what we moderns would call a musical instrument. Rather, it was a sort of spiritual apparatus. It has points of similarity with the oldest forms of written language in China – oracular inscriptions on tortoise shells – which were basically associated with divination ceremonies. The spiritual core of Chinese culture involves the achievement of “union among heaven, earth and man.” Now in the sphere of Qin, what is meant by notions of heaven, earth and man? How can man achieve such union with heaven and earth by means of Qin? Actually, heaven denotes sounds made by plucking, fiddling, kneading and intoning of the instrument, earth refers to the instrument itself which calls forth these sounds, and man refers to the meanings conveyed through sonic images. Such meanings tend to be so metaphorical and indescribable, but they are absolutely lucid for the player himself. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, a well-known story about Qin transpired. This story, involving Boya’s meeting his true friend who was keenly appreciative of his music, has been familiar to every Chinese for more than three thousand years. Why should the Chinese people be so enchanted by this story? Because Qin is something which can transmit subtleties of one’s personality and one’s spiritual qualities to other people. One’s bosom-friend in Chinese is therefore called “a friend who appreciates one’s music.” More accurately, what such a friend appreciates is not one’s music played on the Qin, but rather the spiritual world depicted by the music. There was a great master of Qin called Ji Kang in the time of the Wei and Jin dynasties of China. He experienced the worst mishap and was about to be executed. However, at such a moment, the master set his fingers on the strings of Qin, free of any mental disturbance. While gazing at the geese flying afar in the sky, he played Qin perfectly for the last time in his life, and the tune of his heart became the highest masterpiece, called Guanglingsan. With the final note fading away, he removed his hands from the instrument and sighed his last word, “Now Guanglingsan disappears from this world.” The master thus rewarded the thousands of people who had gathered to say farewell to him, by the musical expressions of his lofty soul and spirituality. Through this story, we come to the understanding that Qin had become the expression of personality for the Chinese who lived in Wei and Jin dynasties. Since that time, throughout the subsequent dynasties of Tang, Yuan, Ming and Qing, Qin has always been the companion of a man of letters, holding an unshakable place in his study. Tao Yuanming, a famous literary hermit of Wei and Jin, used to hang up a Qin without strings on the wall, to betoken a spiritual shrine. Pitifully, when the 20th century reached its close, there were only a hundred or so Qin players extant. The traditional Qin as the top art of intellectual Chinese had become rare and strange to the Chinese of today. The Chinese sage Confucius said: “Aspire to the Way, find support in Virtue, rely on Kind-heartedness, immerse yourself in the Arts.” Here is the picture or orientation of life for a typical Chinese inspired by spiritual, artistic and ethical pursuits. Qin typifies “immersing yourself in the arts.” Therefore, on the brink of the 21st Century, thousands of Chinese intellectuals began picking up this artifact once again to resume their self-indulgence in inner freedom, empathy, amusement and enlightenment. As a successor of the Guangling School of Qin, I could deeply appreciate the awakening and the powerful longing. To disseminate the Dao of Qin is my personal mission and comprises my pleasure. But I would like to suggest to my contemporaries that Qin isn’t for performance before an audience nor for yourself, but rather a tool to realize one’s relationship with the universe [heaven-and-earth] and to touch the pulse of life. What’s the purpose of studying Qin? The purpose is to aspire to clarity of mind, brilliance of passion, and gentleness of temperament. How to approach to Qin as an audience member? We must unveil both our own and the player’s mind, temperament and passion by appreciation of the rhythmicity. So it’s a process of exchange between the outer and the inner, and a moment of ascending to sublime planes of life. There are a number of people promoting Qin as a cultural form, with the mistaken notion that it is part of “music” in the modern sense. They’ve lost sight of the nature of Qin as a sacred tool! If this mistake proceeds, I presume we may witness the loss of the Dao of Qin from the landscape of our life. To acquaint friends via Qin has been a tradition. When considering the Dao of Qin, traditional repertoire is nothing but pieces for exercising and appreciating the ancient people’s spiritual world – similar to the training of traditional Chinese painting which emphasizes imitating [old masters] in the beginning stages. It is nevertheless a method used to inherit techniques and to sense the insights of the ancients, rather than being the primary objective of the Dao of Qin. A person excellent in the Dao of Qin is called by Chinese a Qin Person, not a performer of Qin art. This attitude marks a difference from that of Westerners towards music. If you should call a Qin Person a performer of Qin, it would amount to an insult. Although I might play some traditional pieces when propagating the Dao of Qin, you should never take this as my primary purpose. The path that I would follow is to reveal my mind, temperament and passion by means of Qin. I will have to empty my mind so as to breathe with Qin – just like being unified. The very moment when any thought arises, is the right point for me to stop playing. Chinese offer an analogy to explain “Immerse yourself in the arts,” namely: “The universe abides in the hands.” Qin should not exist on the stage nor in performance, but exclusively in the heart of the Qin Person, in his or her passions as well as in inhalations and exhalations of the air of nature itself. In short, Qin likely has its own destiny, brought up by karma that will change you!
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琴道 |
琴，距今已有五千年的历史。中国人深信：琴是由他们的始祖神农、伏羲制造的。琴棋书画作为中国艺术的最高形式，琴为第一，因为它最早出现在中国人的生活中。 中国圣人孔子曰：“志于道，据于德，依于仁，游于艺。”给他的子孙勾勒出了精神生活、艺术生活，以及伦理生活的图景与方向。琴，作为“游于艺”的典范在二十一世纪犹如春回大地，使得成千上万的读书人又重新拾起了这一曾让中国读书人得以畅神、寄情、自娱、昧道的法器。我作为广陵琴派的传人，深深的感受到了这一苏醒的力量和人心的渴望。弘扬琴道，是我的文化信念，同时也是我生活的欢悦！我觉得对今天的人而言，一定要了知，琴不是弹给别人听的，更不是弹给自己听的，它是与天地共欢，与生命共呼吸的增上。学琴干什么？就是要通过琴，使自己的心更加的澄明；使自己的情更加的绚烂；使自己的性更加的温柔。我们现在如何听琴呢？就是要通过琴韵同时关照到自己与抚琴者的心、性、情。这是内外的激励，也是当下生命的升华。现在很多人把琴作为文化推广，错误的把它与我们现在的音乐等同起来。从本质上误解了琴作为法器的存在！如此下去，我想琴道将会从我们的生活中渐渐隐去。 以琴会友，这是琴的传统。就琴道而言，传统曲目只作为练习与感受古人心迹之用。这与学习中国画从临摹入手一样，只是传承技法与会通古人心象的方便，绝不是琴道的目的。中国人将擅长琴道的人统称为琴人，而不是称作演奏家，从而区别于西方人对待音乐的态度。在中国，如果你把一个琴人唤作演奏家，是对他的不敬。为了弘扬琴道，我会有一些传统曲目的演奏，但这绝不是我的本意与宗旨。我所遵循的琴道，是借琴随性显现我的心性情。演奏时我必须空去我的念头，与琴共呼吸。每当念头起时，便正是我琴声的止处。中国人把这种“游于艺”的琴道精神比喻成“宇宙在乎手”。 琴，不应生活在舞台上，也不应生活在表演中。琴，只应该活在琴人的心中、情中和与自然交往的一呼一吸之中。
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