江苏省中国古琴史记（二）：早期出土的古琴

由于木材难以保存，能够留存至今的古代琴类实物极为珍贵。目前考古发现的最早的“琴”类乐器实物是1978年在湖北随县曾侯乙墓出土的十弦琴，其年代大约为公元前433年，距今已有2400多年的历史。曾侯乙墓十弦琴通长67.0厘米，比现代常见的琴短很多。该琴由整块木头雕成，由琴身和一个活动底板组成，分为音箱和尾板两部分。琴面呈圆鼓状且有波状起伏，没有徽。琴身下方的活动底板与音箱底面基本契合。整张琴通体髹黑漆，出土时仍光泽柔润。这件十弦琴除了弦数不同外，其“半箱式”音箱与唐、宋时期常见的合体“全箱式”琴有所不同。但在面板、底板、岳山、弦轸、雁足的主要结构形制以及缚弦方法上，与现代的琴基本一致。

中国出土的最早的七弦琴实物是1993年在湖北荆门郭店发现的战国中期琴。该琴通长82.1厘米，由挖空的面板和底板盖合而成。面板上挖出长方形空间，靠近首端、弦孔下方类似轸盒。底板仅凿出一个“T”字形凹槽。面板尾端即为琴尾，琴尾为实心，下方设有一足。首岳上有数道弦痕。此琴的形制与曾侯乙墓的十弦琴非常相似，足以证明两者具有同源关系。

1973年12月，在湖南长沙马王堆3号墓也出土了一张七弦琴，该墓年代为西汉文帝十二年（公元前168年）。此琴通长81.5厘米，由琴身和底板两部分组成。琴身又分为音箱和尾板两部分，外表髹黑漆，无徽，底板平整。其结构形制与湖北荆门郭店七弦琴基本相同。

不断丰富的考古资料已经清晰勾勒出这种独特古乐器的发展脉络。从时代先后来看，从曾侯乙墓琴到荆门郭店琴、长沙五里牌琴再到马王堆七弦琴，不难发现它们在形制结构、制作手法和造型风格等方面呈现出一脉相承的关系。这些“半箱式”琴的出土范围也表明其主要流行于中国南方的湖北和湖南地区，即古代楚文化的核心区域。这些证据表明，这种“半箱式”琴很可能是古代楚文化中流行的一种楚式琴。然而，对于这些出土的“琴”，考古学家、音乐学家和古琴家之间仍存在诸多争议。一些学者认为它们是现代古琴的前身，而另一些学者则认为这些出土的琴与古籍中记载的古琴并不相符。现存的先秦文献多为古代中原地区的文字资料，其中记载的古琴与考古发现的南方楚式琴存在明显区别，二者更像是同宗异族的关系，而非直接的前后相承关系。因此，目前只能将这类琴称为“琴类乐器”或“古代楚式琴”。

Due to the difficulty in preserving wood, ancient musical instruments made of wood that have survived to this day are extremely rare. The earliest known physical example of a “qin” (a type of ancient Chinese zither) discovered through archaeological excavations is the ten-stringed qin unearthed in 1978 from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng in Suixian, Hubei Province. This instrument dates back to approximately 433 BC, making it over 2,400 years old. The ten-stringed qin from Marquis Yi’s tomb measures 67.0 centimeters in length, significantly shorter than the qins commonly seen today. Carved from a single piece of wood, it consists of a main body and a movable baseboard, divided into a resonator box and a tailboard. The surface of the qin is rounded and undulating, without any inlaid markers (hui). The movable baseboard beneath the qin body fits closely with the bottom of the resonator box. The entire instrument is coated with black lacquer, which still retains a soft and lustrous finish even after being unearthed. Apart from the number of strings, the “half-box” resonator of this qin is different from the “full-box” structure seen in qins from the Tang and Song dynasties. However, in terms of the main structural elements such as the soundboard, baseboard, bridge, tuning pegs, and feet, as well as the method of stringing, it is essentially the same as the qins used today.

The earliest known physical example of a seven-stringed qin was discovered in 1993 in Guodian, Jingmen, Hubei Province, dating back to the mid-Warring States period. This qin measures 82.1 centimeters in length and is constructed from a hollowed-out soundboard and a baseboard that are fitted together. The soundboard features a rectangular cavity, with a section near the front end and beneath the string holes resembling a tuning peg box. The baseboard has a “T”-shaped groove. The tail end of the soundboard serves as the qin’s tail, which is solid with a single foot attached beneath. There are several string marks on the bridge at the front end. The structure of this qin is very similar to that of the ten-stringed qin from Marquis Yi’s tomb, which confirms their common origin.

In December 1973, a seven-stringed qin was also unearthed from Tomb No. 3 at Mawangdui in Changsha, Hunan Province, dating back to the twelfth year of Emperor Wen of the Western Han Dynasty (168 BC). This qin measures 81.5 centimeters in length and consists of a main body and a baseboard. The main body is divided into a resonator box and a tailboard, with a black lacquer finish on the exterior. It lacks inlaid markers and has a flat base. Its structural form is essentially the same as that of the seven-stringed qin from Guodian, Jingmen.

The increasing number of archaeological discoveries has gradually revealed the developmental trajectory of this unique ancient musical instrument. When examined in chronological order, from the qin of Marquis Yi’s tomb to the qin from Guodian in Jingmen, the qin from Wuli Village, and finally the Mawangdui qin, it is evident that there is a clear lineage in terms of structural form, craftsmanship, and stylistic features. The geographical distribution of these “half-box” qins also indicates their primary area of popularity, which is the southern Chinese regions of Hubei and Hunan, the core area of ancient Chu culture. These pieces of evidence suggest that this type of “half-box” qin was likely a Chu-style qin popular within the scope of ancient Chu culture. However, there is still considerable debate among archaeologists, musicologists, and qin experts regarding these unearthed “qins.” Some scholars believe that they are the predecessors of the modern guqin, while others hold different views, arguing that these unearthed qins do not match the descriptions of the guqin in ancient texts. The existing pre-Qin literature, which mainly consists of written records from the ancient Central Plains region, describes a guqin that is distinct from the Southern Chu-style qins discovered through archaeology. They appear to have a relationship of being from the same origin but different branches, rather than a direct lineage. Therefore, at present, these instruments can only be referred to as “qin-type instruments” or “ancient Chu-style qins.”