江苏省中国古琴史记（七）：宋朝

宋代帝王对古琴情有独钟，宫廷中专门设有琴待诏职位。宋太宗赵光义（976—997年）在至道元年（995年）时，创新制作了九弦琴和五弦阮，并编撰了三十七卷新琴谱。他命待诏朱文济、蔡裔为众人演奏。宋徽宗赵佶（1101—1125年）更是痴迷于古琴，他广泛收集南北名琴珍品，并专门设立了“万琴堂”用于收藏。其中最为珍贵的当属唐代雷威所制的“春雷”琴。宋徽宗不仅擅长弹琴，还精通绘画，其传世名画《文会图》与《听琴图》便是生动的体现。《听琴图》描绘了在高耸入云的青松之下，宋徽宗身着便服，信手弹琴，旁边山石上有两人侧耳倾听的场景。在他们的倡导和影响下，朝野上下都以擅长弹琴为荣，古琴在当时的文人士大夫中极为盛行，范仲淹、欧阳修、苏轼等名士都以弹琴闻名于世。

宋代擅长弹琴的僧人也很多，如夷中、知白、义海等，都是当时很有名望的琴僧。慧日大师夷中是宋太宗时期的琴待诏朱文济的弟子。《梦溪笔谈》中记载：“兴国年间，琴待诏朱文济的琴艺堪称天下第一。京师的僧人慧日大师夷中继承了他的全部技艺。”夷中的弟子义海在越州法华山练琴，十年间未曾下山，昼夜苦练，终得琴艺精髓。后来向义海学琴的人众多，但无人能超越他。沈括在《梦溪笔谈》中指出：“义海的技艺不仅在于琴声，更在于其意韵萧然，超脱于琴声之外，这是众人所不及的。”义海不仅琴艺高超，还擅长诗词，他对韩愈的《听颖师弹琴诗》有独到见解，认为欧阳修将其讥为“听琵琶”是不妥的，并结合琴声特点重新肯定了韩诗。他还总结了琴曲演奏速度的变化规律：“急若繁星不乱，缓若流水不绝。”夷中的另一个弟子是知白。欧阳修曾在诗中称赞他的琴艺：“岂知山高水深意，久已写此朱丝弦。”并表示他能继承夷中的琴艺：“吾闻夷中琴已久，常恐老死失其传。夷中未识不得见，岂谓今逢知白弹。遗音仿佛尚可爱，何况之子传其全。”

则全和尚是义海的弟子，他在所著的《节奏指法》中对古琴演奏提出了独到的见解。则全的弟子、钱塘僧人照旷在北宋政和年间以弹奏《广陵散》著称。宣和年间，照旷长期居住在中都（今北京），并出入于贵族之家。

南宋的临安（今浙江杭州）是当时的政治、文化中心，众多著名琴师汇聚于此，形成了古琴的一个重要流派——“浙派”。他们的传谱被称为“浙谱”，以区别于之前的“江西谱”。在浙派琴家中，郭楚望成就最为突出。他继承并发展了传统琴曲，创作了一些独具特色的琴曲。这些琴曲通过他的学生刘志方传授给杨瓒的门客徐天民、毛敏仲。从此，浙派的古琴艺术一直影响到元、明各代。

由于宋代宫廷和朝野士大夫中爱好弹琴、藏琴的人众多，因此在官府和民间都有大量古琴制作，分别称为“官琴”和“野斫”。据史料记载，宋代的斫琴名家众多。北宋时期，庆历年间的蔡叡、僧智仁、卫中正，崇宁年间的朱仁济、马希亮、马希仁等都是当时的斫琴名家；南宋时期，绍兴年间的金渊、金公路，高宗年间的陈亨道等也颇有名气。传世的北宋名琴有“雪夜钟”“梅梢月”“清角遗音”“松石间意”“龙门风雨”等；南宋名琴则有“鸣凤”“玉壸冰”“万壑松”“海月清晖”“轻雷”等。

The emperors of the Song Dynasty had a deep affection for the guqin, and the imperial court established the position of "qin daizhao" (imperial qin players). Emperor Taizong Zhao Guangyi (976—997) in the first year of the Zhidao era (995) created the nine-string qin and five-string ruan, and compiled thirty-seven volumes of new qin scores. He ordered the qin daizhao Zhu Wenji and Cai Yi to perform for the people.

