Three Favors, also known as Three Favors of Plum Blossoms, is a famous piece of Chinese guqin music. The main tune is played in pan tones, and the same tune is repeated three times in different embellishments, hence the name "Sanlang".
About the content of the piece "Plum Blossom Three Favors", the music of all the generations of qin music has been introduced, and most of the flute pieces "Plum Blossom Falling" from the Southern Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty express the emotion of resentment and sadness of separation. Ming and qing dynasty qin music "plum blossom three fiddles" mostly to plum blossom frost and cold, noble and unyielding temperament and temperament for the performance of content, "huan yi out of the flute blowing three fiddles of plum blossom of the tune, high marvelous, the later into the qin."
"The plum is the clearest of flowers, and the qin is the clearest of sounds. To write about the clearest of things in the clearest of sounds, it is appropriate to have the sound of frost." "The meaning of "Three Fiddles" is to take the overtones of three segments, with the same strings and different levies." (Ming Bo Ya Xin Fa) It can be seen here that it was first a flute piece, and later adapted into a guqin piece (it is difficult to determine who the author was).
It is worth noting that the flute, as it was called before the Tang Dynasty, was in fact the modern xiao. The Three Melodies of Plum Blossoms was adapted for the qin and xiao ensembles in the Qing Dynasty, and may to some extent reflect the style of the flute music of the Jin Dynasty.
Expanded Information:
The historical allusion to "Three Tunes of Plum Blossoms" is the story of Huan Yi, a general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, who played "Three Tunes of Plum Blossoms" for the madman Wang Hui Zhi.
This allusion has been recorded in the Book of Jin - Lie Zhuan 51 and the Shishu Xinyi - Ren Tan XXIII. Huan Yi was famous for playing the flute at that time, and Wang Xizhi's son, Wang Huizhi, had long admired his flute but never had the chance to hear him play. Wang Huizhi was called to Jiankang, the capital of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and his boat was moored at the Qingxi dock. Huan Yi, who happened to be passing by on the shore, was not acquainted with Wang Hui Zhi.
Then one of the guests on the boat sex: "This is Huan Ye Wang (Huan Yi word wild king)." Wang Huizhi then ordered someone to say to Huan Yi: "I heard that you are good at playing the flute, try to play for me."
Huan Yi at this time has been a nobleman, but he also heard of Wang Hui Zhi's great name, then get off the car sitting on the Hu bed, out of the flute blowing three plum blossoms of the tune, the flute sound melodious and melodious, clear and bright hunting winter high fantastic. Play finished, Huan Yi immediately get on the car, long and goodbye, guests and hosts did not talk a word. Jin people's openness is not formal and polite, open and not in shape, by this matter can be seen.
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