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  • 8/17/2019 Untitled Extract Pages - Copy (5)

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    »

    CHINESE MUSIC.

    sound

    rendered

    was

    the

    perfect

    fifth,

    whicli

    in

    our

    Western

    music is

    also

    expressed

    by tin

    ratio

    of

    3

    to

    2.

    The

    second bamboo

    being

    treated

    on the same

    principle,

    produced

    a

    third

    tube

    measurhi

    exactly

    two-thirds of

    the length,

    and

    giving

    a note

    a

    perfect

    fifth

    higher

    than that

    of

    the

    second

    tube.

    This

    new sound seeming too

    far distant

    from

    the

    first or

    fundamental

    note,

    the

    length

    of

    the producing tube

    was doubled

    (that is,

    four-thirds

    of the second

    tube s wliole

    length

    was

    taken

    instead

    of

    two-thirds),

    and the

    note

    became

    an octave

    lower.

    All

    the

    tubes were

    cut on the

    same

    principle,

    the

    relation

    of

    3

    to

    2 representing

    the

    liarmony

    existing between

    heaven

    and

    earth.

    They

    engendered

    one

    another

    and

    always

    measured

    two-thirds or four-thirds

    of the

    whole

    length of

    their

    generator.

    The

    Ms

    were

    therefore divided

    into

    two classes,

    the

    [^ ^

    (yang

    liis) and

    the

    [^

    g

    (yin

    lus), or

    males

    and

    females,

    positives

    and negatives,

    perfect

    and

    imperfect.

    According to

    the

    ^ H

    (I King),

    chaos

    was

    divided into

    two

    parts,

    yang answering

    to

    male

    energy, and

    yin

    corresponding

    to the female

    principle.

    All that is

    strong

    and

    superior

    is

    ycmg

    ;

    yin indicates

    dependence,

    inferiority.

    Everything in

    Nature

    belongs to

    one

    of

    these

    two grand

    categories,

    from

    whose

    combinations

    and reciprocal

    action

    results

    all

    that

    exists

    or

    rakes

    place

    in

    the universe.

    The

    lils i,

    3, 5,

    7,

    9,

    and

    11 were

    considered

    as

    yang; the

    even

    numbers were

    classed

    as

    yin;

    but

    it is

    well

    to

    remark

    that

    these

    distinctions

    did

    not at

    all affect the

    tones,

    and were made

    simply

    to

    please

    the

    Chinese ideas of

    the

    time.

    Other

    comparisons

    were

    dra\A n

    between tlie 1

    2

    /

    m.s,

    the

    1 2 moons,

    the

    1

    2

    Chinese

    hours,

    etc. ^

    The

    first

    tube, which was

    considered

    as

    the

    basis,

    the generator

    of

    all

    the

    others,

    received

    the

    name

    ^ ^

    (huayig-chung).

    The

    sound

    produced

    by

    it

    was named

    ^

    (kv/ng),

    and

    became

    the tonic

    or

    key-note

    of

    a

    kind

    of

    semi-diatonic

    scale of

    12

    degrees,

    nearly

    identical with

    our

    chromatic

    gamut, the

    only

    difference

    being that

    our scale

    is

    tempered,

    while

    that

    of

    the

    Chinese

    is

    left untouched.

    Temperament

    denotes

    a

    small,

    and

    to

    the ear

    almost

    imperceptible,

    deviation

    from

    the

    absolute

    purity

    of

    intervals

    which compose our

    scale.

    It

    is well

    known

    that 12

    perfect

    fifths

    employed

    within the space

    of

    an

    octave (like

    the

    12

    Chinese

    sounds)

    exceed

    the

    ratio

    of

    the octave,

    or

    that of

    2

    to

    i,

    by

    the

    ditonic

    comma,

    a

    small interval

    expressed

    by

    the

    ratio

    of

    531,441

    to

    524,288.

    Our ear is so

    constructed

    that it

    cannot

    endure

    the excess

    or

    deficiency

    of

    a

    whole

    comma

    in any

    interval

    without

    being offended,

    and therefore

    it has

    been

    found

    expedient

    to

    diminish

    each

    fifth by

    one-twelfth

    of the

    ditonic comma, instead

    of diminishmg

    only

    one

    fifth

    by

    the

    entire

    comma.

    That

    is what we call

    temperament in

    Western

    music, and

    it is

    the absence of

    it that

    causes

    some

    of the Chinese

    intervals to

    appear

    to

    us either too

    high

    or

    too flat. We

    will prove

    mathematically

    the

    difference

    when

    speaking

    of

    the

    diatonic

    scale.

    The

    following

    diagram

    will illustrate the

    lils,

    giving their

    names,

    the moons,

    hours,

    etc.,

    to

    which they coiTCspond,

    the

    musical sounds

    they emit (supposmg

    huang-chung

    to

    give

    our C), their

    corresponding

    notes

    in our

    music,

    etc.

    The

    liis

    follow

    each

    other

    at

    the interval of half

    a tone.

    H

    ^

    fl

    S

    ±

    T

     te ^