In the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), the downfall of the Shang Dynasty is linked to a musician named Shi Yan. His family had served as the guardians of music ever since the age of Fuxi, the ancient progenitor of Chinese civilisation. By the time Shi Yan inherited this sacred duty, he had fused music with the essence of yin and yang and the myriad things of the universe. He could perceive the subtlest shifts in the cosmos and translate them into sound.
The Konghou That Stirred All Creation
According to the Shiji, Shi Yan invented an instrument: the konghou, an ancient angular harp. When he plucked its strings, flowers of every kind would burst into bloom, and wild beasts would come from afar to pay homage. A single soaring chord could shake the earth and even mountains; a gentle, winding melody would set a hundred birds dancing. His art had long since transcended the realm of ordinary mortals.
A Tyrant’s Demand
Because his music was so perfectly attuned to the Dao, Shi Yan simply did not die. He lived on, century after century, until he reached the era of Yin-Shang and came face to face with its most infamous tyrant, King Zhou of Shang. King Zhou despised Shi Yan’s sublime and “pure” compositions. He ordered the old musician to change his style at once. Like many an artist of unyielding integrity, Shi Yan immediately refused the demands of this powerful patron.
Prisoner of Compromise
King Zhou was not a man to be denied. He threw Shi Yan into prison and delivered a brutal ultimatum: “Change your style, or die.”
Shi Yan, whose music could make the earth tremble, found himself utterly helpless before the tyrant. Faced with this impossible choice, the centuries-old musician chose compromise. He altered his music to please the king. King Zhou smiled mockingly – so even a man who had lived hundreds of years was afraid of death.
The Birth of “Decadent Music”
Still, the king was not satisfied. He felt Shi Yan’s music had not been debased thoroughly enough and forced him to vulgarise it even further. Cornered, the old master stripped his art of all its spiritual grandeur. The Records of the Grand Historian tells us that he “composed licentious sounds, and choreographed the dances of the northern quarter and the melodies of decadence.” It is from this moment that the Chinese term mǐ mǐ zhī yīn – “decadent, enervating music” – was born.
The Fall of Shang and the Death of Shi Yan
Then came the righteous uprising: King Wu of Zhou marched against the tyrant. The Shang Dynasty collapsed, and King Zhou perished in his burning palace. In the wake of the kingdom’s ruin, Shi Yan, the creator of that intoxicating, decadent music, was branded as the man whose tunes had corrupted a sovereign and destroyed a nation. He fled to the banks of the Pu River and, overwhelmed by shame and despair, drowned himself. Legend says his ghost never truly left – on dark, quiet nights, his melodies could still be heard drifting across the waters.
Ghostly Melodies on the Pu River
Centuries later, in the Spring and Autumn period, there lived another musician named Shi Juan, who served Duke Ling of Wei. Once, as Duke Ling was travelling with Shi Juan to the state of Jin, their party stopped for the night by the Pu River. In the stillness, they heard a strange and bewitching music flowing from the water – a sound that stirred dangerous, intoxicating daydreams. The duke ordered Shi Juan to transcribe the ghostly melody. This same story was later recorded by the philosopher Han Fei in his eponymous work, the Han Feizi, ensuring that the legend of Shi Yan and his forbidden music would echo across the ages.
Leave a Reply