Elegant Orchid in the Stone Tablet Mode (Jieshidiao Youlan No. 5)

A Tang-Dynasty Copy of a Zither Score

The Elegant Orchid in the Stone Tablet Mode (Jieshidiao Youlan No. 5) (碣石調幽蘭第五, Kesseki-chō Yūran Daigo) is a Chinese handscroll of the Tang dynasty, seventh to eighth century, held by the Tokyo National Museum in Taito City, Tokyo, which in 1954 was designated a National Treasure.

The museum describes it as ink on paper, 27.4 centimetres high and 423.1 centimetres long. It belongs to the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage.

It sets out in words how to play Elegant Orchid, a piece for the seven-string zither, and is valued as a record of early zither music.

What the Scroll Contains

According to e-Museum, the Elegant Orchid in the Stone Tablet Mode is an abridged copy of a zither score attributed to Qiugong, a master player at the end of the Liang dynasty (502 to 557). Qiugong, also called Ming, came from Huiji in present-day Zhejiang, was known for the chudiao style and above all for his playing of Elegant Orchid. He died in 590 at the age of 97.

The text explains the finger movements needed to perform the piece and ends with a list of 59 titles, from Chu Tune, Qianjin Tune and Hujia to Lament of the Chu Consort. It describes technique in prose, unlike the later zither notation that uses symbols.

Why It Matters

e-Museum notes that the text is written in firm, regular script of the early Tang, 20 characters to a line, and that the added passage at the start also appears to be a Tang copy.

The scroll came down at Jinkoin temple in Nishigamo, Kyoto. It became widely known after the late Edo and Meiji physician Mori Risshi included it in his catalogue of old books, and the Qing scholar Li Shuchang published it in his collection of texts lost in China. It is prized both as calligraphy and as an early zither score that survived in Japan.

What to Look For

If the scroll is on view, look first at the regular script: lines of 20 characters running in even order along more than 4 metres of paper.

Then turn to the list of 59 titles at the end, a glimpse of the repertoire played on the zither before the Tang. Comparing the handwriting of the added opening passage with the main text is also rewarding.

Seeing the Elegant Orchid in the Stone Tablet Mode

The Elegant Orchid in the Stone Tablet Mode is in the Tokyo National Museum collection, and the museum's collection page shows no scheduled display in its regular galleries. As it is not on permanent view, check the museum's exhibition schedule before visiting.

The Tokyo National Museum is at 13-9 Ueno Park, Taito City, Tokyo. Images of the whole scroll can be viewed on e-Museum, run by the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage.