The Xishanqinkuang "short Elegant" Poets

In the history of Chinese music,the Guqin player, Master Xu ShangYing, was one of the few greatest figures in the Ming dynasty. His masterpiece XiShanQinKuang not only inherited the achievement of the harp theories of the former generations, but also pushed things forward. He combined the thoughts of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism together, and brought forward his unique viewpoints on how to bring Guqin performance to the realm of perfection. This book has occupied an important place in the history of Chinese music aesthetics, and has great theoretical and aesthetic value. It is regarded as the third milestone in the musical aesthetics history of ancient China following the YueJi and the ShengWuAiYuanLun. By combining theoretical and philosophical research methods together, and starting from the perspective of Chinese traditional music aesthetics and philosophy, this thesis aims to discover the implied aesthetic thought of Xu ShangYing in the book of XiShanQinKuang. Besides, by analyzing the four tastes of "HeDanQingYa" in XiShanQinKuang from the aspects of text analysis and philosophical perspective, this thesis is to reveal the connotations and philosophic origins of "HeDanQingYa" on the one hand. While on the other hand, by means of elaborating the general styles of "HeDanQingYa", and unfolding the discussion over the aesthetic conception of XiShanQinKuang, this thesis explains the specific performance approaches of the aesthetic conception in XiShanQinKuang. This thesis is divided into seven sections. In addition to the Introduction and Conclusion parts, the thesis mainly consists of five chapters. Introduction part mainly includes the development and status of Guqin in the history of Chinese music, a brief introduction about Xu ShangYing and his masterpiece XiShanQinKuang, and the importance of the four tastes of "HeDanQingYa" in XiShanQinKuang. Chapter 1 On He analyzes the text connotation of He, the inheritance and development of He to Confucian music aesthetics, and the relationships between He taste and other tastes. Based on this, it reveals the importance of He and the significant impacts of Confucian music aesthetics on XiShanQinKuang. Chapter 2 On Dan gives an introduction to the text connotation of Dan taste, the inheritance and development of Dan to Taoist music aesthetics, and an analysis of the relationships between Dan taste and other tastes. This chapter points out the great impact of Taoism on XiShanQinKuang and the important role of Dan taste in the art of Guqin. Chapter 3, On Qing, which consists of analyzing the text connotation of Qing taste, the rheology and inheritance of Qing in music history, and the relationships between Qing taste and other tastes, discloses that Qing is an important aesthetic style of Guqin art and has played a great role in XiShanQinKuang. Chapter 4 On Ya is made up of an introduction to the text connotation of Qing taste, the development process of Ya as an aesthetic category in the history of Chinese aesthetics, and the relationships between Ya taste and other tastes. This chapter elaborates that Ya is an essential aesthetic style of Guqin since Guqin itself is a kind of Yayue. By centralizing on the aesthetic conception of XiShanQinKuang, Chapter 5 explains the specific performance approaches of aesthetic conception in XiShanQinKuang. Lastly, by organizing the thought of each chapter in this thesis, the conclusion part concludes that XiShanQinKuang is a masterpiece based on the philosophical foundation of Confucianism and Taoism in the Guqin School, that the four tastes of HeDanQingYa plays a leading role in XiShanQinKuang, and that they all have great impacts on Chinese music history and aesthetics history.