The Vibrant sound of the Phoenix Xiao inspires poetic imaginations

The Xiao whispers in the sky under the phoenix

The sound of Chinese vertical bamboo flute (Dong Xiao, 洞簫) is mellow and tender. This gives a special vibe for songs performed with this wind instrument. In a famous phrase written by great Chinese poet Li Bai (李白, 701-762), “The sound of Horizontal Flute (Di, 笛) is like the dragon humming under water, while the sound of Vertical Flute (Xiao, 簫) whispers in the sky under the phoenix.” (笛奏龍吟水，簫鳴鳳下空). Such beautiful words made so many people feel enchanted from ancient time till nowadays. Dragon and phoenix are regarded by Chinese as the most elegant and beautiful symbols. With this metaphor, one could imagine how charming is the sound of Xiao.

Xiao is also called Yu xiao (玉簫, Jaded Xiao) and Feng xiao (鳳簫, Phoenix Xiao). There is a beautiful story behind these names. In Biographies of Immortals (列仙傳, a story book believed to be written in the Han Dynasty) mentioned that in Spring-autumn period (around 700 B.C.), daughter of the Mu King of Qin Kingdom (秦穆公, 705-621 B.C.) Miao Yu (妙玉) wanted to marry an expert of music.

There was a handsome young man called Xiao Shi (簫史), who was a master of playing Xiao. When he was performing, colourful clouds were attracted to gather, accompanied by red-headed cranes flying in the sky, and subsequently various kinds of birds came and sang together. Xiao Shi was definitely the ideal for Miao Yu. Eventually Xiao Shi and Miao Yu became lovers and got married.

It was even more amazing that one day, when the couples were playing the flute under moonlight, a dragon and a phoenix came to listen to their performance. The purple phoenix landed on the left side of the roof of the Phoenix Tower, while the golden dragon coiled on the right side.

The two sacred animals looked so relaxed and agreeable. Hence, Miao Yu sat on the back of the purple phoenix and Xiao Shi sat on the back of the golden dragon. Suddenly, they kicked off and flew into the sky amidst the clouds.

As a poem described, “They came by playing the colourful Xiao, and went with the green clouds. Their body was not found any more, while their songs remained, and the name of Miao Yu became a vanishing legend (人吹彩簫去，天借綠雲還。曲在身不返，空餘弄玉名).” Of course, one could never verify the validity of the myth of musicians gone with dragons and phoenix after performing the Xiao. Nonetheless, this indicates that the sound of Xiao brings in one’s imagination of happy lives.

Xiao as the Metonymy of scenery, as a messenger of beautiful messages

The tone of Xiao is mellow and gentle, which is perfect for expressing one’s emotion. Therefore, ancient Chinese hailed Xiao as the Noble of musical instruments (君子).

Poets and masters of literature often adopted the symbol of Xiao in their writing. They either inscribed Xiao into the writings on beautiful scenery or adopted Xiao as a metonymy of their personal aspirations. In this way, Xiao embraced profound meaning in Chinese culture. As Du Mu (杜牧803-852), a master poet in Tang Dynasty, wrote,

Distant green mountain, running water

Grass is still vibrant at the end of autumn in the southern bank of the river

The moon shines to the twenty-four bridges

Where did the master go to teach his lover to play Xiao?

(青山隱隱水迢迢，秋盡江南草未凋，

二十四橋明月夜，玉人何處教吹簫。)

Imagine a breezy autumn’s night, in a scenery with distant green mountains, running water, full moon in the sky released silver moonlight beams onto the ground. Suddenly, the poet heard the sound of Xiao. He wondered where it came from.

The sound of Xiao thus livens up the scenery into a sophisticated one, the vibe of chilling beauty makes one indulge into the mood. The weeping sound of Xiao, which brings in our feelings of sadness, is wonderful for describing heart aching ups and downs of life. For example, Li Bai (李白) wrote in poem Remembering the girl in Qin area (憶秦娥),

Weeping sound of Xiao,

Woke me up amidst the dream on the girl from Qin

under the moonlight shed on the towers.

Year by year, the towers in Qin are accompanied by shades of willows,

Brings back the heartbreaking memories of the farewell on the bridge of Ba Ling.

(簫聲咽，秦娥夢斷秦樓月。秦樓月。年年柳色，灞陵傷別。)

The poem adopted the imagery of weeping sound of Xiao to escalate the mood of sadness in the scenario of farewell, bringing the lingering emotion over the separation.

In the lyrics of a song in Yuan Dynasty, Sky Above Pure Sands - Shades of Moonlight on the tip of plum trees (天淨沙·梅梢月) wrote, “To farewell is the most difficult. Where is my beloved one? The jade Xiao and the moon are remaining idle (今古別離最難。故人何處？玉簫明月空閑).” The theme of separation was not explicitly described, but remotely hinted by the situation of the Jade Xiao and the moon, leaving the aftertaste and imagination to the readers.

Weeping, whispering, lamenting, and yearning sound of Xiao

Out of our imagination, Xiao is even involved in many crucial historical events in China. During Chu-Han contention (楚漢之爭, 207-202 BC), General Zhang Liang (251-189 BC) of Han army encircled army of Chu, and asked his army to perform songs of Chu with Xiao. This led to the collapse of morale among the eight thousand Chu soldiers and subsequently Xiang Yu (項羽, 232-202 BC) committed suicide at the bank of Wu River (烏江) after the defeat.