Emperor Huizong Zhao Ji (1101—1125) was even more obsessed with the qin. He collected the finest qins from both the north and south and established the "Wan Qin Tang" (Hall of Ten Thousand Qins) to house these treasures. Among them, the most precious was the "Chun Lei" qin crafted by Lei Wei of the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Huizong was not only skilled at playing the qin but also proficient in painting. His surviving masterpieces, "Wenhui Tu" (Scholars' Gathering) and "Ting Qin Tu" (Listening to the Qin), are vivid representations of his talents. "Ting Qin Tu" depicts Emperor Huizong, dressed in casual attire, playing the qin under a towering pine tree, while two men sit on the rocks nearby, listening attentively.

Under their advocacy and influence, playing the qin became a source of pride throughout the court and among the common people. The guqin was extremely popular among the literati and officials of the time, with renowned figures such as Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, and Su Shi all being famous for their qin-playing skills.

There were also many monks in the Song Dynasty who excelled in qin playing, such as Yi Zhong, Zhi Bai, and Yi Hai, all of whom were highly respected qin monks. Master Hui Ri Yi Zhong was a disciple of Zhu Wenji, the qin daizhao during Emperor Taizong's reign. The "Mengxi Bitan" (Dream Pool Essays) states: "During the Xingguo years, Zhu Wenji's qin playing was considered the best in the world. Master Hui Ri Yi Zhong of the capital inherited all his skills." Yi Zhong's student, Yi Hai, practiced the qin on Mount Fahua in Yuezhou. For ten years, he did not leave the mountain, practicing day and night without letting go of the strings, and thus mastered the essence of qin playing. Many people later learned the qin from Yi Hai, but none could surpass him. Shen Kuo, in the "Mengxi Bitan," pointed out: "Yi Hai's artistry lies not in the sound itself, but in the serene charm that transcends the sound, which is beyond the reach of others." Yi Hai was also a talented poet and writer. He disagreed with Ouyang Xiu's criticism of Han Yu's poem "Listening to Master Ying Playing the Qin" as being like "listening to the pipa." Yi Hai re-affirmed the poem by highlighting the characteristics of the qin sound. He also summarized the changes in the tempo of qin pieces as: "Fast like countless stars without chaos, slow like flowing water without interruption." Another disciple of Yi Zhong was Zhi Bai. Ouyang Xiu once wrote a poem praising his qin skills: "Who would have thought that the meaning of mountains high and waters deep has long been captured by the red silk strings." He also acknowledged that Zhi Bai could inherit Yi Zhong's qin artistry: "I have heard of Yi Zhong's qin for a long time, always fearing that it would be lost with the old age and death. I never thought I would meet Zhi Bai, who carries on the legacy. The remaining tunes are still lovable, not to mention that this young man has preserved them all."

Then Quan, a monk and a student of Yi Hai, proposed unique insights on qin performance in his work "Rhythm and Finger Technique." Then Quan's disciple, the Qiantang monk Zhao Kuang, was renowned for his performance of "Guangling San" during the Zhenghe years of the Northern Song Dynasty. During the Xuanhe period, Zhao Kuang lived in Zhongdu (present-day Beijing) for a long time and frequented the homes of the nobility.

Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou, Zhejiang) in the Southern Song Dynasty was the political and cultural center of the time, where many famous qin masters gathered and formed an important qin school known as the "Zhe School." Their transmitted scores were called "Zhe Scores" to distinguish them from the earlier "Jiangxi Scores." Among the Zhe School qin masters, Guo Chuwang achieved the most. He inherited and developed traditional qin pieces and created some unique qin compositions. These pieces were passed down to Yang Zan's guests Xu Tianmin and Mao Minzhong through his student Liu Zhifang. Since then, the qin art of the Zhe School has continued to influence the Yuan and Ming dynasties.

Since there were many people in the Song Dynasty's imperial court and among the scholar-officials who loved to play and collect qins, a large number of qins were made both in government workshops and by private craftsmen, known as "official qins" and "wild chops," respectively. Historical records show that there were many famous qin makers in the Song Dynasty. In the Northern Song Dynasty, there were Cai Rui, Monk Zhi Ren, and Wei Zhongzheng during the Qingli years, and Zhu Renji, Ma Xiliang, and Ma Xiren during the Chongning years. In the Southern Song Dynasty, there were Jin Yuan and Jin Gonglu during the Shaoxing years, and Chen Hengdao during the Gaozong years. Famous Northern Song qins that have survived include "Xue Ye Zhong," "Mei Shao Yue," "Qing Jiao Yi Yin," "Song Shi Jian Yi," and "Long Men Feng Yu." Famous Southern Song qins include "Ming Feng," "Yu Hu Bing," "Wan He Song," "Hai Yue Qing Hui," and "Qing Lei."