Shitan zhang 釋談章
Played by Tao Zhusheng 陶筑生
Recording by Robert Garfias
Seattle, 1977
Siddham Stanzas ─ there’s a similar song, Puan’s Incantation, which is also buddhist themed, though music differs.
Commentary
The following excerpt is part of Lieberman’s analysis of the composition in his work A Chinese Zither Handbook - the Meian Qinpu (pages 119 to 124 of the 1983 print edition).
The statement (found in many qinpu) that Shitan zhang and Puan zhou are the same is erroneous if one takes it to refer to the music, which seems to be its natural sense. The music of these two compositions is actually very different. Both, however, are qin interpretations of Buddhist chanting, both are associated with the Chan 禅 monk Puan (A.D. 1115-69), and both stress the same group of instrumental techniques. So they are perhaps better described as similar or related compositions.1
Van Gulik (1969:51-54) describes the history and background of Shitan zhang. He considers the work to be of Buddhist origin, possibly a chant heard by one Han Jiang 韓畕, transcribed by ear, and arranged into a formal qin composition.
- Editor’s note: there’s a publication by Chen Songyin 陳松陰 (Chang Chong Hin in Cantonese) about Puan Zhou and Shitan Zhang in the Internet archive
Another interesting article is Pu’an zhou - The musical avatars of a Buddhist spell by François Picard in Chime newsletter 3:32-7 (1991).