Writing
Liangfuyin 梁父吟
About this item
The Liangfuyin (the Liangfu Chant) was a song Zhuge Liang loved to sing. Chen Shou records that after the death of his uncle Zhuge Xuan, Zhuge Liang tilled the fields himself and loved to sing the Liangfuyin, but does not give its words. In Chapter 36 of the Romance, Xu Shu says the same thing when recommending Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei, and in Chapter 37, Zhuge Liang's father-in-law Huang Chengyan recites a poem in the snow about plum blossoms, saying it is a piece he memorized while reading the Liangfuyin at his son-in-law's house. Records, Shu 5 §3Romance, Ch. 36 §34Romance, Ch. 37 §40–42
Chen Shou mentions the Liangfuyin once, in the Biography of Zhuge Liang in Records of Shu 5. The Romance uses the name in Chapters 36 and 37 and in a poem by a later writer in Chapter 118, where Shu-Han falls. Records, Shu 5 §3Romance, Ch. 36 §34Romance, Ch. 37 §42Romance, Ch. 118 §16
In the Records
According to Chen Shou's account, Zhuge Liang lost his father early and followed his uncle Zhuge Xuan, whom Yuan Shu had appointed Administrator of Yuzhang, and when Zhuge Xuan went to rely on Liu Biao, Governor of Jing Province, he went with him. When Zhuge Xuan died, Zhuge Liang tilled the fields himself and loved to sing the Liangfuyin. He was eight chi tall and always compared himself to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi, but the people of the time did not accept this; only Cui Zhouping and Xu Shu were close friends with Zhuge Liang and thought it was truly so. Chen Shou does not record the words or the author of the Liangfuyin. Records, Shu 5 §2–3
In the Romance
In Chapter 36 of the Romance, Xu Shu, recommending Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei, says that after the death of his uncle Zhuge Xuan, Zhuge Liang tilled the fields himself at Nanyang together with his younger brother Zhuge Jun, that he had long loved to chant the Liangfuyin, and that he called himself Master Sleeping Dragon after the name of the ridge where he lived. Romance, Ch. 36 §33–34
In Chapter 37, Liu Bei, returning on a snowy day after failing to meet Zhuge Liang on his second visit, meets an old man riding a donkey across a small bridge and chanting of the north wind, snow clouds and lean plum blossoms. Liu Bei, taking him for the Sleeping Dragon, dismounts and pays his respects, but Zhuge Jun tells him that this is his elder brother's father-in-law, Huang Chengyan. Huang Chengyan says that he had memorized this piece while reading the Liangfuyin at his son-in-law's house, and that as he crossed the bridge he saw plum blossoms among the hedges and recited it because he was moved. Romance, Ch. 37 §36 · 40–43
In Chapter 118, when Shu-Han falls, the Romance gives a poem by a later writer in memory of Zhuge Liang, the Marquis Wu, whose last line is "In years past, passing the shrine at Jinli, when the Liangfuyin was sung, the regret was without end." Romance, Ch. 118 §16
Where the Romance differs
The words of the Liangfuyin: The Records say only that Zhuge Liang loved to sing the Liangfuyin while tilling the fields, and do not give its words. In Chapter 37 of the Romance, his father-in-law Huang Chengyan says he saw the Liangfuyin at his son-in-law's house and recites a poem of north wind, snow and plum blossoms that he says is one of its pieces. Records, Shu 5 §3Romance, Ch. 37 §40 · 42
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.