4th February, 2007

This, the 26th meeting of the London Youlan Qin Society, was held at the home of Sarah Moyse in southwest London.

Introduction

This was our first yaji for 2007, the Year of the Pig in the Chinese calendar.

Programme

First of all, Cheng Yu introduced our new members, for whom this was the first London Qin Society yaji, and made some announcements:

Music

After the talks, the following music was played:
  1. Hong Hu Shui Lang Da Lang 洪 湖水浪打浪 (Ripples on Lake Hong), a Chinese folk song, sung by Chuan Chengying. 
  2. Ombra Mai Fu, from Handel's Opera Serse, sung by Chuan Chengying. 
  3. You Lan 幽兰 (The Solitary Orchid), played by Charlie Huang, his own dapu from Qinxue Congshu. #
  4. Shi Shin In 思親引 (Longing for My Parents), from the Donggao Qinpu 东皋琴谱, composed by Donggao Xinyue (Toko Shin'etsu) 东皋心越. Played and sung by Shigeko Ikezawa. Ichiro Ikezawa read his English translation of the lyrics:

白雲不共海東斉、東海茫々望転迷。終日思親人不知、一日思親十二時、一日思親十二時。

The white clouds are full of bumps to the east of the sea.
The sea in the east is misty, I can’t recognize anything in the direction of the sea.
I have been thinking about my parents all day long, but nobody notices.
All day long I am thinking of my parents, 24 hours a day.
All day long I am thinking of my parents, 24 hours a day.
  1. Hitozo 人ぞ (A Man Has to Live Like This), composed by Uragami Gyokudo (1745-1820). Played and sung by Shigeko Ikezawa. Ichiro Ikezawa read his English translation of the lyrics:

人 は咎(とが)むと、咎めじ。ひ とは怒ると、怒らじ。怒りと欲を捨ててこそ、常に心は楽しめ。

Even if someone dares to condemn me for no reason, I would never reproach anyone myself.
Even if someone easily gets angry with me for a trivial reason, I would never be angry with anyone myself.
If only I could throw away my anger and lust, I would eventually make my heart free and comfortable.

Uragami Gyokudo 浦上玉堂 was born into a family of feudal retainers (samurai) serving the lord of the Ikeda clan in Bizen Province, modern Okayama Prefecture. He became the titular head of his family at the age of six, on the death of his father. Later he studied Confucianism, and was given a post as personal attendant to the lord of the Ikeda clan. On trips to Edo, he studied poetry, painting, and playing the qin.The name “Gyokudo”(Jade Hall) he took from an inscription on a qin that he owned, and he called himself Gyokudo Kinshi, ”The Jade Hall Qin Master”. He adored the qin above all else. 

The lord he served died in 1768, and Gyokudo’s interest turned more towards scholarship and poetry, music and painting. The death of his wife in 1792, and the prohibition by the Tokugawa government of the study of certain “heterodox”doctrines, including the form of Neo-Confucianism expounded by the Ming dynasty Chinese philosopher Wang Yangming, to which Gyokudo subscribed, led him to resolve at last to withdraw from feudal service. There must have been some conflict between Gyokudo and his colleagues in the Ikeda clan before and after this turning point in his life. He made the break in 1794, setting off with his two sons on a series of journeys all over Japan. He made his living chiefly as a musician; he was not a professional painter, although he is one of the most famous painters in Japan today, and he was not much appreciated as a painter during his lifetime. He drank heavily, and some of his pictures are inscribed as having been painted “while inebriated”. He also left a number of poems. Interestingly, all of them contain the characters for wine 酒 or qin 琴; in other words, these are the sole themes of his poems. Eventually, around 1811, Gyokudo settled in Kyoto and stayed there until his death in 1820. His tomb is in Horinji Temple near the Togetsu (Moonlight Crossing) bridge over the Katsuragawa River in Arashiyama.

The music is based on traditional Japanese court music. The lyrics may be based on his bitter experiences with his colleagues at the time of the turning point in his life, before and after his withdrawal from the feudual clan system.

  1. Ao Ai 欸乃 (The Creak of an Oar), played by Chen Jinwei. *
  2. Meihua San Nong 梅 花三弄 (Three Variations on the Plum Blossom), played by May Wong.  #
  3. Shishang Liu Quan 石上流泉 (A Spring Flowing over Stones), from Guqin Quji 古琴曲集, played by  Julian Joseph
  4. You Lan 幽兰 (The Solitary Orchid), played by Dan Nung Ing, based on Guan Pinghu's version. *
  5. Liu Shui 流水 (Flowing Waters), played by Cheng Yu. *
  6. Xiao Xiang Shui Yun 阳关三叠 (Mist and Clouds over The Xiao and Xiang Rivers)  played by Chen Jinwei. #
  7. Ping Sha Luo Yan 平沙落雁, played by Charlie Huang
  8. Guangling San 广 陵散, played by Marnix Wells. The first part of the version in Shenqi Mipu 神奇秘谱 (1425). #
  9. Chorro dao Saodad (Tears of Longing), played by Chen Jinwei. Classical guitar. #
* Sarah Moyse's qin, with steel-nylon strings.
#  Qing Dynasty qin, made in 1804, with silk strings.



    May Wong playing Meihua San Nong
    		 Shigeko and Ichiro Ikezawa: Hitozo
    		 Chuan Chengying singing Hong Hu Shui Lang da Lang


    Copyright the London Youlan Qin Society, 2007. All rights reserved.