Pu’an Zhou 普庵咒 - for the Chinese qin (7-string long zither)，performed by Lin Chen 林晨

The title of Pu’an Zhou first appeared as an alternative name for the 1592 Buddhist chant Shitan Zhang 釋談章 (Siddham Stanzas) in a 1609 qin manuscript, Zhenchuan Zhengzong Qinpu 真傳正宗琴譜. It is said that Chan Master Pu’an (1115-1169) created the original tune for helping with the pronunciation of Sanskrit sutras. The instrumental version was developed out of a lengthy Buddhist chant, keeping the original structure: a short Fo Tou 佛頭 (opening invocation), the middle section Qi Zhou 起咒 (incantation), and the final section Fo Wei 佛尾 (a sort coda). A distinct characteristic of this piece is the use of cuo 撮 (the middle and index fingers plucking the strings simultaneously). In the introduction of the 1962 Guqin Quji 古琴曲集 (Collected Guqin Music) Vol. 1, it says that the use of the cuo recreates the solemn, meditative experience of listening to the Buddhist chant in an ancient temple.



The performer:
Lin Chen (b. 1973) holds the designation as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage for the qin, having studied with three very prominent qin masters: her father Lin Youren, Yao Gongbai, and Wu Wenguang from the China Conservatory of Music. She is a prominent qin performer as the representative of her father’s style. She is also an important qin scholar, as an associate researcher of the Music Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Arts, after graduating from the China Academy of Art with a master’s degree.
As a performer she has released two albums of music of qin: Xuange Qingyun and Qinyun Xiaosheng Yiguren “Memories of Old Friends” for qin and xiao. As a scholar, Lin Chen has participated in completion of a number of critical research manuscripts, including “the Musical Instrument Database of the Music Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Art” and “Chinese Musical Instrument Database Sample.” She authored “A History of the Qin.” She is the chief editor for “Completion of Sixty Years’ of Qin Studies,” and the co-author of “Touching Qin History: Modern and Contemporary Qin History Narrative” and “A Bibliography of the Twentieth Century Qin Literature.”

林晨 （琴家）
1973年出生于南京。1985年起师从父亲林友仁学习古琴。1993年起师从姚公白学习古琴。1995年考入中国音乐学院音乐学系，同时师从吴文光学习古琴。2000年进入中国艺术研究院音乐研究所从事琴学以及中国近现代音乐史的研究工作。2006 年毕业于中国艺术研究院，获硕士学位。现为中国艺术研究院音乐研究所副研究员，国家级非物质文化遗产古琴项目代表性传承人。她参与完成《中国艺术研究院音乐研究所乐器数据库》以及国家文化部科技基金课题《中国乐器数据库样库》等课题，并参与联合国“口头与非物质遗产”古琴申报工作。主编《琴学六十年论文集》，出版了《触摸琴史：近现代琴史叙事》《琴史》《二十世纪古琴文论目录》（合著）《古琴——中国国粹艺术读本》等书籍，出版专辑《弦歌清韵》《琴韵箫声忆故人》。



林友仁
1938年生于上海，祖籍台湾。第二批国家级非物质文化遗产项目古琴艺术代表性传承人。1956年开始习琴，启蒙于琴家夏一峰先生，1958年入上海音乐学院民乐系古琴专业学习，师承刘少椿、卫仲乐、刘景韶等先生。其后一直任职于上海音乐学院音乐研究所，副研究员。其演奏风格浑朴自然，韵味醇厚，意境悠远。著有《二十世纪古琴文论目录》（合著），发表了《琴乐考古构想》《二十世纪东西文化冲突与交融中的中国古琴艺术》等论文，录制有《中天真味》《广陵琴韵（七）》《琴韵箫声弄流水》《雪夜闻钟》等多张个人专辑。

Lin Youren (1938-2013), was a scholar of Chinese music, a master qin performer, and a National Intangible Cultural Heritage for the qin. Lin began to learn the qin with Xia Yifeng in 1956. He then entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to study the qin from Liu Shaochun, Wei Zhongle and Liu Jingshao, and became an associate researcher at the Music Research Institute of Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Lin was renowned for his simple natural playing style, with a mellow flavor and a sustained mood. In his lifetime, he published a large number of books, articles on Chinese music, and recorded several albums of qin music.


The instrument:
Mingfeng - Sounding Phoenix
This antique qin from the Chinese Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) is now part of China’s National Arts Academy qin collection. Mingfeng is made from paulownia wood with a lacquer surface, and the hui, or harmonic markers, are porcelain. The front of the qin is inlaid with an oval jade carving of a phoenix "xiangfeng". The characters "mingfeng" (sounding phoenix) are inscribed on the back of the instrument, as are two lines: “The sun is rising, a sound from the phoenix’s nest. Red silk sounding, the world becomes civil.” There is a large red seal in a circle at the bottom containing the words “balance, harmonious, energy.” The instrument has had numerous small repairs over its history, such as repairing the original paint with chestnut shell and vermilion paint. It was owned and repaired by qin master Guan Pinghu (1897-1967) and was purchased by the Music Research Institute in the 1950s.


鸣凤 （琴）
连珠式变体，南宋琴，中国艺术研究院藏。桐木制，色微黄而质松古。琴体宽扁。原髹黒漆，后以栗壳色漆与朱漆修补。鹿角灰胎较薄，下有八宝灰修补。琴面大小蛇腹断间以牛毛断与小冰裂断，琴底的断纹呈不规则状。纳音微隆。琴徽为钧瓷所制，项、腰作连续四弧，龙池与凤沼作扁圆三连弧形。琴首正面镶嵌椭圆形玉雕“翔凤”为饰。龙池上方刻楷书“鸣凤”二字，两旁刻行书铭文“朝阳即升，巢凤有声。朱丝一奏，天下文明。”池下近足处刻外圆内方印，双钩篆文“中和之气”四字。