Shi Juan

  • The Legend of Shi Yan and the Birth of Decadent Music

    This legend records musician Shi Yan forced by tyrant King Zhou of Shang to create decadent licentious tunes. Blamed for the dynasty’s fall, he drowned himself by Pu River. Centuries later, ghostly melodies of his music were heard there, recorded in ancient historical texts.

  • Han Feizi – Chapter 10.5

    Han Feizi tells Duke Ping’s tale: obsessed with decadent music, he ignored warnings, bringing drought and ruin.

  • Shi Kuang

    Shi Kuang was a renowned court musician of the Jin state during the Spring and Autumn period (approximately 770–476 BCE). His courtesy name was Ziye. Although blind, he was exceptionally skilled at playing the qin (a seven-stringed zither) and possessed extraordinarily acute hearing, enabling him to discern and judge musical pitches with remarkable precision.