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Extract from the Guangling San (The Melody of Guangling)
The earliest surviving tablature for the Guangling San is found in the Shenqi Mipu (Mysterious Manuscript) of the Ming Dynasty (1425). There are a total of 45 sections in this piece. Passionate and expressive, this piece tells the story of Niezheng, who committed suicide after assassinating the King of Han to avenge his father during the period of the Warring States. During the Wei and Jin Periods, Ji Kang, a member of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, offended some dignitaries and was sentenced to death. This piece of music was played before his execution. According to the notes in the Shenqi Mipu, Ji Kang’s Guangling San was a secret piece that was not intended to be passed on to the others, explaining why he sighed with sorrow before his execution, “Guangling San has finally come to its end”.
This recorded segment of the qin melody covers the tenth to sixteenth sections of the Guangling San, under the heading Zhengsheng (main body). They are known as Qu Han Diyi (First section: kill the king of the Han), Hu You Di’er (Second section: call for the dead), Wang Shen Disan (Third section: perish), Zuo Qi Disi (Fourth section: courage), Han Zhi Diwu (Fifth section: determination), Chen Si Diliu (Sixth section: sink into thoughts) and Fan Hun Diqi (Seventh section: the spirit returns). This piece of music collected in Favourite Qin pieces of Guan Pinghu was played by Guan Pinghu (1897-1967).
Date 1995 People Guan Pinghu Material Type Audio Collection The Legend of Silk and Wood: A Hong Kong Qin Story Source Courtesy of ROI Productions Limited Repository Intangible Cultural Heritage Office Note to Copyright Permission for use in Hong Kong Memory is given by ROI Productions Limited Accession No. lcs-hkqs-0235 
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