Guqin notation

The notation of the guqin is a unique form of tablature for the Chinese musical instrument, with a history of over 1,500 years, still in use today.

An earlier form of music notation from the Tang era survives in just one manuscript, dated to the seventh century CE, called Jieshi Diao Youlan 《碣石調幽蘭》 (Solitary Orchid in Stone Tablet Mode).

It was so successful that from the Ming dynasty onwards, a great many qinpu 〔琴譜〕 (qin tablature collections) appeared, the most famous and useful being "Shenqi Mipu" (神奇秘譜, lit.

Sadly, many qinpu compiled before the Ming dynasty are now lost, and many pieces have remained unplayed for hundreds of years.

A book by Wang Guangqi (王光祈) uses Roman and Arabic numerals to express the information provided by qin tablature.

The qin player, Gong Yi, developed a format using staff notation combined with some tablature marks [4].

《碣石調幽蘭第五》 "Jieshi Diao Youlan No.5" in longhand form.
First page / leaf of volume 3 of Shenqi Mipu. From right to left: Full title of tablature collection 【臞仙神奇秘譜】 with volume number 下卷 (lower or third) plus seals of the owner of this copy (if any), title of the volume 霞外神品, the tuning and method of tuning 〈黃鐘調〉, name of the 'modal preface' 〔調意〕, the tablature (shorthand) of the modal preface, [next page] title of the piece, description of the piece's origins, and the tablature of said piece.