Chapter 21 Ji Kang/"Guangling San" will never die

Ji Kang (223-263), a famous thinker, poet, music theorist and pianist in the late Wei Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period.The word Shu Ye.Born in Zhi County, Qiaojun (now Su County, Anhui), and later lived in Shanyang County, Hanoi (northwest of Xiuwu County, Henan).He was the leader of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove" and one of the representatives of metaphysics at that time, and he was upright.He lost his father when he was young, encouraged him to study hard, and later married Cao Cao's great-granddaughter. When the Cao family was in power, he was a doctor of Zhongsan, so people also called him "Ji Zhongsan".

Ji Kang was very dissatisfied with the despicable behavior of the so-called scholars of etiquette and law at that time under the guise of etiquette and righteousness, so he proposed that "better the name and teach and let nature be" ("Shi Honglun"), and even said that he was "not Tang Wu but less Zhou Confucius" (" "Letter of Breaking Friendship with Shan Juyuan") was not tolerated by people of etiquette and law, and was later killed by Sima at the age of forty.His knowledge and character were admired by the students at that time. Before his execution, three thousand Tai students asked him to be his teacher, but they refused, and he was eventually killed.

Ji Kang was the most famous poet and essayist in the Zhengshi period, and his four-character poems were very well written.Moreover, he also loves music very much. He is proficient in flute and qin. He is also good at temperament, has a special ability to feel music, and has a very high talent.He said in the preface to "Qin Fu": "Yu Shao has a good voice, and he has learned it for a long time. He thinks that things have ups and downs but they don't change, and tastes are boring, but they are tireless." The contemporary qin music is very familiar, and has left a precious wealth for future generations in terms of music.

Ji Kang's favorite qin music is called "Guangling Zhixi".This is a Xianghe Chu melody handed down in the Han and Wei dynasties. The music has a strong resistance. It is said that Ji Kang's playing is unique.According to Liu Ji's "Qin Yi", Ji Kang learned from Du Meng, Du Kui's son.Ji Kang liked this song very much and often played it. Many people came to ask for advice, but Ji Kang never taught it. Ji Kang also composed four qin pieces, "Chang Qing", "Short Qing", "Long Side" and "Short Side", which are called "Ji's Four Lanes", and together with Cai Yong's "Cai's Five Lanes", they are called "Nine Lanes". ", is a group of famous qin music in ancient my country.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty once regarded playing "Nine Lanes" as one of the conditions for selecting scholars, which shows its great influence and high achievements.

When Ji Kang was about to be executed, his expression remained unchanged.He asked the executioner to play the piano for the last time.After playing, he sighed and said: "Yuan Xiaoni once asked me to teach him this piece, but I didn't agree, and it has never been played since then!" It is precisely because Ji Kang was ordered to play it before execution that this Guqin piece became famous.But the so-called "absolute sound" does not refer to the melody itself. In fact, the qin melody has been preserved in the "Magic Secret Book" and has been handed down to this day.

In addition to being famous for playing, Ji Kang also made unique contributions in music theory.He has written "Qin Fu" and "On Sound Without Sorrow and Music". "Qin Fu" mainly shows Ji Kang's understanding of Qin and music, and also reflects Ji Kang's views that are at odds with the traditional Confucian thought. "Sound Without Sorrow and Music" is the author's direct and concentrated criticism of the Confucian thought of "music governing the world", in which Ji Kang's insight into music shines.