Zhu Zaiyu, Prince of Zheng

Zhu Zaiyu
Reign	1593 - 1611
Full name
Family name: Zhu (朱) Given name: Zaiyu (載堉)
House	Ming Dynasty
Born	1536
Died	19 May 1611
Occupation	Court Astronomer, Historian, Physicist, Mathematician, Choreographer, Music theorist

Zhu Zaiyu dance steps

Zhu Zaiyu flag dance

Zhu Zaiyu (Chinese: 朱載堉) (1536 - 19 May 1611), a prince of the Ming dynasty of China. In 1584 Prince Zhu innovatively described the equal temperament via accurate mathematical calculation. ^[1] However the application of the 12 equal temperament theory^[2] - the piano, appeared only until the late 17th century, when one critical mathematic data - " the 12th root of 2 " which calculated by Zhu were brought to Europe via the Italian merchants and government officials^[3] across over the Silk Road.

According to Zhu, the twelve equal temperament are

應鍾 1.059463094359295264561825

無射 1.122462048309372981433533

南呂 1.189207115002721066717500

夷則 1.259921049894873164767211

林鍾 1.334839854170034364830832

蕤賓 1.414213562373095048801689

仲呂 1.498307076876681498799281

姑洗 1.587401051968199474751706

夾鍾 1.681792830507429086062251

太蔟 1.781797436280678609480452

大呂 1.887748625363386993283826

黃鐘 2

Zhu was born in Qinyang, Henan Province to an aristocratic family, the sixth-generation descendant of the Hongxi Emperor, the fourth emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He inherited the title the Prince of Zheng in 1593, but quickly resigned it to his cousin. On the emperor's order, he was granted a new princely title in 1606, the year he delivered a set of ten musicological treatises to the court, establishing his scholarly merit. His posthumous name was 鄭端靖世子 ("His Excellency The Dauphin of Zheng")

Zhu wrote on music theory and temperament (five treatises survive), music history (two treatises survive), dance and dance music (five treatises survive), and several other works. Three music theory works in particular are associated with the ideas of equal temperament, the「律學新說」 (" on the equal temperament ", 1584), 「律呂精義」("A clear explanation of that which concerns the equal temperament", 1595/96), and 「算學新說」(" Reflection on mathematics", 1603). His work has been described as "the crowning achievement of two millenia of acoustical experiment and research (Robinson 1962:224)" though it may be considered more justified to describe him as "one of the most important historians of his nation's music."^[4]

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  Zhu Zaiyu's equal temperment ratio in The Complete Works in Yuelu

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Zhu also wrote treatises (three survive) on astronomy, physics, mathematics and calendrics, calculated the magnetic declination of Peking, the mass density of mercury and accurately described the duration of one tropical year to correct the Ming calendar.

See also

• 張衡(Zhang Heng)
• 詩經(The Odes)
• 李房(Ching Fang)
• 沈括(Shen Kuo)
• Das Wohltemperierte Clavier
• Equal temperament

References

1. ^ Hermann von Helmholtz，Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage für die Theorie der Musik . p 258, 3rd edition, Longmans, Green and Co, London, 1895
2. ^ Cho, Gene Jinsiong. (2003) The Discovery of Musical Equal Temperament in China and Europe in the Sixteenth Century. Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press
3. ^ Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644, Volume 2 Association for Asian Studies. Ming Biographical History Project. p 462-70
4. ^ Fritz A. Kuttner. "Prince Chu Tsai-Yü's Life and Work: A Re-Evaluation of His Contribution to Equal Temperament Theory", p.163, Ethnomusicology, Vol. 19, No. 2 (May, 1975), pp. 163–206.

Persondata
Name	Zhu, Zaiyu
Alternative names
Short description	Ming Dynasty prince
Date of birth	1536
Place of birth
Date of death	19 May 1611
Place of death