Volume 3, Chapter 9:
The Method for Making Strings
Note:
In addition to the original text, please see a modern commentary at the end of
this chapter.
The
very best kind of silk for strings is made from the che (柘) tree.[1] The next best is made from silkworms
fed on mulberry leaves. The third
best is made from original silkworms, [ second silkworms].[2] The che kind is clear and the mulberry
variety is soft. The strings get finer as one proceeds from number one to
number seven. There are also a set
number of cords used to make up each string.
Also
strings one to four have an added wrapping.
The method of manufacture:
There are three kinds, TÕai-ku (太古), Chung-chÕing (中清), and Chia-chung （加重). Chung-chÕing is the most
suitable. In all cases use Òmaterial glueÓ(料膠)[3] and boil the strings with it after the strings are
made.
The method for matching
up the cords: Silkworms make their cocoons out of one
thread. Every cord is made of
twelve threads. If there are too
many threads, then the cord will be too thick. If there are not enough, then it
will be too thin. The first string
should be made up of one hundred and eight cords. For the second string use ninety-six cords. For the third string use eighty-one
cords. For the fourth string use
seventy-two cords. For the fifth
string use sixty-four cords. For the sixth string use fifty-four cords. For the
seventh string use forty-eight cords.
These are Chung-chÕing. For
TÕai-ku add twenty percent to every string. For Chia-chung add fifty percent on every string. Every set of Chung-chÕing weighs about
three and a half ounces. TÕai-ku
weigh about four and one fifth ounces.
Chia-chung weighs about five and one fifth ounces.
The method for winding
up the strings: First take eighty feet of string cords
that have been matched up and divide this up into three or four bunches. For every bunch use a suspended foot of
weight four ounces.[4] Revolve
it to the left and twist the cords extremely tight. Let it turn to the right and come together becoming a string
approximately sixty feet in length. Cut this up to make ten strings.
The method for boiling
strings: Take the strings, which have already been wound together
and wrap them on a bamboo rod six inches in length. Use a new earthenware cooking pot with a flat bottom [ a
new iron basin is also satisfactory]. It should be eight inches in height
with a diameter of four inches. It
should have the capacity for eight rods with strings wrapped
around. Use material glue and
water and immerse the rods with strings to two tenths of an inch. If too deep, then the strings will be
soft. If too shallow, then they
will be hard. Use a flame that is
neither too mild nor too hot and boil them. Wait until the wheat has been cooked until done and then
stop. If it is not cooked long
enough, then the strings will not be able to make the wood resound very well
and after a short while there will be no sound. If cooked too long, then the sound of the strings will not
be clear and the strings will be easily broken. When boiling, check to make sure that standards are being
met. At their best the strings
should be opaque and lustrous. Now
take the strings and put them in cold water so as to bleach out some of the
glue on the outside. Now quickly
take the strings out and hang the ends up so that they can dry in the sun.
To make material glue: Use five ounces of clear fish glue.[5]
[
First boil it and then strain it clean.] Also use a spoonful of
wheat, [ choose and wash clean],
five ounces of glistening white wax,[6]
five ounces of pai-chi (白芨)[7] [ sliced],
one ounce of mulberry pai-pÕi (桑白皮) [8]
[ peeled, washed, and grated], and
ten tÕien-men-tung (天門冬)[9]
[ sliced]. Use pure water and put everything in
the bowl. Heat it until it is
done. This glue can be usedfor boiling ten sets of strings. As for whatever strings one may have,
after being immersed in this glue and sunned dry, their sound will be like
new. Or take mulberry leaves and
pound them into juice. Soak the
old strings in the juice. Their color will be an emerald green.
The method for wrapping the
strings: First take six cords to
be the woof or wrapping.
[ Woof means crosswise; warp means straight.] These should be very long. The strings should already have been boiled. Wrap them on a small bamboo rod. Now make a winding
machine[10] out of date
wood. It should be strong and
heavy. Take
the rod with the woof wrapped on it and mount it on the winding machine, so
that it is movable and can turn.
Now take a string that is twelve feet in length with both ends
fastened tight and hung up straight horizontally, [ or
suspend it from pillars left and right] and put it through the warp string bunches. Afterwards
shake the string and cause the winding machine to turn over itself.
