"The notes were so ethereal and clear, as though a cold chilly wind had passed through a pine forest 泠泠的松风寒意" Lan Wangji's first appearance in Chapter 5 (Listening to the Zither/Qin 听弹琴 by Liu Changqing 刘长卿)
I’m not sure if anyone remembers this but MXTX uses poetry to describe the vibe when Lan Wangji plays his zither. This is also a rehash of an old Taming Wangxian footnote XD
When Lan Wangji first appears in Chapter 5, MXTX describes the way he plays his zither as such,
“The Mo family of three was about to be defeated. Wei Wuxian was about to whistle, when two notes from a zither sounded from a distance away.
The two notes appeared to have been casually played; they were so ethereal and clear, as though a cold chilly wind had passed through a pine forest 泠泠的松风寒意 (T/N: In Taming Wangxian, we used “a sense of melancholy to capture the meaning of the phrase)”. Even the dueling beasts froze.”
This line comes from the Tang dynasty poem Listening to the Zither 听弹琴 by Liu Changqing 刘长卿. The first two lines are about the beauty of the qin And the author laments in the last two lines about how the world does not appreciate such elegant music.
“泠泠七弦上，静听松风寒。
The sounds from the seven-stringed instrument are cool and refreshing; the tune is melodious, but the notes are somber, like the cold wind blowing through a pine tree
T/N: The poet also references the guqin song 风入松 “Wind in the Pine”. I’ve also highlighted the parts that appear in MDZS.
古调虽自爱，今人多不弹。
As much as I like this tune from the past, there are few who would play it nowadays.
T/N: During the period when the poem was written, the Tang Dynasty was influenced by its neighbouring countries and the "Yan 燕" music had become popular. Hence, the Pipa was becoming more popular and the Qin was falling out of favour. The poet's lamenting the changing of the times, and how the people are favouring something more fashionable, instead of what is elegant and noble. (the Qin was an instrument played by the nobles and well educated)
