Chapter 41 Tsuka Naka Biwa

I recently read the biography of Ruan Xian, an artist in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Ruan Xian was one of the seven most important poets and writers in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. , Xiang Xiu, Wang Rong, and Liu Ling are famous, because none of his literary creations have been preserved, and we can hardly trace his achievements in poetry creation from words. Fortunately, when Ruan Xian died, he was buried with a pipa instrument, making him one of the few great musicians who can be remembered in the history of Chinese music.The pipa that accompanied Ruan Xian buried in the ground was buried for 500 years from the Western Jin Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty. In the Kaiyuan period of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, someone unearthed a round bronze musical instrument in the ancient tomb. It was proved that it was Ruan Xian's relic.

This pipa at home was unusable due to five hundred years of burial. Yuan Xingchong asked skilled musicians to imitate a wooden instrument called "Yueqin" according to its style. Not only became a musical instrument in the court, but also became the most commonly used musical instrument in the folk. In the era of Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty, Du Gu, a famous scholar, considered that "Yueqin" was originally created by Ruan Xian. In order to commemorate his legacy, he named Yueqin "Ruan Xian". Ruan Xian was thus immortalized in the history of Chinese music.

The story of Ruan Xian and Pipa is easy to associate with. After time and space, we are not fortunate enough to listen to Ruan Xian's silk and bamboo music again, but we can feel the immortality of a great artistic soul.Even though the greatness of the artistic soul has been underground for hundreds of years, even if the strings of the instruments in his hands are decayed, they can still shine brilliantly in time and space.When Ruan Xian died, he was buried with a pipa as his only confidant. This kind of artistic affection makes him always memorable. For thousands of years, Ruan Xian's masterpiece, which is considered to be the highest state of Chinese music, was created by Ruan Xian. With Ruan Xian's death, it has become the quintessence of Chinese music. Now we look at the vast land and listen to the footsteps of history. , as if seeing Ruan Xian entertaining himself playing the Yueqin under the bamboo grove, or corresponding with Ji Kang's guqin (Ji Kang is a master of guqin, the guqin is shaped like a guzheng). , talk about the saint's Mingjiao and Lao Zhuang's nature, and then sigh, "How can rituals be set up for my generation!" What kind of state is that?That is the state of "resisting things outside the body, not being enslaved by others", the state of "I am drunk and want to sleep, and I will go, the Ming Dynasty intends to hold the piano to come", and it is also the state of "fame and fame are all a play, and I don't feel that I have lost my life".

Ruan Xian's musical talent is almost innate. He was called the "magic solution" of music when he was very young. Playing the yueqin can make people intoxicated like drinking alcohol. He is also a music critic, and his appreciation of music is unparalleled in the world.Unexpectedly, his music criticism offended Gou Xun, a senior official in charge of the country's music administration, and slandered Emperor Wu of Jin, and Ruan Xian was dismissed from his official position. When Ruan Xian lost his official position, his official position was "Sanqi Servant". We don't need to explain this title through textual research, but associate it with aesthetic feeling. It's like seeing an outstanding wandering luthier playing the piano and singing around on a donkey.

In fact, Ruan Xian was very contemptuous of the etiquette of the day.During his mother's funeral, he once wore filial piety clothes and rode a donkey to pursue his long-lost maidservant, which caused an uproar. Unfortunately, whether he played the piano and sang love songs when chasing the maidservant Hu is untestable. And this wild and unrestrained life is the truest portrayal of the artists who loved Lin Quan in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. I have always thought that a person like Ruan Xian who is unrestrained, disregards etiquette, sings wildly with drums and zithers, and is indifferent, can achieve the state of forgetting his feelings, but he can't forget his feelings for music, and it is an unsolvable mystery to be buried with a pipa. "Can it be expected that after a thousand years, people can recall from the pipa at home the reason that was passed down in his hands thousands of years ago?Ruan Xian gave us more enlightenment than this. He and the artists at that time gave us a broad mind, that is, the mind of "taking the earth as a building and the room as a Zen robe". Because of this mind, they can appreciate The joy of life emits the brilliance of art.

One of my favorite stories about "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest" is: One day Ji Kang, Ruan Ji, Ruan Xian, Shan Tao, and Liu Ling were drinking in the bamboo forest, and Wang Rong was the last to arrive.Ruan Ji said: "This vulgar thing has come to spoil our fun again!" Wang Rong replied: "Can your fun be corrupted?" So, look at the pipa left by Ruan Xian in the tomb. Although it is rotten, it will never be corrupted; because that lute once belonged to a great artistic soul, and it is destined to never be corrupted in people's hearts—— In this way, I am afraid that Pipa also has intentions!

— September 1, 1982