江苏省中国古琴史记（八）：元朝

从宋代到元代，文人的社会地位急剧下降，科举制度的废除更是对汉族文人的精神世界造成了沉重打击。在这种背景下，元代的隐逸之风盛行，文人纷纷寄情于山水之间，创作出风格雅洁淡逸、苍茫沉郁的山水画，而古琴音乐则成为他们心灵的慰藉。元代四大家——黄公望、王蒙、倪云林、吴镇——都对古琴情有独钟。倪云林尤其喜爱收藏古琴，他隐居于太湖之畔，以琴、书、画自娱，其画风天真幽淡，透露出一种荒凉空寂、疏简消沉的意境。

在元代的非汉族文人中，耶律楚材（1190—1244年）是琴艺最为精湛者之一。耶律楚材，字晋卿，号湛然居士，是辽东丹王突欲的八世孙，元代官至中书令。他向弭大用、苗秀实、万松老人等人学习琴艺，擅长演奏《水仙操》《广陵散》等曲目。耶律楚材的诗文中，有许多关于琴人和琴曲的论述。每得到新的琴谱，他都会找苗秀实“商确妙意，然后弹之”。苗秀实是金元时期的著名琴家，曾被推荐为琴待诏，深受金章宗完颜璟的赏识。由于苗秀实在京师的声誉极高，朝廷王公大臣纷纷邀请他演奏，导致耶律楚材无法经常与他交流琴艺，深感遗憾。耶律楚材在元代任职后，极力向元世祖推荐苗秀实。苗秀实之子苗兰将父亲遗留的40多首琴谱交给耶律楚材作序，耶律楚材在序中称赞这些琴谱“果为绝声，大率署令卫仲儒之所传也”。耶律楚材因扈从羽猎受伤，在休养期间与苗兰对弹了五十多首琴曲，从而掌握了苗秀实的琴艺精髓。他认为苗秀实的演奏“如蜀声之峻急，快人耳目”。

元代的斫琴名家有朱致远等，目前博物馆和民间仍保存有朱致远制作的古琴。湖北省博物馆收藏的元代“玉泉”琴，采用仲尼式设计，全长120.5厘米，肩宽20.0厘米，桐木髹黑漆，呈现蛇腹断纹，琴面外侧有13颗纯金徽。该琴曾为明代徐文溥所珍藏。

As the Song Dynasty transitioned into the Yuan Dynasty, the status of literati plummeted dramatically. The abolition of the imperial examination system dealt a severe blow to the spiritual world of Han Chinese literati. Against this backdrop, the trend of reclusion flourished in the Yuan Dynasty. Literati immersed themselves in the mountains and rivers, creating landscapes that were elegant, tranquil, desolate, and profound. Meanwhile, the music of the guqin became a solace for their souls. Among the Four Great Masters of the Yuan Dynasty—Huang Gongwang, Wang Meng, Ni Yunlin, and Wu Zhen—all had a passion for the guqin. Ni Yunlin, in particular, had an extensive collection of guqins. He lived in seclusion by Taihu Lake, entertaining himself with the guqin, calligraphy, and painting. His painting style was innocent, serene, and desolate, exuding an atmosphere of desolation and quiet despondency.

Among the non-Han literati of the Yuan Dynasty, the most skilled qin player was Yelü Chucai (1190—1244). Yelü Chucai, styled Jinqing and also known as Master Zhanran, was a descendant of the eighth generation of Prince Dan of the Liao Dynasty, Tuyu. He served in the Yuan Dynasty as the Grand Preceptor. Yelü Chucai learned the guqin from Mi Dayong, Miao Xiushi, and Master Wansong, among others. He was proficient in many qin pieces, especially "The Solitary Orchid" and "The Guangling Melody." His poetry and prose contain numerous discussions on qin players and qin pieces. Whenever he obtained a new score, he would consult Miao Xiushi to "discuss the subtleties before playing it." Miao Xiushi was a renowned qin player during the Jin and Yuan periods. He was recommended as a qin daizhao (imperial qin player) and highly appreciated by Emperor Zhangzong of the Jin Dynasty, Wanyan Jing. Due to his high reputation in the capital, Miao Xiushi was constantly invited by the court's princes and high officials, which made it difficult for Yelü Chucai to frequently exchange qin skills with him, a fact that Yelü Chucai deeply regretted. After serving in the Yuan Dynasty, Yelü Chucai strongly recommended Miao Xiushi to Kublai Khan. Miao Xiushi's son, Miao Lan, presented over 40 inherited qin scores to Yelü Chucai for a preface. In his preface, Yelü Chucai praised the scores as "truly exquisite, mostly passed down by Wei Zhongru." While recovering from an injury sustained during a royal hunt, Yelü Chucai played over 50 pieces with Miao Lan, thereby mastering the essence of Miao Xiushi's qin art. He described Miao's performance as "sharp and brisk like the Sichuan style, pleasing to the ear and eye."

During the Yuan Dynasty, famous qin makers included Zhu Zhiyuan, and qins made by him still exist in museums and private collections today. The "Yuquan" qin, housed in the Hubei Provincial Museum, is a Yuan Dynasty qin in the Confucian style, measuring 120.5 cm in length and 20.0 cm in shoulder width. Made of桐wood and coated with black lacquer, it features snake-belly crackle patterns. The outside of the qin surface has 13 gold inlays. The "Yuquan" qin was once treasured by Xu Wenpu of the Ming Dynasty.