One of the ten famous guqin pieces, White Snow in Early Spring is said to be composed by Shi Kuang, a musician of the Jin State, or by Liu Juanzi, a musician of the Qi State in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). Early Spring and White Snow currently existing in music scores are two separate instrumental music pieces.
The story of White Snow in Early Spring comes from Chu Ci (Songs of Chu) by Qu Yuan. King Xiang of the Chu State asked Song Yu why his subjects did not sing praise of Song Yu’s virtuous achievements. Song Yu replied, “When a singer in the Chu State sings of commoners, thousands of people will echo. If he sings of more sublime themes, only a few hundred can follow. If he sings of themes like White Snow in Early Spring, only dozens of people can chime in. When the singing gets even more difficult, only three people can answer in chorus.” What Song Yu wanted to convey is that a great and extraordinary figure in the world can seldom be understood by ordinary people.
Although a synonym for elegant art, the namesake ancient music White Snow in Early Spring has a fresh and smooth melody, lively and vigorous rhythms. The music portrays a vivid scene of early spring, when everything bursts into life after the long cold winter passes through. It can thus be seen that the story of “White Snow in Early Spring” has little relation to the namesake music piece.
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