Therefore the woof on the rod will follow the revolutions and go
out. Wrap it on the string body
little by little. Although the rod
for the woof is mounted so that it is movable, nevertheless the tips of the rod
should be made somewhat tight so that the woof does not move too easily. In this way, the wrapping will be made
Also two round iron rods are used on the cart in order to pinch the woof
in the crack between them, thus making sure that the woof is flattened and not
round. Everything depends on
this. If done properly, then it
should be uniform, without scars.
If the woof breaks, take the string, and using a needle, put it back
through the warp, taking care that there are not any traces, then continue
wrapping. Leave a foot or more
between the heads of strings.
Start and finish wrapping and then cut in the middle to make two. This is very convenient. Strings three, four, six, and seven are
played a lot. Moreover they are finer and they are thus more easily
broken. So their overall length
should be a foot or longer than strings one, two, and five, in order to
ensure that when they break, there will still be string remaining. Beginning chÕin students use their
fingernails too vigorously and damage the strings. So if one is careful when
practicing, and avoids striking noises, then the strings will last for a long
time.
As for the winding machine,
carve it as a whole out of one piece of wood. It should be concave in shape, with the two heads high and
the center low. In the middle of
each of the two raised ends, drill out an eye for fitting the string warp.
Under the eyes put the rounded, crosswise iron rods, which should be
parallel. These have a narrow
crack in the middle for the purpose of pinching the woof flat. Underneath, in between the necks of the
iron rods, open small holes just as big as the rod for the woof. These holes are female and the tips
of the rods are male. Thus one can
be sure that the rods will be suitably mounted and free to
revolve. It also makes possible
their tightness. If the winding
machine is too light, then mount some metal on the bottom of it. It is essential that the revolving of
the winding machine should have some force in it.
Modern
commentary: The comments here are based on a conversation with Huang Shuzhi (黃樹志) in
Vancouver British Columbia in June 2009.
Mr.
Huang states that based on his experience, overall the chapter is more or less
accurate with one important exception: the cord counts are wrong. There are two reasons. First Mr. Huang states that the numbers
used (string 1 at 108, etc.) are based on the cycle of fifths, which may
represent a nice theory, but does not represent the reality of traditional
string construction. Also all the
cord sizes for wrapped strings need to reflect the fact that fewer cords
overall are used for the lower wrapped strings. In other words the numbers for wrapped string 4 should not
be more than unwrapped string 5.
Using the cord counts in the text, post wrapping, would make strings 1-4
too big. In reality although
the numbers for a set of string cord counts will of course reflect the overall
density (gauge), relative cord
counts are basically linear with a considerable decrement to make up for
wrapping the lower heavier strings. One should also note that older instructions
for silk string making in the qinpu literature assume that only strings 1-3
were wrapped. The fourth string was not wrapped until later. Mr. Huang points out that the Ming
dynasty qinpu, Qinshu Daquan (琴書大全 ) from 1590, has correct cord counts as follows:
string
1 – 120
string
2 – 100
string
3 – 80
string
4 – 120
string
5 – 100
string
6 – 80
string
7 – 60
Note
that string 1 internally (before wrapping) has the same cord count as 4,
etc. Also note that the counts are
basically incremented by a fixed number (in other words if you graph them per
string you will see that the relative change in size is fixed, and the graph
itself will be linear with a step down at the lower wrapped strings). These counts assume strings 1-3 are
wrapped and strings 4-7 are not wrapped. Again modern strings as in the
Yuguzhai would have strings 1-4 wrapped.
The
cooking and glue process is also of interest. First of all one should understand that in the cooking
process, fundamentally the most important aspect is that the sericin protein,
which is a natural part of the silk threads, comes out of individual threads
during cooking and is distributed amongst the cords in a string. Thus sans any
other glue, this helps glue the string together. Put another way, raw silk
comes with its own natural glue. See the Alexander Raykov article at John
ThompsonÕs web site for more information: [http://www.silkqin.com/03qobj/strings/raykovstrings.htm,
July 6 2009].
Mr.
Huang told me that the glue itself is not necessarily an exact recipe. Like any cooking recipe the ingredients
might vary. The wheat is for
timing - the cooking is done when the wheat is cooked. One might use some other kind of wax as
opposed to white wax. Bletilla is
also traditional glue. So is fish
glue (isinglass). Both are available.
Other ingredients like asparagus lucidus are not hard to find for that
matter. Asparagus lucidus was
added to the glue recipe because it has anti-bacterial properties (and possibly
anti-fungal properties). Silk
after all is a natural product and may be damaged by rot or other problems.