Myth and Reality in the Theory of Chinese Tonal System

Abstract

Of the many legends that make up the realm of Chinese mythology, the most interesting from our point of view is a legend that relates the origin of the Chinese tonal system. It is known from a comparatively late source, a piece of writing by Lii Pu-wei from the 3rd century BC. The work, Master Lii's Spring and Autumn (LiJ-shih ch'un-ch' iu), forms invaluable source material on the learning and artistic approach of its age. The section that deals with the creation of the tonal system runs as follows: "In olden times Huang-ti ('Yellow Emperor') ordered Ling Lun to establish the li. Ling Lun travelled from the western to the shady northern side of Mount Yuan Yii. He selected bamboo grown in the Chieh Ch'i valley. He chose only a piece which was hollow and of even thickness. He cut off its knots and used the hollow section between the two joints, the length of which was 3.9 ts'un (inches). And he blew the pipe and produced the sound kung (the basic tone) of huang-chung. He then brought twelve other pipes of different lengths down from the mountain and he listened to the sounds of the male and female Phoenix birds. He grouped their sounds into the twelve lN. There were six sounds of the male bird, and another six of the female. He related them to the kung of the huangchung and found that the huang-chung was the foundation of the l-l-."' The legend displays motifs found commonly in Chinese mythology. Huang-ti, the "Yellow Emperor" is one of the so-called mythical emperors, with whose name a large number of myths are linked. So it is not surprising if he plays a part in the legend of origin of the tonal system as well. The Phoenix is likewise a characteristic motif, although one should add that it has particularly close links with two instruments: the pan-