The Development of Musical Instruments in the Two Han and Three Kingdoms

During the Han Dynasty, when the world was unified and the feudal society developed unprecedentedly, the art of guqin also developed further. During this period, literati musicians emerged. They were both literati and musicians. They were good at playing and summarizing. They broke the limitations of musical skills and injected profound philosophy, rich imagination, and innovative techniques into music creation and performance, giving them a new style of music. It has gained a deeper soul in Guqin music and pushed the development of Guqin music to a higher level.

During the Han Dynasty, the theory of guqin theory developed greatly, and some famous guqin music collections appeared, which were devoted to guqin theory monographs, as well as the performance techniques and notation methods of the works. Related discussions about it also include the earliest musicians in history. The main representative works include Cai Yong's "Qin Cao" in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ji Kang's "Qin Fu", Ji Zhan's "Qin Rhythm Picture", etc.

1. "Qin Cao"

Written by Cai Yong of the Eastern Han Dynasty, in two volumes, it is the most abundant and detailed monograph that introduces early qin music works in existence. The original book has been lost, and it is later published. They were written and recorded in books, including: five poems, nine quotations, twelve poems and more than 20 Hejian songs. They are divided into four categories and 47 songs are recorded, respectively recording the author, meaning and creation of the Qin music works. Background or stories related to the work, etc., and some even include lyrics.

2. "Qin Fu"

Written by Ji Kang of the Three Kingdoms. There is a discussion on the role of music in the article, and it is believed that music "can guide the spirit, express and harmonize emotions, and make people who are poor and lonely but not bored, nothing better than sound." Based on his own opinions, Ji Kang divided the popular Qin music at that time into two categories. One was the superior works that were "suitable for introduction", such as "Guangling Zhixi", "Dongwu Taishan", "Flying Dragon", "Lu Ming", etc. ; The first is the popular Qin music of "Xiaochao Yao", such as "Cai's Five Lanes", "Wang Zhaojun", "Chu Concubine (Sigh)", "Biehe (Cao)", etc., and also analyzes the general music in detail and in detail. Music review of piano music.

3. "Qin Rhythm Diagram"

A monograph on Qin theory, written by Jie Zhan. The article gives a vivid description of the scattered tones, overtones, and fretted tones, which can quite summarize the timbre characteristics of the three playing methods. He said: "The scattered tones are empty and resting, like the indifference of Feng Shui." "The overtones are beautiful and light, like immortals." "Nine chants of the song." "The sound is faint like thunder or thundering like a cliff."

The monographs on musical instruments in the Han Dynasty inherited and developed the tradition of the Pre-Qin Dynasty in terms of quantity, content, and form. Guqin music works have also further developed in the direction of musical instruments. The famous songs "Guangling San", "Jiu Kuang", and the earliest existing written score "Jieshi Diao·Youlan" have been passed down to later generations and have influenced the development of guqin art to this day.