Khúc Quảng Lăng
Definition
- Proper Noun:
- Guangling Melody: A legendary and now-lost musical composition (a piece for the guqin, or ancient Chinese zither) from ancient China. It is famously associated with the scholar and musician Ji Kang (Kê Khang) of the Three Kingdoms period.
- A symbol of lost art or supreme beauty: The term often refers to something of exquisite, peerless artistry that has been tragically lost or cannot be passed on.
Usage Examples
- Proper Noun:
- Truyền thuyết kể rằng Kê Khang là người cuối cùng biết chơi Khúc Quảng Lăng. (Legend says that Ji Kang was the last person who knew how to play the Guangling Melody.)
- Tác phẩm ấy đẹp như Khúc Quảng Lăng, khó lòng truyền lại được. (That work is as beautiful as the Guangling Melody, difficult to pass on.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase is often used in literary and poetic contexts to evoke a sense of irretrievable cultural loss, supreme artistic mastery, or a secret that dies with its holder.
- It can function as a metaphor for any high art form or precious knowledge that has been extinguished.
Cultural and Historical Context
- According to legend, the ghost of an ancient musician taught the melody to Ji Kang one night, forbidding him from teaching it to anyone else. After Ji Kang was unjustly executed, the melody was lost forever.
- In Vietnamese literature, notably in by Nguyễn Du, the reference "Khúc Quảng Lăng / Một rằng Lưu thủy, hai rằng Hành Vân" uses it to describe the sublime beauty of Kiều's music, comparing it to two famous sub-melodies ("Flowing Water" and "Moving Clouds") said to be parts of the lost Guangling Melody.
Synonyms
- Lost masterpiece: A work of art of the highest quality that no longer exists.
- Irretrievable art: Artistic knowledge or creation that cannot be recovered.
Related Concepts
- Tuyệt hưởng / Tuyệt bản: Meaning "to be lost forever" or "out of print/extinct edition," often used for lost literary or musical works.
- Bí truyền: Meaning "secretly transmitted," highlighting the element of forbidden or restricted transmission in the legend.