Inquiry (问灵, Wèn Líng) is a piece of music for the guqin composed by an ancestor of the Gusu Lan Clan. It enables the player to summon and communicate with spirits of the dead.
Description[]
Inquiry summons and communicates with spirits; the souls of deceased and nearly deceased people can respond to Inquiry.[1]
The player must know the qin language to question the spirits and comprehend their responses, which are conveyed via melodies played on the guqin. Certain members of the Gusu Lan Clan are versed in the language of the guqin.[1]
If the player has sufficient experience and proficiency, the spirit they summon cannot lie[1] or avoid answering.[2]
When learning the qin language of the guqin, "Who are you?" and "Who killed you?" are the first sentences taught. According to Lan Sizhui, the student must then practice "no less than a thousand times."[2]
Qin Language[]
Qin language (琴语, Qín yǔ) is a secret technique known only to the Gusu Lan Clan and the main language used to communicate in Inquiry. Spirits communicate through the notes of the qin.[1] This acts a sort of code played through the qin's pentatonic scale.
Use[]
Lan Wangji plays inquiry to question and identify the spirit of the nearly-deceased Jin Ling in the Qinghe Nie Clan's Stone Castles. Jin Ling's answers during Inquiry enable Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian to save his life.[1]
In Yi City, Lan Sizhui performs Inquiry to question the spirit of Song Lan. Due to his lack of full mastery, Lan Sizhui is restricted to asking basic questions, but he successfully identifies Song Lan's name, his killer as Xiao Xingchen, and "the one behind you" as the person controlling Song Lan's Fierce Corpse.[2]
Trivia[]
- The Chinese words wèn líng (问灵) literally mean "to ask a spirit."
References[]
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