Research on the Theoretical System of Twenty-Eight Tones in the Tang Dynasty

Author: Zhao Weimin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The theory of the twenty-eight tones in the Tang Dynasty is a significant puzzle in the history of ancient Chinese music. This book analyzes the cultural background from the Wei and Jin periods to the Sui and Tang dynasties and points out that the Guzhen musical tones described by the early Tang court music theorist Su Zhipo originated from ancient Indian musical theory and became the foundation for the construction of the twenty-eight-tone system in the Tang Dynasty. Regarding the framework structure of the Tang Dynasty's twenty-eight-tone theory, the book argues to support the earlier proposition that the twenty-eight tones were based on seven courts and four tones through extensive factual analysis, such as the use of the concept system of seven courts and four tones in Tang and Song Dynasty documents, the transposition of Tang Dynasty melodies within the seven courts rather than the four tones, the misinterpretation of "dan" as "sheng" in the "Music" of the Liao Shi, and the fact that the tonic of each of the four modes (scale types)—gong, shang, yu, and jiao—consists of the seven notes of the Yanyue (Guanlue) scale. Regarding the relationship between the four tones and the scale system in the Tang Dynasty's twenty-eight-tone theory, the book proposes a completely new perspective: the yu tone originates from the ancient Indian Sa scale, whose interval structure was called the popular music (Yanyue) Zheng mode in the Tang Dynasty and serves as the carrier of the yu mode in the twenty-eight-tone system. The gong tone is derived from the yu tone and uses the same Yanyue scale, a product of the traditional Chinese court music theory's emphasis on the gong concept. In the twenty-eight-tone system, the gong and yu tones in the Yanyue scale system are compatible with the Zheng tone structure of the Qinglue scale system. The shang tone originates from the ancient Indian Ma scale, whose interval structure was called the popular music (Yanyue) gong mode in the Tang Dynasty and was named "shang" in the twenty-eight-tone theory's Yanyue concept system but was actually the Yanyue scale gong mode. The jiao tone is derived from the shang tone and is essentially the Yanyue scale yu mode. The four tones in the Tang Dynasty's twenty-eight-tone theory are essentially a dual-court, dual-yu structure composed of the Yanyue and Yanyue scale systems.