Shu school

Zeng Chengwei (left), one of the main transmitters of the Shu School of the modern era.

The Shu School of Qin Music (蜀派古琴) refers to the modern guqin regional performance style tradition and lineage begun in the mid-19th century by its founder, Zhang Kongshan. The "Shu" name derives from the main base of operations at the time, namely the Sichuan region of China. Today, the Shu School has many branches and lineages, most of which trace their foundation to Zhang Kongshan, though the term is equally applied to Sichuan-based players in general.

History

The Sichuan qin players, as early as the Tang dynasty, was perceived as having qin play characterised by rushing, tumbling energy.

Zhang Kongshan

The modern form of the school was largely founded by Zhang Kongshan in the mid-19th century; his inheritors have been very numerous.

As the Sichuan style fanned out into other areas of China (as it seemed to do rather successfully in the early 20th century), it became known as "Fanchuan", whose connotation is something like "Chuan – Everywhere".

Name nomenclature

There is a debate as to whether the "Shu" (蜀) appellation is an accurate designation for the school/style in question. Some people prefer "Chuan" (川) as this distinguishes it from the old historical "Shu School" which is totally unrelated to the modern guise. "Fanchuan" (泛川) gained credence after being coined by Zha Fuxi and is applied generally to any Shu style player not residing in Sichuan but has generally been applied indiscriminately, even to players with little association or connection with Sichuan or the modern Shu School in general.

Presently, the only players to use the "Shu" appellation are from the main branches of the Zhang Kongshan lineage, especially the Ye branch, e.g. Zeng Chengwei. "Chuan" is generally used by players not of the main Zhang Kongshan lineage but residing roughly in the Sichuan area or have connections with it.

Style

Historically, the Shu style is described in literature as "restlessly fast and unrestrained, with magnificence of momentum" (躁急奔放、氣勢宏偉). This is due to the nature of the environment which Sichuan is, with high mountains, deep valleys and fast flowing rivers, which are the main influences for the players and composers of the music.

Melodies and Qinpu

The magnum opus and foundation document of the modern Shu School is the Tianwen Ge Qinpu (天聞閣琴譜, "Qin Codex of the Pavilion of Heavenly Sounds"), published in 1876 under the auspices of Zhang Kongshan and his associate, Tang Yiming, and his student, Ye Jiefu. The Tianwen Ge is not only the largest collection of qin melodies ever published in a single publication currently in existence but also it contains many other useful data related to qin lore and construction. Most of the melodies were in the active repertoire of his students and came from many sources. Some were compositions whilst around nine melodies were edited and rearranged by Zhang during his years in Sichuan. Out of these nine, the most influential melody was that of "Liu Shui" (流水) or "Flowing Water".

Branches

There are two branches: one branch through Ye Jiafu whose lineage is embodied by Zeng Chengwei, and the other is through Gu Yucheng whose lineage was embodied by Gu Meigeng. Other than those two main branches, there are others such as the "Ba Lineage" which is not a direct line from Zhang Kongshan.

Lineage tree

Below is a construction of the lines and branches from the transmission of Zhang Kongshan. Due to limitations of space and lack of information, not all transmitters are included.

曹錡(稚雲) Cao Zhiyun

馮彤雲 Feng Tongyun

唐彜銘(松仙/軒) Tang Yiming act. 1860s—?

張合修(孔山) Zhang Kongshan c.1830—1905

錢綬詹 Qian Shouzhan

釋竹禪(法號熹) Monk Zhuchan 1824—1900

華陽顧氏傳承系 The Gu branch of Huayang

成都葉氏傳承系 The Ye branch of Chengdu

楊紫東 Yang Zidong

霸派傳承系 The Ba School lineage

彭莜香 Peng Youxiang act. 1875—1898

顧玉成(號少庚) Gu Yucheng 1837—1906

歐陽書唐 Ouyang Shutang

譚銘(石門) Tan Shimen

葉介福 Ye Jiefu

蘇天培 Su Tianpei

彭慶濤(祉卿) Peng Zhiqing 1891—1944

顧雋(哲卿) Gu Juan 1879—1949

顧煢(卓群) Gu Qiong 1881—1936

顧熙(勁秋) Gu Xi 1836—

葉婉貞 Ye Wanzhen

張伯龍 Zhang Bolong

蘇雯 Su Wen

顧燾(梅羹) Gu Meigeng 1899—1990

廖文甫 Liao Wenfu

楊厚庵 Yang Hou'an

顧澤長(琴禪) Gu Zezhang 1941—

顧淡如 Gu Danru

朱默涵 Zhu Mohan 1963—

丁承運 Ding Chengyun 1944—

喻瑉(紹唐) Yu Shaotang 1901—?

喻潤(紹澤) Yu Shaoze 1903—1988

葉伯和之母 Ye Bohe's mother

裴鐵俠(雪琴) Pei Tiexia 1884—1950

龍琴舫 Long Qinfang 1886—?

陳蘊儒 Chen Wenru 1874—?

顧永祥 Gu Yongxiang 1982—

新都魏氏傳承系 The Wei branch of Xindu

喻文燕 Yu Wenyan 1941—

曾成偉 Zeng Chengwei 1958—

葉伯和 Ye Bohe 1889—1945

王華德 Wang Huade 1922—2008

江嘉祐 Jiang Jiayou 1942—

俞伯蓀 Yu Bosun 1922—2013

魏莫愚 Wei Moyu

龍藏寺傳承系 The Longzang Temple branch

戴(代)茹 Dai Ru

曾河 Zeng He 1988—

俞秦琴 Yu Qinqin

魏智儒 Wei Zhiru

釋含澈(雪堂) Monk Hanche 1824—1900

釋星槎(融琢) Monk Xingcha 1854—?

魏光綽 Wei Guangchuo

釋月泉 Monk Yuequan

劉應琨 Liu Yingkun

什邡劉氏傳承系 The Liu branch of Shifang

魏宗鉞 Wei Zongyue

劉仲勳 Liu Zhongxun

魏秉虔 Wei Bingqian

劉兆澤 Liu Zhaoze

劉兆新 Liu Zhaoxin 1918—?

劉兆甫 Liu Zhaofu

秦甬椿 Qin Yongchun

魏學良 Wei Xueliang

劉世復 Liu Shifu

劉世鴻 Liu Shihong 1949—

秦甬椿之子 Qin Yongchun's son

References

• Zhang, Huaying (2005), Guqin. 章華英《古琴》
• Wu, Zhao (2005), Clear Sounds of the Peerless. 吳釗《絕世清音》
• Yang, Xiao (ed.), et al. (2013), Oral Histories of Qin People within the Shu Region. 楊曉《蜀中琴人口述史》
• Tang, Liuzhong (ed.), et al. (2013), Magnificence of the Guqin. 唐六中《古琴清英》
• Zeng, Chengwei (ed.), et al. (2014), Qin Journal of Mount Shu. 曾成偉《蜀山琴滙》
• Li, Songlan (2015), The Time-and-Space Penetrating Guqin Art - Research into the Historical and Modern Shu School. 李松蘭《穿越時空的古琴藝術•蜀派歷史與現壯研究》