Saturday, September 20, 2008

Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute

Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute are a series of songs and poems about the life of Han Dynasty poet Cai Wenji, accompanied by 18 scenes painted on a handscroll, commissioned by the Emperor Gaozong of Song .

Epitome






Poet and composer Cai Yan, more commonly known by her courtesy name "Wenji", was the daughter of a prominent man of letters, Cai Yong. The family resided in Yu Perfecture, Chenliu Commandery, in what is now eastern Henan Province. Cai Wenji was born shortly before 178 CE, and was married at the age of sixteen according to the East Asian age reckoning to Wei Zhongdao in 192 CE. Zhongdao died soon after the wedding, without any offspring. 194-5 CE brought Xiongnu nomads into the Chinese capital and Cai Wenji was taken, along with other hostages, into the frontier. During her captivity, she became the wife of the Zuoxianwang , and bore him two sons. It was not until twelve years later that Cao Cao, the , ransomed her in the name of her father, who had already died before her capture. When Cai Wenji returned to her homeland, she left her children behind in the frontier.

Historical sequel





A number of poems have been written to immortalize Cai Wenji's life story including her own. Liu Shang , wrote a poem about Cai Wenji called "Hujia Shiba Pai" . Liu Shang's poem accompanied by 18 scenes painted on a handscroll was commissioned by the first emperor of the Emperor Gaozong of Song. Four fragments, presumed to be of the original, are in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, while the earliest complete copy, apparently from the fourteenth century and formerly in the C. C. Wang collection, resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art; these were published by the museum in 1974 in a book entitled ''Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute''.

Allegorical device


allegorical devices, as defined by Erich Auerbach, are "something real and historical which announces something else that is also real and historical...the relation between the two events is related by an accord or similarity".
There are obvious parallels between Cai Wenji's story and that of Gaozong's mother, the , who was captured along with the rest of the imperial clan and held hostage in the north. She was not released until a peace treaty was concluded between the Song Dynasty and the Jurchens in 1142.. Despite its allegorical development derived from Cai Wenji's story, her image today reverberates primarily with the feeling of sorrow.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

This blog is amazing, I must to say that I love the flute, i think this instrument is very notable, i usually feel very relaxed when i listen a flute. Is absolutely wonderful. Actually I want to learn about how to play this instrument.
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