Background
《秋風詞》(pinyin: QiūFēng Cí), “Autumn Wind Song”, is a poem written by Li Bai (c. 701-762) of the Tang Dynasty, which was later adapted into a guqin piece with the same name. The lyrics of the song incorporate Li Bai’s poem, as well as from an additional, anonymous source.
Li Bai’s poem forms the lyrics of the first half of the song, following a 3-5-7 structure in which pairs of verses contain three, five, and seven words each, respectively. The second half of the song departs from this structure, and its lyrics resemble a portion of those from《湘江怨》(pinyin: Xiāngjiāng Yuàn).
Unlike “Xiang River Lament”, the lyrics of this piece are not associated with a particular event but with an emotional state that many have experienced at one time or another — separation from one’s love.
Perhaps the most widely known version of this song is the one published in the 1931 edition of the Mei’an Qinpu (梅盦琴譜) and is often considered to be a Mei’an piece. However, the melody is nearly identical to that of Qiu Feng Qu from the Yifengyuan Qinpu (一峰園琴譜) from 1709.
(For an in-depth discussion of the piece, see Autumn Wind Melody on silkqin.com.)
Lyrics
(Section 1, Li Bai)
秋 風 清， 秋 月 明。
Qiū fēng qīng, qiū yuè míng.
Autumn winds fresh, autumn moon bright.
落 葉 聚 還 散， 寒 鴉 樓 復 驚。
Luò yè jù hái sàn, hán yā lóu fù jīng.
Falling leaves collect then scatter, cold ravens roost then flutter.
相 親 相 見 知 何 日？ 此 時 此 夜 難 為 情。
Xiāng qīn xiāng jiàn zhī hé rì? cǐ shí cǐ yè nán wéi qíng.
Lovers will see each other who knows when? Now, tonight, sorrow is what I feel.
(Section 2, anonymous)
入 我 相 思 門， 知 我 相 思 苦。
Rù wǒ xiāng sī mén, zhī wǒ xiāng sī kǔ.
Enter the gate to my love, and learn the bitterness of my love.
長 相 思 兮 長 相 憶， 短 相 思 兮 無 盡 極。
Chǎng xiāng sī xī chǎng xiāng yì, duǎn xiāng sī xī wú jǐn jí.
Long loves have long memories, but brief loves last forever.
早 知 如 此 絆 人 心， 何 如 當 初 莫 相 識？
Zǎo zhī rú cǐ bàn rén xīn, hé rú dāng chū mò xiāng shí?
Knowing early how this can fetter peoples’ hearts, would it not be better never to have become acquainted?
Technique
This song use many of the foundational techniques from the previous songs, really only introducing one new one:
Right Hand Techniques (*symbols)
潑 (pō) – playing across a pressed string and an adjacent open string with a downward sweeping motion of three fingers (index, middle, and ring) of the right hand to produce one sound
Additional Videos
Bonus: Master Lui Puiyuen playing Qiu Feng Ci (YouTube Live) and other pieces during a February 2026 online yaji held by the New York Qin Society.