Boya's Lute

邓牧心Jun 2024

Rating 3.8
Word count
13K words
Chapters
30

Tags

Eastern Philosophy Boy a and ZiqiLove EntanglementsLife PhilosophySolitary IntegritySeeking SoulmateReclusive MoodCritical ToneExpressing Through ObjectsPreface to CollectionTraditional Aesthetics

Summary

I have gathered a number of prose pieces and poems and titled them Boya's Qin. Boya was a master of the qin, yet after Zhong Ziqi died he never played again for the rest of his life. How hard it is to find one who truly understands the qin! In this world there is no one who understands my music, and still I play on alone—how foolish! Yet Boya smashed his qin and broke its strings only because Zhong Ziqi had died. I have never met a Zhong Ziqi—how could I know whether he is dead or not?

Editor's review

Boya's Qin takes "the rarity of a kindred spirit" as its central image, using the classical bond between Boya and Zhong Ziqi to reflect on the author's own lot; its prose is spare and clean while its feeling is deep and finely turned. The title draws on the idea that "though Boya was a master of the qin, once Ziqi died he never played again," yet it turns the thought around and asks: I have never met a Zhong Ziqi—how could I know whether he is dead or not? This turn lifts the piece out of simple mourning and transforms it into a stubborn, self-mocking pursuit of one who truly understands. Readers can sense the spiritual thread by which traditional literati entrusted their feelings to the qin and sought understanding through writing, and can also feel how a short piece turns and doubles back layer upon layer within a limited space. It suits quiet hours of close reading; there is no need to hurry—what matters is savoring the solitude and defiance in its tone. For readers already familiar with pre-Qin allusions and classical Chinese expression, this book offers the pleasure of "using an ancient matter to write a present feeling"; for those new to classical Chinese, it can be approached as a short classical essay.

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Reading tips

  1. Read it through once without straining for full understanding, then read closely line by line with notes, paying attention to the turns.
  2. Before reading, learn the story of Boya smashing his qin, then see how the author turns it to contrary use.
  3. Read only a small passage at a time, then retell its tone and mood in your own words.
  4. Read it alongside the kindred-spirit story in the Lüshi Chunqiu and compare the two ways of writing.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 伯牙琴自序
  3. 见尧赋
  4. 君道
  5. 吏道
  6. 名说
  7. 宝说
  8. 二戒学栁河东
  9. 楚佞鬼
  10. 元无人传
  11. 谢皋父传
  12. 寓屋壁记
  13. 逆旅壁记
  14. 永庆院记
  15. 友古斋记
  16. 集虚书院记
  17. 亦山斋记
  18. 雪窦游志
  19. 代问道书
  20. 蜡屐集序
  21. 张叔夏词集序
  22. 鉴湖修褉序
  23. 西湖修禊序
  24. 代祭和靖祠文
  25. 代祭胡苇航文
  26. 代旌徳观祭先贤文
  27. 伯牙琴后序
  28. 补遗
  29. 超然馆记
  30. 清真道院碑记

FAQ

What does the title Boya's Qin mean? Boya was a master of the qin in antiquity; after Zhong Ziqi died he smashed his qin, broke its strings, and never played again for the rest of his life. The title borrows this allusion to express the theme of "the rarity of a kindred spirit." In his own account the author also asks in return: I have never met Ziqi—how do I know whether he is dead or not? The title therefore carries both mourning and a refusal to accept loss, along with self-mockery.
Can I read it without any grounding in classical Chinese? You can try, but you will need notes or reference tools. The book is short and its sentences are not overly complex, making it suitable as short material for beginning classical Chinese. It is best to read a modern paraphrase first, then return to the original, comparing sentence by sentence and focusing on the role of modal particles and rhetorical questions.
Is this book suitable for classroom teaching? It works well as short supplementary classical Chinese material. It is brief, its allusions are concentrated, and it lends itself to classroom discussion of the "kindred spirit" theme and the technique of rhetorical questioning. Teachers can have students first retell the allusion, then analyze how the author turns Boya's story to contrary use, training both classical Chinese comprehension and critical expression.

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About the author

邓牧心 Author

Deng Muxin is an author about whom little is publicly known: his native place, dates of birth and death, and educational background are all unrecorded. At present, only one work is known to be associated with his name, Boya Qin (Boya's Lute). The book is classified under Eastern philosophy, and its title alludes to the tale of Boya playing the lute and the difficulty of finding a true kindred spirit, suggesting the author's concern with spiritual resonance and the circumstances of human life. Judging from the available information, Boya Qin unfolds in the form of essays or discourses, written in concise prose with a reflective, speculative quality. It expresses the author's views on ways of conducting oneself, the cultivation of inner calm, and the difficulty of finding a kindred spirit, carrying the introspective and detached temper of a traditional literatus. Since Deng Muxin's own life remains obscure, later readers' understanding of him and his book rests mainly on this work, which thus serves as the primary basis for examining his intellectual leanings and writing style.