Page 36 - 2020 December 1 Bonhams Hong Kong, Eternal Music in Chinese art

This Zhongni style (also known as ‘Confucius-style’ as this was
supposedly the form of qin which the Sage played on) guqin,
decorated with various precious woods cut hexagonally, was crafted
using an extremely rare technique known as ‘bai na’ (which may be
translated as ‘hundred patch’), referring to the patchwork vestment
worn by Buddhist monks.

At present, there are only two known bai na constructed qins in
China’s public museums that are similar in age and craftsmanship
to the present lot. One is the Ming dynasty qin named ‘E’mei song’
(literally, ‘Pine of E’mei [Mountain]’) in the Palace Museum, Beijing,
similarly decorated in a hexagonal tortoise-shell pattern with zitan; see
Zheng Minzhong, Gugong guqin tudian, Beijing, 2010, no.26. The
other is the Ming dynasty qin named ‘Yin Feng’ (‘Attracting Phoenix’)
in the Sichuan Provincial Museum, inlaid with wood and bamboo; see
Songshi jian yi: Bashu diqu diancang guqin jingpin ji, Beijing, 2015,
pp.66-69.

The earliest mention of bai na style qins date from the Tang dynasty.
Tang dynasty bai na style qins were purportedly made of the finest
specially selected wutong wood, as Wei Xuan (active around 840 AD)
records in his ‘Liu Bin Ke Jia Hua Lu’: Image courtesy of Palace Musuem, Beijing

Mr Li Qian strove to use among the best silk and wutong wood, 北京故宮博物院藏
stitching and blending the various elements together, he called this the
‘hundred patch’ qin. Using snail shells for the hui [harmonic markers]. 琴仲尼式，白石十三徽，紫檀岳山及冠角，以各色木料切成六角形薄
Its three sides are especially magnificent. The strings will not break for 片貼飾表面，可辨者有黃花梨、紫檀及黃楊木，此技稱為「百衲」，
ten years.’ See Xuehai leibian, Shanghai, 1920, p.10. 取百衲僧衣之形象。龍池上方刻隸書「太古元音」四字，龍池下方刻
篆書「傳世之寶」方印。
Today there are no known bai na qins from the Tang dynasty, except
for the ‘Jiu xiao huan pei’ qin in the Liaoning Provincial Museum. 唐代文獻最早記錄百納琴，乃選取精良的桐木整體拼合而成，如韋絢
However, the only part of this qin which uses inlaid wood is the sound （活躍於840年前後）所記《劉賓客嘉話錄》：「李汧公勉，取絲桐
absorber section. The Song dynasty saw the emergence of imitation 之精者，雜綴為之，謂之百衲琴。用蝸殼為徽，其閒三面尤絕異，
bai na qins including inlaying wood block to the sound absorber 謂之響泉、韻磬。絃一上，可十年不斷。」，見《學海類編》，上
section or simply carving a tortoiseshell pattern on the surface of re- 海，1920年，頁10。如今並無唐代百衲琴傳世，唯一可見有用木條鑲
lacquered wood. Examples can be seen in the Jilin Provincial Museum, 嵌的例子是遼寧博物館藏之唐代「九霄環珮」琴，然而此琴也只是納
with the ‘Song feng qing jie’ qin, Song dynasty, as well as the Song 音部分用木條鑲嵌而已。宋代之後仿百衲琴的作品，學者稱之為「假
dynasty qin ‘Kunshan jade’ in the Ye Shimeng (1863-1937) collection, 百衲」。宋代假百衲係在木胎上用刀刻劃六角形龜背百納紋再填漆，
see related discussion by M.Z.Zheng, Bainaqin kao (The Study of Bai 如吉林省博物館藏宋代「松風清節」琴；亦有以木條拼嵌納音的例
Na Qins)in his Lice ouluji: guqin jianding ji qita (The Connoisseurship of 子，如葉詩夢（1863-1937）舊藏之宋代「崑山玉」琴。相關討論見鄭
Guqin and Other Studies), Beijing, 2010, p.87. 珉中著，《百衲琴考》，收錄於《蠡測偶錄集—古琴研究及其他》，
北京，2010年，頁87。
In the late Ming dynasty qins were made of hexagonal wood sections
and bamboo, also called bai na qin. However, these were merely 明代晚期出現表面以六角木片，也有用竹片貼面的所謂百衲琴，是為
decorative and considered unsuitable for playing. The Ming dynasty 裝飾琴，理論上并不适合演奏。惟此琴張絃之後，散音圓潤，泛音空
scholar Gao Lian (1573-1620) in ‘Zunsheng bajian’ wrote: 靈，而按走順暢，音色清透，實為罕見。蓋因年深日久，木理乾透，
硬木材質的琴面起到了類似於漆胎的效果，傳振極佳。明代學者高
‘Among those bai na qins, they are also made today. Sometimes they 濂（1573年-1620年）在《遵生八箋》中有清楚記載：「又如百衲琴
are made of leftover beautiful materials [that were too good to be just 者，亦近制也。偶得美材，短不堪用，因而裁成片段，膠漆綴長，非
thrown away], and so were cut into pieces and used to make a qin 好奇也。今仿製者，以龜紋錦片，錯以玳瑁、象牙、香料、雜木，嵌
that is extraordinarily beautiful. Among those made today, there are 骨為紋，鋪滿琴體，名曰寶琴。」見高濂，《遵生八箋》，《欽定四
those which are patterned like a tortoiseshell, inlaid with tortoiseshell, 庫全書》本，1782年，卷十五，頁76。晚明以來用名貴硬木製琴，跟
ivory, scented wood, and various other woods, with patterns inlaid with 紫檀及硬木家具和仿古清玩的流行有莫大關係，故宮博物院研究員劉
bone. The shops are filled with these qins which are called treasure 岐榮有專文就此探討此件「太古元音」琴及故宮所藏「峨嵋松」琴為
qins.’ See Gao Lian, Zunsheng Bajian in Qianding Siku quanshu, 1782, 明代晚期之作，見劉岐榮，《試論鑲嵌硬木「百衲琴」製作年代》，
juan 15, p.76. 《故宮學刊》，北京，2015年5月，頁80至85。

After the late Ming period, more precious hardwoods came to be used 目前中國公立博物館現存兩件百衲琴與「太古元音」琴年代和工藝相
in making qins. This was related to the rise and popularity of using 近，一為北京故宮博物院藏明代「峨嵋松」琴，為木胎嵌紫檀六方龜
precious hardwoods and zitan for furniture; for further discussion, of 背百衲，見鄭珉中編，《故宮古琴圖典》，北京，2010年，編號26；
the qins ‘Tai gu yuan yin [‘Harmony of Remote Antiquity’]’ and the 一為四川博物院藏明代「引鳳」琴，係木胎嵌竹質六方龜背百衲，見
‘E’mei song’, late Ming dynasty, see Liu Qirong, ‘Shilun xiangqian 深圳博物館、四川博物院及重慶中國三峽博物館編，《松石間意：巴
yingmu ‘bai na qin’ zhizuo niandai’, in Gugong xuekan, Beijing, 2015, 蜀地區典藏古琴精品集》，北京，2015年，頁66至69。
May, pp.80-85.

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