From Chromaticism to Pentatonism: A Convergence of Ideology and Practice in Qin Music of the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Qin music in the living tradition passed down from the late Qing Dynasty uses mostly an anhemitonic pentatonic scale, in line with the Confucian ideology favoring the use of pentatonic notes. The intonation used is typically based on the circle of fifths, in line with traditional Chinese music theory.;In this study, I demonstrate that the practice in the Ming and Qing Dynasties was far from the Confucian ideology and traditional theory. Through a rigorous methodology, representative pieces from past scores are reconstructed, and the use of tonal materials in past scores is studied. The results show that notes outside the pentatonic scale were often used in the early Ming Dynasty qin pieces. Non-circle-of-fifths intonation elements, including vernacular intonation elements, were used frequently in the Qing Dynasty, and possibly the Ming Dynasty.;Changes in the tonal materials during the transmission process are then traced. The use of non-pentatonic notes was gradually reduced, and the pieces became mostly pentatonic in the mid-Qing Dynasty. Efforts to eliminate the non-circle-of-fifths intonation elements began to appear in the mid-Qing Dynasty, and the elimination was successful in the late Qing Dynasty.;There were multiple contextual factors related to the changes. The loss of repertoire during the wartime periods before the Ming Dynasty led to the exoticness of the chromatic qin pieces among the less chromatic majority. Pursuit of simplicity and subtlety in qin music probably contributed to the further reduction of chromatic notes in the late Ming Dynasty. The elimination of the 4th and 7th degrees in the Qing Dynasty could be related to the preference for the "southern style" among the literati, but ideological factors probably were operative as well. These included the quest for antiquity and identity issues. Both were intimately related to social and political factors, associated with frustrations of the Han Chinese under the rule of Manchus. On the other hand, the effort to eliminate the non-circle-of-fifths intonation elements was prompted mainly by the increasing emphasis among scholars to put theory into practice near the end of the Qing Dynasty. Finally, ideology and practice converged, and pentatonism and "proper" intonation prevailed.