On September 29, 2026, Teacher Kong Jun, the 76th-generation descendant of Confucius and inheritor of the Kong Family Qin Tradition, visited Chongqing Library to consult its precious ancient manuscript Complete Transmission of the Qin Garden’s Inner Teachings. She was accompanied by Li Zhiru, Vice President of the Chongqing Confucius and Confucianism Research Association. Surviving copies of this ancient guqin text are extremely rare. The versions held by Chongqing Library and the Library of Congress in the United States are among the relatively complete extant editions.

A senior researcher of Kong Family ritual music, Kong Jun has devoted many years to the intensive study of Complete Transmission of the Qin Garden’s Inner Teachings. This work carries pivotal academic value for research on the Kong Family guqin tradition and the inheritance and development of Confucian ritual and music culture. In 2024, the Academy of Sacred Rites and Music under the Confucius Academy, together with local universities and specialists in qin studies and Confucianism, established a research group for Complete Transmission of the Qin Garden’s Inner Teachings. During this trip to Chongqing, Kong Jun made a special visit to examine the library’s copy. Through direct inspection and textual research, she hopes to clarify subtle discrepancies between different ancient editions in finger techniques, musical notation and compilation structure, so as to lay more solid documentary evidence for the systematic research of the Kong Family qin tradition.

While examining the manuscript, Kong Jun and her group carefully observed its layout, calligraphy and textual content. They made preliminary comparisons between selected passages and the digitized copy held by the Library of Congress, exploring the underlying causes of variations against their historical context. They discovered that the volumes of this set are arranged in a distinctive order: instead of the conventional numerical sequence, they follow the order of Yin-Yang and the Eight Trigrams. This distinctive feature offers valuable insights for tracing the origins of the Twelve Temperaments. Within the traditional tonal system, the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams are intrinsically linked to the Twelve Lü and the five pentatonic notes (gong, shang, jiao, zhi, yu). This special arrangement sheds light on the editorial logic of guqin literature and the tonal concepts of the Kong Family qin tradition.

Kong Jun remarked that variations across ancient editions often contain vital clues to the evolution of qin studies. Only through rigorous textual collation and empirical research can we more accurately reconstruct the authentic historical form of the Kong Family qin tradition, and further advance the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional ritual music culture.

This consultation of ancient texts aims to deepen research into the Kong Family qin tradition by comparing variant editions. It gathers valuable documentary materials for cataloguing and in-depth interpretation of its texts, and also offers an unusual perspective for relevant tonal research.

Kong Jun
A native of Qufu, Shandong — the hometown of Confucius — Kong Jun is a 76th-generation descendant of the Confucius lineage, the rightful heir to the tradition of Kong Family ceremonial music, and the founder of the artistic exchange team dedicated to the Kong Family guqin tradition and the authentic sounds of classical ceremonial music.

She currently serves as Instructor at the Zhisheng Ritual and Music Transmission Institute of the Qufu Confucius Academy, Secretary-General of the Confucius Artists Association, Council Member of the Jining Guqin Society, Founder of Xiaoshao Guqin Studio, and Instructor at the Confucius Guqin Cultural Exchange Center. She also holds the concurrent position of Deputy Director of the Qufu Poetry, Ritual, and Ceremonial Music Troupe. Kong Jun stands as a leading figure in the living transmission of China’s Kong Family qin scholarship and ancient classical ritual music.

Immersed since childhood in the ritual and musical heritage of Que Li — the sacred birthplace of Confucius — Kong Jun has inherited the profound foundations of the Kong Family tradition of qin music. She has devoted herself to intensive study of such rare and canonical works of Kong Family qin scholarship and musical temperament as the Dacheng Yuelü Quanshu (Complete Compendium of Great Achievement Music and Temperament) and the Qinyuan Xinchuan Quanbian (Complete Transmission of the Qin Garden). Through years of dedicated effort, she has focused on the textual research, restoration, recomposition, and performance of long-lost Kong Family guqin compositions and chapters of the Great Achievement Ceremonial Music. She has accurately revived the ancient playing techniques of the Kong Family guqin and the balanced tonal principles of classical ceremonial music, fully preserving the orthodox lineage of Kong Family qin music and resolving numerous challenges that once threatened the continuity of this ancient musical tradition. Through her work, the authentic sounds of Kong Family qin music, once on the verge of extinction, have been brought back to vibrant life.

For guqin instruction, guqin purchase, traditional Chinese culture study programs, educational tours to the hometown of Confucius, Confucius memorial ceremonies, cultural and artistic exchanges, lectures, and related events, please contact: chinaguqin@outlook.com . Address: Confucius Cultural Park, Dacheng Road, Qufu City, Shandong Province, China.