Zhu Quan, Prince of Ning

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First page / leaf of volume 3 of Zhu Quan's Shenqi Mipu. From right to left: Full title of tablature collection 臞仙神奇秘譜 with volume number 下卷 (lower or third) plus seals of the owner of this copy (if any), title of the volume 霞外神品, the tuning and method of tuning 黃鐘調, name of the 'modal preface' 調意, the tablature (shorthand) of the modal preface, [next page] title of the piece, description of the piece's origins, and the tablature of said piece.

Zhu Quan (朱权 / 朱權), The Prince of Ning (宁王), (1378 - 1448) was the 17th son of Ming Emperor Hongwu Zhu Yuanzhang; a military commander, historian and playwright, great tea conoisseur and a qin player.

Pseudonym: Mr. Dan Qiu, Da Ming Qi Shi, The Odd Scholar of Great Ming, the Emmanciated Immortal 臞仙.

Zhu Quan was a military commander, famous for his masterly art of war. In his late years, he retired completely from politics. A great lover of books, he funded the publishing of many rare books. Prince Ning himself wrote many books on history and drama, including The Secret History of Han and Tang Dynasty and Eloping Xianru. His most famous book was 茶谱 Cha Pu, Tea manual of 1440. He is also the ancestor of famous Chinese painter Zhu Da.

Zhu Quan is an important person in the guqin world, for compling the important 神奇秘譜 Shenqi Mipu [Mysterious and Marvellous Tablatures] of 1425, the earliest discovered collection of qin scores found.