Page 160 - Bonhams Cornette Saint Cyr, Property from the estate of Jean-Pierre Rousset (1936-2021)

A guqin table should be in the ‘weimo’ 維摩 form (a general term Sikao Tushuo 文房肆考圖說 (Examinations and Illustrations of the
for high furniture) so that the player’s knees are not obstructed. The Miscellaneous Scholars’ Objects). For example, it is noted in the Taigu
height, including the top surface, should be about two chi and eight Zhengyin Qinjing that ‘a guqin table should use an ancient guogong
cun. In this case, the player’s knees could be placed beneath the table zhuan decorated the elephant-eye motifs and lozenges. Those from
and his body could naturally lean forward. It is best to have a stone Zhengzhou, Henan, are the preferred. When a qin is played on such
tabletop. If that is not an option, thick and solid wood could be a good a guogong zhuan, the sound is crispy and pleasing. It is also good to
substitute. In the case of a wood tabletop, it needs to be lacquered use agate, rock from the Nanyang or Yongzhou County…’, suggesting
with multiple layers, carefully polished, and properly levelled to perform the extensive use of guogong zhuan at the time. A Ming dynasty
similarly to a stone one. The stone from Yongzhou which is at least one politician and scholar Xia Liangsheng has even written an essay on
and a half cun thick is of course the ideal material. If wood is used, it guogong zhuan with nearly a thousand words, in which he argued that
must be at least two cun thick. If you are using wood from well grown ‘…the magnificent form and the humble material of guogong zhuan, as
cypress or jujuba, you should use lacquer instead of glue to connect well as its surface decorations, can all be designed. However, it is the
the pieces – it works better that way. Recently, I have also seen lute hollowness of it that carries the quality of being accommodating and
tables which are made only big enough to accommodate one qin. This ability to resonate, which enhance the sound of a qin so beautifully.’
is not a good practice. A good lute table must be at least as wide as Although it is still unknown when exactly guogong zhuan started to be
four instruments and one third longer than the qin. This would make used as resonance blocks on guqin tables, it is clear that they were
significant differences to the sound of the qin. One must also not place already quite popular during the early to mid-Ming dynasty.
miscellaneous objects such as incense burners on the table in front of
the qin. Wu Ziqiang suggests in his Yunshanji 雲山集 (The Clouds and The so-called guogong zhuan in fact refers to hollow bricks dating
Mountains) to make a miniature water landscape on the table. This back to the Han dynasty. During the Western Han period, hollow
really is not necessary. brick production had already progressed from slabbing to mould
making, and they only required a single firing. The consistent firing
In such a detailed description, guogong zhuan is, however, not temperature also gave these bricks a solid body, which can be as long
mentioned. One of the first mentions of guogong zhuan is found in the as 1.6 metres. Tomb chambers that were built with such bricks were
entry of ‘Guqin tables’ in Cao Zhao’s Gegu Yaolun 格古要論 (Important quite common in the Central Plains in the early and mid-Western Han
Discussions about Assessing Antiques) published in the 21st year of period. They were often decorated with triangles, lozenges, kaki calyx
the Ming Hongwu reign (1388): motifs, and meanders.

A qin table must be in the ‘Weimo’ 維摩 form (a general term for high The reason why such bricks have acquired the name guogong
furniture) with a height of at least two chi and eight cun, so the player zhuan is yet unclear. The Ming shizong 明詩綜 (A collection of Ming
can rest his knees under the table. The table should be wide enough poems) has included a folk lore ‘Guogong chen’ 郭公 (The Omen of
to accommodate three qin and one chi longer than the instrument. It is Master Guo): ‘Master Guo’s brick and Master Guo’s tomb, [they were]
best to use guogong zhuan as the tabletop, preferably those made of unearthed during the construction of a dam under the supervision
agate, rock from the Nanyang County or Yongzhou. If wood is used, it of local officer Qi; I understand that it is the order from the governor
must be solid wood that is thicker than one cun and lacquered multiple to build the dam here, but could you please move aside three or five
times before being coated with a shiny black paint. steps away and do not disturb me [Master Guo]?’ The folk lore also
came with an explanatory note: ‘In the first year of the Jiajing reign,
Cao Zhao’s account is essentially based on Zhao Xihu’s, especially the Governor of the Henan Province ordered the hundred-household
the description of the ‘Weimo’ form, but with an additional reference officer Qi to repair a dam. An ancient tomb was unearthed during the
to the guogong zhuan. In the Xinzeng Gegu Yaolun 新增格古要論 construction work and a hollow brick inscribed with the verse above
(An Expanded Edition of the Gegu Yaolun), which was edited and was found. It was then used as a guqin table.’ It went on to say that
published by Wang Zuo in the sixth year of the Ming Tianshun reign ‘…the brick was taken to the Imperial palace during the Chongzhen
(1462), it was further added that: reign…’ However, the story told here is clearly inconsistent with the
above-mentioned records from the Hongwu period. An edition of the
I saw a guogong zhuan once. It is hollow, greyish white in colour, and Jixianzhi 汲縣志 (Gazette of the Ji county) published during the Qing
decorated with motifs in the form of elephant eyes. The legend has it Qianlong period has further mistaken ‘Master Guo’ as a Ming dynasty
that the guogong zhuan made with clay and water from Zhengzhou, craftsman:
Henan, are the best. However, there are also many fakes and one must
be very careful when assessing them. The one I saw was only five chi …The qin made by Ming dynasty Prince Jian of Lu is renowned
long and a bit wider than one chi. With it as the tabletop, the sound of throughout the world. It is said that there is a total of 360 such
the qin appeared to be bright and crispy. instruments, which have been dispersed to various places. There
are none in our county which is a shame. When these instruments
Since then, most accounts of guqin tables have mentioned both were made, there was also a potter name Guo who made specific
the ‘Weimo’ form and guogong zhuan, such as the discussion in resonance blocks for them. Those blocks, which were hollow and
the Zunsheng Bajian 遵生八箋 (The Eight Treatises on Following the about five chi long, were referred to as ‘Master Guo’s brick’. Some
Principles of Life), Changwuzhi 長物誌 (Treatise on Extra Things), of those bricks can still be found today. However, most of them are
Kaopan Yushi 考槃餘事 (Remnant Matters of Rearing the Hut), damaged, and the ones that are not are scarce.
Jiaochuang Jiulu 蕉窗九錄 (Nine Records by the Window near to
Musa-basjoo Tree), Taigu Zhengyin Qinjing 太古正音琴經 (The Classics It is evident that, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the term
of the Qin: Proper Music from the Ancients), Gezhi Jingyuan 格致 guogong zhuan referred to not only Han dynasty hollow bricks but also
鏡原 (Mirrored Contexts for Thorough Investigations), and Wenfang the resonance blocks that were produced at the time.

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