Luli yuanyuan

• Date: 1723
• Chinese: 律曆淵源 (lǜ lì yuānyuán)

The Lǜ lì yuānyuán (lit. "the origins of pitch and calendar") is a three-part work on astronomy, music, and mathematics produced in 1723 by a combination of Jesuit (European) and Qing scholars. The section on music, entitled Lǜlǚ zhèngyì (律呂正義, "Correct Interpretation of the Pitches"), became the standard text on music for the remainder of the Qing dynasty.

The text was produced by scholars based at the Meng Yang Zhai, a studio established by the Kangxi Emperor for that purpose and headed by the emperor's third son, Yin Zhi. The final product was edited by He Guozong, Mei Gucheng, and Fang Bao.

The Lǜlǚ zhèngyì consists of 125 chapters discussing a wide variety of aspects of music, including tuning and pitch pipes, modal systems, and the design and construction of musical instruments. First completed in 1713 and later included into the larger 1723 compilation, it was written chiefly by professional musicians, with a final chapter on Western staff notation being contributed by two Jesuit scholars, assigned to the project by the emperor for exactly that purpose. An extended version, entitled ''Lǜlǚ zhèngyì hòubiān, was produced by He Guozong in 1746.

References

• Keith Pratt, “Art in the Service of Absolutism: Music at the Courts of Louis XIV and the Kangxi Emperor,” 100-101.