Zhang Liang’s strategy was to start a psychological warfare with the sad tone of Xiao, which could bring the soldiers into a state of homesickness.

Imagine in a night without moonlight but only scattered stars, the shuttering and weeping sound of Xiao resembles someone’s crying and humming. Imagine lyrics like, “Ten years in the long marches, thousand miles from home, how many soldiers could eventually come home? If I am killed in battlefield, who will take care of my old father and mother (十年征戰歸無期，千里從軍幾人回？倘若戰死沙場上，白髪爹娘依靠誰)?”, or “Yearning for my separated family members, my little boy prayed for me coming home. My wife is waiting in the empty room, wishing her husband return as soon as possible (離別骨肉情，弱子祈父回。空房斷恩愛，柔妻盼郎歸).” How could a soldier stand with the burst of sadness after hearing those songs?

Once in a while the sound of Xiao resembles lamenting and yearning, while sometimes it resembles weeping and whispering. Therefore, the master of literature Su Shi (蘇軾1031-1101) in Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) described the acoustic experience as follows, “the sound of Xiao is similar to pronunciation of Wu, which sounds like lamenting or yearning, or weeping, or whispering. Layers of echoes just linger on without disappearing (其聲嗚嗚然，如怨如慕，如泣如訴，餘音裊裊，不絕如縷).” Even the sound lengthens like a tiny thread, it is so powerful that could lead the dragons in deep ocean dancing.

The Other-worldly quality of the sound of the Phoenix Xiao

One could express their down-to-earth emotion with the sound of Xiao. On the other hand, Xiao could also be other-worldly. It could lead to the haunting imagination like “the cool moon welcomes the green jade Xiao (涼月慇懃碧玉簫)”, or “Where is the jade Xiao when the sky is like running water? Jade flowers whiten as ice within a night (何處玉簫天似水，瓊花一夜白如冰)”.

From a famous lyrics of Song Dynasty poet Xin Qiji (辛棄疾, 1140-1207), Lyrics of Green Jade Table – The Lantern festival (青玉案‧元夕), we know that Xiao is an essential part of the festival celebration.

Wind from the East adorns flowers to a thousand trees,

Then blows away startling stars like rain,

Extravagant carriages of fragrant craved woods crowding at the road.

Sound of the phoenix Xiao is approaching,

The moon is blinking like a jade vase,

Fish and dragon lanterns dancing all night long.

(東風夜放花千樹，更吹落，星如雨。寶馬雕車香滿路。

鳳簫聲動，玉壺光轉，一夜魚龍舞。)

The poem described the scene of the Lantern festival (the fifteenth of the first month) where roads were crowded with carriages, with fireworks and decorations everywhere. In the meantime, musicians were performing Xiao while people were happily celebrating with dancing and singing.

Apart from a symbol often adopted by famous writers, Xiao is also the key to reflect one’s inner world.

It was common for scholars and writers to juxtapose the power of the sword (劍氣) and the heart of Xiao (簫心), as well as regard them as two sides of a coin for a noble person, who strike a balance between hardiness and tenderness. The sword is a metaphor of one’s ambition and visions, while Xiao is a metaphor for one’s sensitivity towards emotions.

有如龔定庵的詩句：「少年擊劍更吹簫，劍氣簫心一例消。」「一簫一劍平生意，負盡狂名十五年。」「沉思十五年中事，才也縱橫，淚也縱橫，雙負簫心與劍名。」「來何洶湧須揮劍，去尚纏綿可付簫。」

Let’s read poet Gong Jizhen (龔自珍, 1792-1841, also called 龔定庵) lines: “In the young man who combats with the sword and performs with Xiao, the power of the sword integrates with the tender heart of the Xiao.” (少年擊劍更吹簫，劍氣簫心一例消), “Xiao and Sword are the ambitions for my whole life, in these fifteen years I was recognized by these two aspects as a mad genius (一簫一劍平生意，負盡狂名十五年)”, “Reflecting upon my life in these fifteen years, though my talent is huge, my tears are also enormous. I failed to match up with the aspirations that is expected with my tender heart of the Xiao and my fame related to the sword (沉思十五年中事，才也縱橫，淚也縱橫，雙負簫心與劍名). When the challenges are fierce, I must fight with the sword. When I must let go but I find it difficult, I would like to play the Xiao.” (來何洶湧須揮劍，去尚纏綿可付簫).”

In these lines, we could find the sorrow accompanied by determinacy, the linger mood complemented with burst of heroism. This reflects the portrait of a respected noble person who sometimes appears to be a mad genius, sometimes appears to be a hero.

We can also find in martial arts novels, for example, in a couplet posted on the Pavilion for Sword games (試劍亭) in Island of Peach Blossoms (桃花島, translator’s note: a place mentioned in novels written by Jin Yong 金庸). It reads, “Shadows of peach blossoms fall on the flying magic swords, the waves from the blue ocean press the holes on the Jade Xiao (桃花影落飛神劍，碧海潮生按玉簫).” One could appreciate the innovation and creativity in such descriptions.

We could find that the charm of the Phoenix Xiao’s sound is out of our imagination. In fact, as we mentioned in the beginning of this article, Li Bai’s famous line “The sound of Horizontal Flute is like the dragon humming under water, while the sound of Vertical Flute whispers in the sky under the phoenix.”, reflects the reality instead of the poet’s creation. If contemporary urbanite like us could appreciate a bit of the rustic charm of Xiao and its sounds, the immersion of the beauty of music may lead us to a sublime state in our spirit.