复return
Pinyin: fù
Left hand, slidingAfter moving up or down, the left finger comes back to the position where the string was plucked.
How it is played
Following shang, xia, jin or tui, the finger keeps pressing and returns to the original position. Some handbooks let the return sound; others say it is silent, merely preparing the next note. Follow the score you are using.
How it sounds
When sounded, the return gives an unplucked note at the original pitch; when silent, it is only a change of position.
In the classical handbooks
既上而復下，無聲復至元按徽也。Gist: Having gone up, come down again, returning without sound to the original stopping hui.
Where sources disagree
Whether the return makes a sound
- After going up, come back down silently to the original hui. Source: Qinshu Daquan (Great Compendium of Qin Writings), vol. 8(opens in a new window)
- After jin, returning to the home position with sound is called fu. Source: Qinxue Rumen (Introduction to Qin Studies), vol. 1, left-hand pressing symbols(opens in a new window) · View the original page
- Return to the original position; where the score notes “small tui fu”, step down slightly and return at once. Source: 《邻鹤斋琴谱》（据Guoqinwang, Guqin Da Cidian (Great Dictionary of the Guqin)所录原文）(opens in a new window)
- Return to the original position. Source: Yihe Qin Society, “Jianzipu: a short guide to technique symbols” (the common modern reading)(opens in a new window)
References
- 管平湖《古指法考》（北京古琴文化研究会 编，中国书店出版社 2019；据 1963 年中国音乐研究所油印本整理，依《琴用指法》《乌丝栏》《太音大全》《琴书大全》考订古指法）Scholarship
- 颐和琴社《减字谱·指法符号简释》(opens in a new window)Qin community
- 国琴网《古琴大辞典·指法》「復」条(opens in a new window)Qin community