A Study On Tablatures Of Zhangkongshan Collected In Tianwenge Tablature

Fanchuan school was born during the reign of the Emperor Xianfeng and Emperor Guangxu.Zhang Kongshan,a Taoist practicing in Qingchen Mountain,is regarded as the founder of Fanchuan School.He learnt Guqin from Feng Tongyun who lived in Jiangsu-Zhejiang region since childhood.He had been known for his extraordinary playing skills and been followed by a group of Guqin players since he settled in Sichuan province.In order to carry forward Zhang Kongshan's thoughts on Guqin to later generations,followers of Zhang Kongshan collected music left by him and complied them into tablatures in the way of transcribing or engraving.Consequently,a pile of tablatures had been produced such as Baipingzhai,Dihuiguan and Tianwenge.Among those tablatures,Tianwenge Tablature best embodies Zhang Kongshan's thoughts on Guqin.Tianwenge Tablature was compiled by Tang Yiming,a disciple of Zhang Kongshan,and reviewed by Zhang Kongshan himself and printed by Ye Jiefu.It has two editions,both of which were printed during the reign of the Emperor Guangxu(1876).Tianwenge Tablature collects 145 pieces of Guqin notation including tablatures of Yushan school and Guangling school as well as music played by six masters from Sichuan province — Zhang Kongshan,Tang Yiming and Cao Zhiyun and so on.Among the more than one hundred pieces of music,eight pieces of music left by Zhang Kongshan including Gaoshan,Liushui,Zuiyuchangwan,Yuqiaowenda,Kongziduyi,Pingshaluoyan,Xiaoxiangyeyu and Huadie are the most representative works.Of the eight,Liushui which requires the player to use the playing technique Gunfu 72 times gains lasting popularity among later generations.Thus,the author regards the eight pieces composed by Zhang Kongshan as the essence of Tianwenge Tablature as well as the core of Fanchuan School.This paper aims to study the origin,the position of the fingers,the structure and the content of Zhang Kongshan's eight music collected in Tianwenge Tablature.This paper also analyzes artistic characteristics,values and thoughts of Guqin embodied in Fanchuan school by analyzing the music composed by Zhang Kongshan from the perspective of music aesthetics of Taoism.