The Way of the Qin

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

2.8

Word count: 1.4K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

In ancient times, Shennong succeeded Fuxi as ruler of the world. He observed the patterns of Heaven above, the patterns of Earth below, took models from his own body near at hand and from things far away, and then first cut paulownia wood to make the qin and twisted silk into strings, so that it might communicate the virtue of the spirits and bring together the harmony of Heaven and Earth. The qin is three chi six cun and six fen long, symbolizing the number of the cycle. It is one cun and eight fen thick, symbolizing the numbers three and six. It is six cun wide, symbolizing the six pitches.

Editor's review

Titled "Qin Dao," this book begins with the legend of Shennong shaving a paulownia tree to make a qin and stringing silk as strings, explaining how the qin "communicates the virtue of the gods and harmonizes with heaven and earth." The book assigns symbolic meaning one by one to dimensions such as the qin's length of three chi six cun and six fen, thickness of one cun and eight fen, and width of six cun, incorporating the number of days in a year, the numbers three and six, and the six pitch pipes into the instrument, presenting the ancient idea of using an instrument to carry the Way and using numbers to align with heaven. The 2024 Bashu Shushe edition is concise in wording and carries the plain flavor of early qin scholarship; its focus is not performance technique but the cultural concepts and cosmological background of the qin. Readers can thereby understand why the guqin is not merely an instrument but also a tool for self-cultivation and communication with heaven and earth. It is suitable for slow reading by those interested in the qin Way, ritual and music traditions, and ancient object symbolism, and also as intellectual background reading for an introduction to guqin culture.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in guqin cultural concepts and ritual-music traditions
People who want to understand ancient object symbolism and numerical imagery
Readers studying traditional culture who need background material on the qin Way
People who prefer slow reading and reflection on short classical texts

Not a good fit for

Beginners who want to learn guqin fingering, scores, or performance technique
Readers needing modern systematic qin textbooks
People expecting detailed annotations, vernacular translations, and academic textual research

Reading tips

First read the original text through, then make brief notes matching the qin's length, thickness, width, and other numbers with the number of days in a year, three and six, and the six pitch pipes.
When encountering phrases such as "communicates the virtue of the gods and harmonizes with heaven and earth," consider the qin's cultural function in light of ancient ritual-music concepts.
Do not cling to every word; divide the text into three parts: the legend of making the qin, symbolic dimensions, and the concept of the qin Way.
After reading, compare with other books on guqin culture to distinguish the different emphases of early qin Way texts and later performance theory.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
琴道第十六

FAQ

Does this book discuss guqin performance methods?

No. From the materials, this book focuses on the legend of the qin's origin, symbolic dimensions, and the qin Way concept of "communicating the virtue of the gods and harmonizing with heaven and earth"; it does not involve fingering, scores, or other performance content. Readers who want to learn to play should find a tutorial; this book is better as cultural background reading.

What do the qin's dimension numbers in the book mean?

The materials show that the qin's length of three chi six cun and six fen symbolizes the number of days in a year, its thickness of one cun and eight fen symbolizes the numbers three and six, and its width of six cun symbolizes the six pitch pipes. These numbers are not mere dimensions; they attach concepts such as calendrical numbers and pitch pipes to the instrument, reflecting the ancient idea of aligning the instrument with heaven and clarifying the Way through numbers.

Does the author being "anonymous" affect reading?

It does not affect basic reading. The book's value lies in the content and concepts of the qin Way text it carries, not the author's biography. Readers need only focus on how the text discusses qin making, dimensions, and the qin Way, and need not lose interest because the author is unknown.

Do I need to understand classical Chinese first to read this book?

Basic classical Chinese reading ability will make it smoother, but the text is short and the core meaning of the sentences is not obscure. You can first read through to grasp the general idea, then look up key numbers and terms; with an annotated edition or reference tools, understanding will be more complete.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.