Page 78 - 2020 December 1 Bonhams Hong Kong, Eternal Music in Chinese art

The present guqin is in the Zhongni form – also known as the 琴仲尼式，肩起二徽六分，腰收七徽八分，硬木岳山、軫足與龍齦、
Confucius style – as this was the shape supposedly used and favoured 冠角，冠角鏟地雕卷草紋，朱漆間褐色，漆面發冰裂紋及流水斷，
by the Sage. Besides the name of the musical instrument ‘Wannian 長方形龍池、鳳藻，龍池口沿嵌湘妃竹一周，天地柱位於龍池納音
Qing’ which may be translated as ‘Purity of Ten Thousand Years’, 上下，龍池軫池之間漆書篆字「萬年清」三字及「銕梅盦珍藏」五
there is another five-character poetic inscription: ‘Tie Mei’an zhencang’ 字，雁足之下填漆題款數行，多漫漶不清，可辨者有隸書「元豐二
which may be translated as ‘Treasure of the Iron Blossom Hut’. A 年」於正中，左側尚餘行書「寅春」二字，右側隸書四十八字，存見
further inscription gives the date as the ‘Second year of Yuanfeng’ 「□□□□、□□石金、□□□□，俯唱遙吟、高山流水、白雪陽
corresponding to 1079 AD, and ‘Yin chun’, ‘Spring’. A further poetic 春、養□□□□、陶情怡性、太古為心」諸字。
inscription partially reads: ‘...Jade and gold;...; bowing to the distant
chant; lofty mountains and flowing waters, white snows in Spring; 銕梅盦即鐵保（1752-1824），字冶亭，號梅庵，書法脫胎於顏體，
accomplishment..., cultivate one’s mind and joyous mood, distant 與成親王、劉墉、翁方綱并稱為清代四大書家，其書法尤與劉墉齊
antiquity becomes one with the mind. ‘ 名。鐵保愛琴，從詩中可窺一二，《梅庵全集》中便有《雨窗聰仲梧
彈琴分得雨字》《雨後》《焦桐》等詩以琴入題，《雨窗聰仲梧彈琴
Tie Mei’an refers to the literatus Tiebao (1752-1824), styled Zhiting, 分得雨字》讀來可見其於琴理之通透，詩情之天真：「......展琹置案
sobriquet Mei’an. His calligraphy followed the style of Yan Zhenqing and 上，為我一再鼓。一彈心欲清，再彈手欲舞。遂令萬籟寂，淵淵入太
together with Prince Cheng, Liu Yong and Weng Fanggang, he was one 古。此時雨未休，淅瀝灑廊廡。」
of the four great masters of Qing dynasty calligraphy. His calligraphy
was as famous as that of Lu Yong. Tiebao was also very fond of the qin. 琴聲内斂均勻，頗具九德之「靜、潤、圓、勻」四種特點。此琴體量
From the titles of many poems in his collected works ‘Tao’an quanji’, 頗大，儼然唐琴氣度，尺寸接近北京故宮博物院藏唐「九霄環珮」
one can see the qin plays a significant role, for example, ‘Listening to 琴，通長125釐米，肩寬21.8釐米，見故宮博物院編，《故宮古琴圖
qin by the window in the rain’, ‘After the Rain’, ‘Plantain and Paulownia’, 典》，北京，2011年，編號1，頁24-29。北京故宮所藏有明確斷代
etc. In ‘Listening to qin by the window in the rain’ he wrote: 的宋琴，體量能和「萬年清」相當者，唯有北宋「萬壑松」琴，通長
128.6釐米，肩寬20.4釐米，南宋「奔雷」琴，通長126.6釐米，肩寬
‘Laid out on the table, for me to play once more; 20釐米，見前書，編號10及13，頁74-77及88-89。
I strum once and my heart yearns for purity,
Strum twice and my hands yearn to dance. 此琴形制屬於闊肩寬腰一路，有唐琴氣度，然而此琴底部扁平，邊角
Following my orders, the multitude of sounds; 直棱，是北宋以來典型的平扁風格，即所謂「宋扁」。平扁寬厚的風
Deep and still, enter distant antiquity. 格北宋至明初頗為流行，又多有流變。南宋仲尼式多聳肩瘦腰，至元
At this moment the rain has not rested, 末朱志遠又喜用闊肩寬腰的款式，或有追摹北宋舊風的意圖，然而肩
So I patter on in the studio.’ 部首尾處較之北宋典型，仍然較為高平，不似北宋琴肩部一溜而下。
可比較另外兩床宋元舊斵，一為北宋「金鐘」琴，一為元代朱志遠斵
The sound of the present qin is subtle and even, encapsulating the 琴，見前書，編號6及15，頁54-57及98-101。「萬年清」琴額及焦
four desired characteristics of ‘calmness, smoothness, fullness and 尾有改動痕跡，不復原貌，然而溜肩寬腰，頗似「金鐘」琴。又「萬
uniformity’. The instrument is relatively large, resembling qins of the 年清」琴鹿角灰胎極為厚實，所開斷紋細密而齊整，非元以後琴所能
Tang dynasty. See for example, the qin, ‘Jiu xiao huan pei, Tang 比也。
dynasty, 125cm long, 21.8cm wide illustrated in Gugong guqin tudian,
Beijing, 2011, pp.24-29, no.1. See also the Song dynasty qin, ‘Wan he
song’ in the Place Museum, Beijing, of comparable size to the present
lot (128.6cm long x 20.4cm wide); and also the Southern Song
dynasty qin, ‘Ben lei’, 126cm long x 20cm wide, illustrated in ibid.,
pp.74-77, 88-89, nos.10 and 13.

Compare with two other qins in the Palace Museum, Beijing; the
Northern Song dynasty ‘Jin zhong’, and the Yuan dynasty qin belonging
to Zhu Zhiyuan, illustrated in ibid., pp.54-57 and 98-101, nos.6 and
15. The head and tail of the present qin shows traces of early alteration
which made the dating difficult, but its wide waist and shoulders like the
‘Jin Zhong’ qin, reveal a strong feature of qins dating to the Northern
Song dynasty. The present lot also has a fine crackle on the lacquer
which is not comparable to qins made after the Yuan dynasty.

The shape of the present qin features broad shoulders and a wide
waist, resembling the form of Tang dynasty qins. However, the lower
section is flatter and angular, and more closely resembles Song
dynasty qins; hence the descriptive term ‘Flat Song’ style qins. The flat
and generous style was popular from the Northern Song dynasty to
the beginning of the Ming dynasty. During the Southern Song dynasty,
the Zhongni or ‘Confucius-style’ qin, had narrower shoulders and a
thinner waist. By the end of the Yuan dynasty, the qin connoisseur
Zhu Zhiyuan preferred executing the style of qin with wider shoulders
and wider waist and perhaps intended to follow the older style of the
Northern Song dynasty. However, the head and tail of the shoulders
are still relatively flat compared to the typical Northern Song dynasty Image courtesy of Palace Museum, Beijing
qin, which is characterised by sloping shoulders. 北京故宮博物院藏「金鐘」琴

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