There is an interesting story behind Cai Yong’s "Jiaowei" Qin.
According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Cai Yong": There were people in Wu who burned tung trees for plowing. Yong heard the sound of the fire and knew the wood was good. He cut it into a qin because of his request. The fruit had a beautiful sound. And its tail is burnt, so people at that time called it "Jiaowei Qin". At the beginning, Yong was in Chenliu, and some of his neighbors invited Yong to drink and eat, but the wine was already in full swing. A guest was playing the harp on the screen. He went to the door and tried to listen quietly. He said, "Hey! You are calling me with music but you have murderous intentions. Why?" So he rebelled. The person who gave the order told his master, "Cai Jun has always been here and left at the door." Yongsu was the ancestor of the country, and the master suddenly asked himself about it and asked him why. The piano player said: "I turned to the string of the drum and saw a cicada chirping in the direction of the praying mantis. The cicada was about to leave but had not yet flown away. The mantis followed it and retreated. My heart was at a loss, fearing that the mantis would be lost. Could this be a sign of murderous intention? What about the sound?" Yong smiled and said, "This is enough."
Translation: There was a man in Wudi (now Jiangsu and Zhejiang) who was burning sycamore wood for cooking. Cai Yong heard the wood being burned. It made a huge sound, so I knew it was a good piece of wood, so I asked for it to be made into a piano. The sound was really nice, but the end of the wood was still burnt, so people called it the Jiaowei Qin at that time. At first, Cai Yong Living in Chenliu, a neighbor of his invited him to a banquet. When he arrived, the neighbor was already drunk and a guest was playing the piano behind the screen. Cai Yong went to the neighbor's door and listened quietly and said: "ah! You used music to recruit me but you have murderous intentions. What's going on? "So he went back. The person who invited him told the host: "Mr. Cai just came, but he left again at the door. "Cai Yong has always been revered by the villagers. The owner hurriedly chased him and asked why. Cai Yong told him everything, and everyone was disappointed. The guest playing the piano said: "When I was playing the piano just now, I saw a praying mantis about to pounce. Towards the chirping cicada, the cicada is about to fly away but before it flies away, the mantis moves in tandem. I'm a little worried in my heart, lest Mantis loses its chance. Is this the so-called murderous intention revealed in the music?" Cai Yong said with a smile: "This is enough to show. ”
After Cai Yong was killed in the late Han Dynasty, the Jiaowei Qin was kept in the royal treasury. It is said that when Emperor Qi Ming was in power, he took out the Jiaowei Qin and asked the guqin master Wang Zhongxiong to play it. Wang Zhongxiong continued After playing for five days, he improvised "Trouble" and dedicated it to Emperor Ming. It was later handed down to Li Jing, the emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and was later given to the Queen of the Zhou Dynasty. According to legend, it was owned by Wang Fengnian, a native of Kunshan in the Ming Dynasty. There is also a Jiaowei Qin made by Cai Yong.
During the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty (AD 168-189), Cai Yong of Chenliu County violated the emperor's will because he wrote many times to state his political opinions. , and because the favored eunuch hated him, he thought that he would inevitably be poisoned, so he fled to the rivers and lakes, traveling as far as Wu County and Kuaiji County. When he came to Wu County, the people of Wu County were burning paulownia wood for cooking, and Cai Yong heard the fire. With a fierce voice, he said: "This is a good piece of wood! So he asked for the paulownia wood to be given to him, and he whittled the piece of paulownia wood into a qin, which indeed produced a beautiful and pleasant sound. However, the tail of the qin was burnt, so he named it "Jiaowei Qin".
Original text:
During the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, Chen Liu Cai Yong wrote several memorials to Chen. He disobeyed the emperor's decree and favored him internally. He was so worried that he fled across the country and ended up far away in Wuhui. . When it came to Wu, some people in Wu were burning tung trees for cooking. Yong heard the sound of the fire and said, "This is a good material." "I asked for it and cut it into a qin, and the result was a beautiful sound. And its tail was burnt, so it was named "Jiaowei Qin". ""Sou Shen Ji"