Qiu Jiang Ye Bo draws its spirit from Zhang Ji’s Tang dynasty poem Feng Qiao Ye Bo — “Mooring at Night by Maple Bridge” — one of the most beloved poems in the Chinese literary tradition.
Transmitted by Xia Yifeng, based on Mei Yueqiang’s teaching score, the piece unfolds in four sections. It first appears in the Ming dynasty collection Songxian Guan Qin Score.
The melody is ancient in tone, unhurried in rhythm — evoking the scene of a boat moored for the night at Maple Bridge: the autumn chill, the lanterns on the water, the sound of the Hanshan Temple bell drifting across at midnight. A boat rocking gently on the waves. A traveler who is not quite asleep, not quite awake.
The music does not dramatize the scene. It inhabits it — the way a person inhabits a quiet moment they know they will remember.
Recorded by Mei Yueqiang. Part of the ongoing series presenting his complete surviving recordings.
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