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Family Teaching
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- A picture of Qing Rui playing the qin
Qing Rui (1816-1875), a Manchurian native of Heilongjiang who belonged to the Bordered White Banner (Xiangbaiqi), was an accomplished qin and se player. He moved to Guangzhou in 1843 to assume the role of county magistrate in Haikang (present day Leizhou City). According to the records of his grandson, Yung Sum-yin, this picture was taken during the Tongzhi reign (1862-1874).
- A hand-written autobiographic profile by Qing Rui
This autobiographic profile was written in 1869 by Qing Rui when he was 53 years old. Here can be found a record of his academic achievements, official positions, place of origin, and the history of his family, etc. The damaged profile was mounted by Jao Tsung-I, a student of Qing Rui’s grandson, Yung Sum-yin in the 1950s.
- Qinse Hepu (The Collected Manuscripts of the Qin and the Se)
Qinse Hepu was written by Qing Rui during the latter part of his life. It is a collection of qin and se manuscripts comprising two volumes. Eight qin and se ensembles are included in the book, namely Liangxiao Yin (Tune for a Pleasant Evening), Yuqiao Wenda (Dialogue between a Fisherman and a Woodcutter), Pingsha Luoyan (Wild Geese Landing on Sand), Wuye Wu Qiufeng (Parasol Leaves Dancing in the Autumnal Breeze), Cunxiao Yin (Tune for a Spring Dawn), Dongting Qiusi (Autumn Thoughts at Dongting), Shitan Zhang (Stanzas of Siddham), Saishang Hong (Wild Geese on the Frontier). The fingering techniques for the qin and se are displayed side by side on the manuscripts: the right dedicated to those of the se and the left, the qin.
This volume was inscribed for publishing in Guangzhou in the 9th year of the Tongzhi reign (1870) and subsequently published for circulation in the 12th year of the Tongzhi reign (1873). By the 1930s and 1940s, during the time of the Japanese invasion, the Yungs were anxious that the Japanese army would mistake the tablature as coded messages. They therefore destroyed the print blocks of the books, rendering their reprint impossible. Except for the one and only copy of Qinse Hepu handed down in the Yung family, Hong Kong’s qin musicians rarely had the opportunity to read this manuscript before the middle of the last century.
- Heirloom manuscripts from Qing Rui
Qing Rui's heirloom manuscripts consist of his Qinse Hepu, other qin pieces manuscripts, qin and se ensemble manuscripts, and fingering guides. These recorded the Yung family's one-of-a-kind fingering techniques, as well as their treatment of musical phrases and rhythms. The manuscripts were transcribed from the 1840s to the 1860s.
- Portrait of Li Zhixian
Qing Rui married his second wife, Li Zhixian (1842-1908) during his stay in Southern China. He taught her the art of qin. Li Zhixian played a pivotal role in the succession of qin studies in the Yung family since both the second-generation successor, Yung Bo-ting and the third-generation successor, Yung Sum-yin learnt the art of the instrument from her.
- Heirloom manuscript by Li Zhixian
This heirloom manuscript contains six qin pieces. They were transcribed by Li Zhixian in the 1880s. The cover of the book was damaged and later restored by Yung Sum-yin in the 1950s, with the qin pieces titles added.
- Portrait of Yung Sum-yin
Yung Sum-yin (1884-1966) was competent in poetry, calligraphy and xiao (vertical bamboo flute). He was greatly loved by his grandmother, Li Zhixian, and was nurtured, mentored and taught the art of qin by Li Zhixian from an early age. Sum-yin also inherited the manuscripts handed down by Qing Rui. Anxious that the Japanese army would mistake the tablature as encoded messages after the invasion of Guangzhou in 1938, Sum-yin destroyed the original printing blocks of the Qinse Hepu. Yung Sum-yin moved to Hong Kong in 1951, and became one of the earliest qin musicians to settle in the territory.
- Yung Sum-yin and other qin musicians at Yuexiu Park, Guangzhou
This picture was taken after Yung Sum-yin had settled in the "Manchurian area" of Guangzhou in the 1930s. Yung Sum-yin can be seen in the centre of this photograph playing the qin. The first person on the left is his student, Lo Ka-ping, also a renowned qin musician. Lo also later settled in Hong Kong.
- Yung Sum-yin’s heirloom manuscripts
These heirloom manuscripts were transcribed in the 1950s. Among them, Yung Sum-yin was particularly fond of Wuxueshanfang Qinpu (Wuxueshanfang Qin Handbook) and Chuncaotang Qinpu (Chuncaotang Qin Handbook). The unconventionally rhythmic and unworldly tuned, Yandu Hengyang (Wild Geese Flying over Hengyang) was his favourite.
- Yung Sze-chak’s heirloom manuscript
Yung Sze-chak (1931-2010) was the fourth-generation Yung family successor of qin studies. He could play over 20 qin pieces adeptly, including Pingsha Luoyan (Wild Geese Landing on Sand) in Chuncaotang Qinpu. Yung Sze-chak's heirloom manuscript was transcribed in the 1950s, the calligraphy on the cover was written by Yung Sum-yin on Sze-chak's behalf.