The Aural History of Qin Piece Parasol Leaves in Dance with the Autumn Wind and its modern evolution

Abstract

<p><em>Parasol Leaves in Dance with the Autumn Wind </em>is one of the few pieces of Qin music that with a clear period setting and authorship. However, the character of the piece was still disputed by the ancients, with some arguing that the piece should highlight the autumnal mood and others that it should highlight the dance. This controversy has not received sufficient attention in modern times, and the modern version of this piece, interpreted by Qin master Wu Jinglue, which focuses on dance, has become the mainstream. What was the original version of this piece? What did the ancients describe when they listened to this piece? What is the difference between this and the modern version? In what context did Wu Jinglue's score become mainstream? This article would like to point out that, in ancient times, the traditional literati held the power of interpretation, while in modern times, the interpretation of musicians and the feelings of audiences are more prominent, and thus the way this piece is interpreted and appreciated has changed considerably. Wu Jinglue’s version was probably a response to the 1920s and 1930s, when guqin was challenged by modern music. While some scholars have pointed out that in the face of the Western music at that time, qin masters defended guqin by accepting and affirming that guqin itself was not pleasing to the ear, this research would like to add that Wu’s version is clearly not the case; rather it is an effort to demonstrate the pleasing nature and musical expressiveness of guqin as an instrument.</p>