Becoming Sages: Qin Song and Self-Cultivation in Late Imperial China Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Zeyuan Wu Graduate Program in East Asian Languages and Literatures The Ohio State University 2020 Dissertation Committee Meow Hui Goh, Advisor Patricia Sieber, Co-advisor Udo Will Ying Zhang 1 Copyrighted by Zeyuan Wu 2020 2 Abstract This dissertation aims to understand the significance of qin songs (songs accompanied on the qin, the seven-stringed zither) to their practitioners in late imperial China. The qin was known as an instrument for self-cultivation throughout Chinese history. However, our current knowledge of how qin music was used for self-cultivation purposes in premodern China is largely limited to the ideological aspect, awaiting to be supported or modified by investigations of specific historical practices. Looking into different qin practitioners’ works, activities, social connections, and life experiences, this dissertation shows how they made various use of qin song—the musical form and activities related to it—to achieve their goals of becoming the ideal self. I argue that late imperial qin songs were often composed and edited for the purpose of communicating general moral principles and particular moral exemplarity to a larger community of the like-minded (zhiyin). As a result, activities related to these songs allowed the practitioners to extend their social influence on their way of pursuing sagehood. The social function of the songs challenges today’s widespread assumptions that both qin music and self-cultivation are primarily meditative and solitary. I further argue that many qin songs emerged and evolved as a result of qin practitioners’ emphasis on the communicative power of music compared to mere words, which responded to the new changes and concerns during the late imperial period. Their ii continuous quest for the most effective means of moral communication may also help explain the eventual decline of qin song—as opposed to the purely instrumental form of qin music—by the eighteenth century, which awaits further studies. iii Dedication To my husband, Dr. Kui-Tian Xi iv Acknowledgments I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my two advisors, Meow Hui Goh and Patricia Sieber, for their constant guidance, support, and encouragement during my years at The Ohio State University (OSU). Professor Goh guided me every step of the way throughout the whole process of my graduate training, and nurtured my intellectual and personal growth. Professor Sieber sparked my interest in the late imperial period. Her insights into the fields of song-drama, vernacular literature, and print culture shaped my dissertation in significant ways. I also wish to express my greatest appreciation to the other two members of my dissertation committee, Udo Will and Ying Zhang. Professor Will from the School of Music enlightened me on various issues in ethnomusicology, and offered me many insightful comments with his expertise in qin music and culture. Professor Zhang from the Department of History inspired my interest in intellectual history and Confucianism. Her guidance and encouragement had invaluable influences on my research and my life. In various stages of my research, I received inspiration and help from many scholars, including members of the OSU faculty and scholars from other institutes who shared ideas with me in various academic events and email correspondence. I would also like to thank my fellow graduate students for their intellectual exchange, emotional support, and assistance in my life. My doctoral research and dissertation writing received v financial support from the OSU and the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, without which I would not have completed this dissertation. I am extremely grateful to my parents for their endless love and support, and to my qin teacher, GUI Shimin, for leading me to the lifelong journey of qin learning. Finally, I dedicate this dissertation to my husband, Kui-Tian Xi, for being my best friend in this world. vi Vita 2013............................. B.A. Chinese Language and Literature, Nanjing University, China 2015.................................................... M.A. Chinese Literature, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: East Asian Languages and Literatures vii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................... v Vita .................................................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. viii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1. Ascending the Hall and Knowing the Music .................................................. 42 Chapter 2. Continuing the Sages’ Work: Reviving the Music of the Classic of Poetry ... 89 Chapter 3. Encountering A Transcendent: Yang Biaozheng’s Musiking on the Page ... 122 Chapter 4. Emulating the Worthy: Queen Zhao’s Moral Exemplarity ........................... 157 Chapter 5. To Be Known to All: Cheng Xiong’s Social Network .................................. 204 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 242 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 249 viii List of Figures Figure 1. “The Manner of Qin Playing” (fuqin shi 撫琴勢) in a Ming manuscript copy of the Taigu yiyin 太古遺音, preserved in the National Central Library, Taiwan ............. 129 Figure 2. “The Manner of Qin Playing” in Xilutang qintong 西麓堂琴統 .................... 130 Figure 3. Yang Biaozheng’s portrait with comments ..................................................... 132 Figure 4. Pages from the “List of the Sagacious and Worthy” in Yang Biaozheng’s qinpu, preserved in the Library of Congress. ............................................................................. 135 Figure 5. Pages from the “List of the Sagacious and Worthy of Each Dynasty” in Wuzhizhai qinpu .............................................................................................................. 156 Figure 6. The epitaph of Yougui’s biological mother, preserved in Huawei Minsu Wenhua Bowuyuan 華威民俗文化博物苑, Henan province, China. ............................ 162 Figure 7. Zhongshi’s qin ................................................................................................. 165 ix Introduction The qin 琴 (aka guqin 古琴, the seven-stringed zither) in Chinese history was said to be the creation of the ancient sage-kings and a companion for junzi 君子 (gentlemen, exemplary people) for self-cultivation (xiushen 修身). During the Ming and Qing periods (1368-1911), as the admiration for antiquity became a fashion in various fields while many ancient musical instruments had lost transmission, some people even considered the qin as the only tangible legacy of the ancient sages’ music. At the same time, a series of changes from the mid and late Ming—the economic development, the growth of population, the spread of education, the increasing social mobility, and the intensified competition for success in civil service examinations—caused many well-educated people to seek alternative careers to officialdom. Some of the musical ones devoted themselves to qin learning, hoping to “establish virtues, accomplishments, and words” like the ancient sages and worthies.1 1 Lide 立德 (establish virtues), ligong 立功 (establish accomplishments), and liyan 立言 (establish words), originally coming from Zuozhuan 左傳, were traditionally considered as the three ways to achieve historical immortality. Zuo Qiuming 左丘明 (c. 502-422 BCE), Chunqiiu zuozhuan zhu 春秋左傳注, ed. Yang Bojun 楊伯峻, vol. 3, 1088. 1 Some of these qin enthusiasts paid particular attention to qin song. A bridge between music and literature, songs were often regarded by premodern Chinese as an effective means of expressing one’s emotion, moving the heart-mind, and realizing moral transformation, with the traditional hermeneutics of the Classic of Poetry (aka the Book of Songs) being the most influential example.2 Hence, in the view of some late imperial qin practitioners, qin song not only brought together qin playing and song singing—the two means which the ancient sages used to spread moral education, but also combined music (yue 樂) and literature (wen 文)—the two important tools for communicating the Way. For people who were devoted to qin learning and actively participated in qin song activities, how exactly did they work toward their self-cultivation goals of following the ancient exemplars and becoming an ideal person? As they composed and edited qin songs with different styles and various contents, what did they aim