UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles The Qin and Literati Culture in Song China A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures by Meimei Zhang 2019 © Copyright by Meimei Zhang 2019 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION The Qin and Literati Culture in Song China by Meimei Zhang Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles, 2019 Professor David C Schaberg, Chair My dissertation examines the distinctive role that the qin played in Chinese literati culture in the Song dynasty (960-1279) through its representations in literary texts. As one of the earliest stringed musical instruments in China, the qin has occupied a unique status in Chinese cultural history. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favored by Chinese scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement. This dissertation focuses on the period of the Song because it was during this period that the literati developed as a class and started to indulge themselves in various cultural and artistic pursuits, and record their experiences in literary compositions as part of their self-fashioning. Among these cultural pursuits, the qin playing was an important one. Although there have been several academic works on the qin, most of them focus on the musical aspects of the instrument. My project aims to reorient the perspective on the qin by revealing its close relationship and interaction with the literati class from a series of ii historical and literary approaches. During the Song, the qin was mentioned in a multiplicity of literary texts, and associated with a plethora of renowned literary figures. This dissertation argues that in the Song dynasty, the configuration of aesthetic sensitivities, poetic appeal and philosophical implications that literati imparted to the qin reached its mature form, which set a paradigm for later periods. The qin not only served as an object of literary representation, but also a primary medium through which literati’s full-fledged image as a person with comprehensive talents was formed. iii The dissertation of Meimei Zhang is approved. Hui-shu Lee Nina Natasha Duthie Ronald Egan Torquil Duthie David C Schaberg, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2019 iv To my family v TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... viii Vita .................................................................................................................................................. x Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: The Social Life of the Qin .................................................................................. 26 I. Production and Fabrication of the Qin .............................................................................. 28 II. The Price of the Qin .......................................................................................................... 36 III. Antiquarianism and Famous Brands of the Qin ................................................................ 40 IV. Fake Qin: Anxiety About Counterfeiting ......................................................................... 49 V. Qin Owners and Players in Song Texts ............................................................................ 54 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 63 Chapter Two: Recalling the Past: The Qin, Memories, and Self-Representation in Ouyang Xiu’s Literary Writings .............................................................................................................. 65 I. Chasing the Memory of Yiling through the Qin ............................................................... 69 II. Chuzhou, the Qin, and the Drunken Elder ........................................................................ 77 III. The Qin, Involuntary Memory, and the Drunken Elder .................................................... 84 IV. Imagining the Drunken Elder Through Qin Music by Ouyang Xiu’s Friends ................. 90 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 97 Chapter Three: Constructing A Musical Instrument of the Ideal Past: Aesthetics and Conceptions of the Qin ............................................................................................................. 100 I. The Controversy Over Han Yu’s “Listening to Reverend Ying Play the Qin” .............. 101 II. Key Aesthetic Terminology for Qin Music .................................................................... 112 III. Classicizing the Qin by Debasing its Rival: The Literary Construction of the Zheng from the Wei-Jin through the Song Periods .................................................................................... 127 vi Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 138 Chapter Four: The Stringless and Broken Instrument: Buddhism and the Representation of Qin Monks and the Qin ........................................................................................................ 140 I. Representation of Qin Monks and the Qin before the Song ........................................... 142 II. Representation of Qin Monks and the Qin during the Song dynasty ............................. 147 III. The Stringless Qin: An Enigmatic Mode of Chan Expression ....................................... 155 IV. The Broken Qin ............................................................................................................... 164 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 174 Coda ........................................................................................................................................... 176 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 186 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe a deep debt of gratitude to many people who helped and supported me throughout my Ph.D. program. Space prohibits my naming them all but there are a few that I cannot let pass without a formal acknowledgment. The first is my doctoral advisor and mentor, David Schaberg, who guided me throughout my doctoral journey, generously sharing his time, knowledge and expertise. In our biweekly meetings, I spent many happy and fruitful hours discussing the literature of music with him, which not only broadened my understanding of culture but also nourished my passion for literature. I am also grateful to Torquil and Nina Duthie, both of whom gave selfless and patient support to my research and to me. They are my role models not only as great scholars but also as people whose kindness and humanity are extraordinary. Hui-shu Lee offered an interdisciplinary perspective of art history to my research and kindly provided both scholarly advice and encouragement. I have also benefited from the erudition and generosity of Ronald Egan: many of the ideas in this dissertation were inspired by him. A special thank-you similarly goes to Robert Buswell, who is not an official committee member but who carefully edited the last chapter of my dissertation and offered valuable advice for its revision. I am also grateful to my former advisor Jack Chen, who in the first three years of my Ph.D. helped me to familiarize myself with a new set of methodologies for literary studies. I am deeply indebted to Andrea Goldman, Christopher Hanscom, Hongyin Tao, Jen-shu Wu, Lothar von Faulkenhuasen, Natasha Heller, Min Li, Pei-fen Hsieh, Peter Sturman, Qi Li, Richard von Glahn, Roger Savage, Yinghui Wu, Wei Fang, for their untiring support and advice. In addition, I am fortunate that a group of close friends and colleagues stood by me throughout this long and demanding journey. Without their friendship, the quality of this dissertation, however modest, would have suffered. Although I cannot name them all here—there are too many— they know who they are and their names are engraved with gratitude on my heart. Finally, I would like to thank my parents and grandparents to whom I owe viii an unrepayable debt. Although his memory is now fading, my grandfather, 95-years young, has always been proud of me and trusted that his little granddaughter would one day complete a great project. To him and especially to my mother, who unconditionally supported me from beginning to end with faith and generosity, as I inched along this rugged but rewarding path of research, I dedicate this dissertation with love. ix VITA 2012-2014 M.A. in Chinese Literature, University of California, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. 2004-2008 B.A. in Chinese Literature, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China, P.R. SELECTED PUBLICATIONS “Qian Qianyi (1582–1664): Poems.” In The Artful Recluse: Painting, Poetry, and Politics in 17th– Century China, ed. Peter C. Sturman and Susan S. Tai (Santa Barbara, CA: Santa Barbara Museum of Art; Munich: Delmonico Books/Prestel, 2012), pp. 192–195. Translations: Paula Vasano, “Getting There from Here: Locating the Subject