Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11.s2.t1.3

v2.c11.s2.t1.3

In the early Kaihuang Period during the reign of Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of Sui (581 CE), Peiguogong Zheng Yi et al, set out the rites and music, and Wan Baochang was often invited to be a part in the discussion, to make instruments by imperial order and was toning for melody by using the self-made water ruler. Wan Baochang had an extremely high level of artistic culture that he “could write songs handily.” But because of the simple and elegance of his melodies, people were not fond of such kind of music. He had many suggestions about music theory and wrote 64 volumes of *Music Notation* to discuss the prosody theory of “eight tones that were included in Gong, and if strings and columns changed, the tone would change with a total 84 tones, 144 rhythms and changes of 1,800 sounds.” His theory was not accepted finally because of his humble status and he was even defamed by peers or high officials. Finally, he was abandoned by his wife and died of starvation. Before dying, he angrily destroyed his *Music Notation*. Only a few volumes was grabbed by witnesses and passed on.