Taizi Changqin
| Taizi Changqin | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Painting of Taizi Changqin | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 太子長琴 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 太子长琴 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Crown Prince Long-Zither | ||||||||
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Taizi Changqin (Chinese: 太子长琴, also Prince Changqin) is a deity in Chinese mythology, regarded as the mythological ancestor of Chinese music and melody. His story is recorded in the ancient Chinese text Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhai jing, 山海经).[1]
Legends
[edit]According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Prince Changqin belonged to the divine lineage of the ancient sovereign Zhuanxu. The genealogy given in the text traces his ancestry from Zhuanxu to Laotong, who fathered the fire god Zhurong. Zhurong was, in turn, the father of Prince Changqin.[2][3] However, broader Chinese mythological traditions contain conflicting accounts regarding Zhurong's exact identity, which inherently affects Changqin's ancestral origins. According to historical classifications, there are two main genealogical systems for Zhurong: the "Northern Zhurong system" (北方祝融体系), which identifies him as Chongli (重黎), the Fire Minister (火正) of the Zhuanxu clan; and the "Southern Zhurong system" (南方祝融体系), which asserts that Zhurong was actually a descendant of the Yan Emperor (炎帝).[4]
He was expected to succeed his father as ruler and was therefore given the title of crown prince. In later interpretations of the conflict between Zhurong and Gonggong, Changqin is said to have helped his father expand their tribe’s influence into the areas of present-day Zhejiang and Jiangxi.[5]
The classic also records that Prince Changqin resided on Mount Yao (榣山), where he is said to have first created musical airs or melodies (始作乐风).[2] Later mythological interpretations associate him with the origin of music and describe his playing as attracting three kinds of five-colored birds: the Feng bird (凤鸟), the Huang bird (凰鸟), and the luan bird (鸾鸟).[6]
Historical prototype
[edit]An interpretation by author Linwu Gongzi has proposed that Prince Changqin may have been a mythological representation of Yuxiong (鬻熊), also known as Xueyan (穴酓), the legendary ancestor of the ancient State of Chu. According to this view, the character qin (琴) in Changqin's name may have functioned as a phonetic loan character (通假字), related to xiong (熊) and yan (酓) in ancient Chinese. The theory further connects this interpretation with records referring to the kings of Chu as the "Chu Qin lineage" (楚琴氏).[7]
In popular culture
[edit]Prince Changqin appears in the Gu Jian Qi Tan franchise, where his mythology is expanded into a major part of the story. In the franchise's lore, he was originally a sentient zither named Feng Lai (凤来), crafted by his father Zhurong and later given human form by the goddess Nüwa. He becomes an immortal and befriends a water serpent or dragon named Qianyu (悭臾). After a catastrophe involving the pillar of heaven at Mount Buzhou, Prince Changqin is punished by the Heavenly Emperor, and his soul is shattered during reincarnation.[8]
In the 2014 live-action television adaptation Swords of Legends, the protagonist Baili Tusu, played by Li Yifeng, carries half of Prince Changqin's soul. This forms one of the central plot elements of the series.[8] The backstory between Prince Changqin and Qianyu was also discussed by mainstream media as an important emotional element in the drama's popularity in China.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ↑ Hai, Shan. Classic of Mountains and Rivers; " Shan Hai Jing " 山海经: A Blend of Rare Natural History and Geography Customs Blog in Ancient China. DeepLogic.
- 1 2 "山海經 - 大荒西经" [Classic of Mountains and Seas - The Great Wilderness: West] (in Chinese). Chinese Text Project.
有榣山。其上有人，号曰太子长琴。颛顼生老童，老童生祝融，祝融生太子长琴，是处摇山，始作乐风。 (There is Mount Yao. On it is a person named Prince Changqin. Zhuanxu begot Laotong, Laotong begot Zhurong, and Zhurong begot Prince Changqin. He dwells on Mount Yao and began to make musical melodies.)
- ↑ "《山海经》古帝史迹浅论" [A Brief Discussion on the Historical Traces of Ancient Emperors in the Classic of Mountains and Seas] (in Chinese). China Kongzi Network (中国孔子网). 2017-04-20.
颛顼生老童，老童生祝融，祝融生太子长琴，是处榣山，始作乐风。
- ↑ Linwu Gongzi (2021-05-28). ""祝融"你是一位啥样的神？" [Zhurong, what kind of god are you?] (in zh )). Beijing Evening News.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ "《山海经》里天神后代太子长琴的人生之路". Tencent (in Chinese). 11 May 2018.
- ↑ Linwu Gongzi (林屋公子) (2021-05-28). ""祝融"你是一位啥样的神？ (Zhurong, what kind of god are you?)" (in Chinese). Beijing Evening News via Jingbao Net (京报网).
《大荒西经》还记录了祝融的儿子太子长琴，据说太子长琴住在榣山之上，发明了流行音乐。他的乐声招致了三种五彩鸟来临，分别是凤鸟、凰鸟和鸾鸟。
- ↑ 林屋公子 (2021-11-25). "楚国始祖鬻熊就是祝融之子太子长琴？" [Is Yuxiong, the ancestor of the State of Chu, actually Zhurong's son Prince Changqin?)] (in Chinese). Weibo.
有观点认为，太子长琴原型就是楚国始祖鬻熊（穴酓），琴、熊、酓在当时只是通假字，而楚王又被称为楚琴氏，与古琴无关。)
- 1 2 "杨幂为《古剑奇谭》做预告 揭主演们的"黑"历史" [Yang Mi makes a preview for "Gu Jian Qi Tan", revealing the "black" history of the leading actors)] (in Chinese). People's Daily Online. 2014-08-07.
百里屠苏（李易峰饰）原名韩云溪，太子长琴半身。幼时经历灭族之灾，本来已死去，但因体内被封进了太子长琴一半魂魄而得以死生复生。 (Baili Tusu, played by Li Yifeng, was originally named Han Yunxi, possessing half of Prince Changqin's body/soul. He experienced the extermination of his clan as a child and had originally died, but was resurrected because half of Prince Changqin's soul was sealed within his body.)
- ↑ "京华时报：《古剑奇谭》诠释狐妖朋友圈" [Jinghua Times: "Gu Jian Qi Tan" interprets the fox demon circle of friends] (in Chinese). People's Daily Online. 2014-08-20.
按照现代人的视角，《古剑奇谭》的缘起激情四射。太古时期"太子长琴"化身美男子，与水虺化身的俊男悭臾关系暧昧，以至牵连被贬。 (From a modern perspective, the origins of 'Gu Jian Qi Tan' are passionate. In ancient times, 'Prince Changqin' transformed into a beautiful man and had an ambiguous relationship with the handsome man Qianyu, who was transformed from a water serpent, leading to his implication and demotion.)
Bibliography
[edit]- 山海經 (in Chinese). 萬卷出版公司. 2016. ISBN 978-7-5470-3987-8.
- 虎豹熊羆演大荒: 圖騰與中國史前文化 (in Chinese). 陕西人民敎育出版社出版发行. 1991.
- 戏曲论丛 (in Chinese). 甘肃人民出版社. 1986.