缓slow, at ease

Asks for this passage or phrase to be played broadly and at leisure. Often paired with ji: slow then quick, or quick turning to slow, is the usual ebb and flow of a qin piece. The Tang manuscript Jieshi Diao Youlan has instructions such as “begin slowly” and “slow first, then quick”, and ends by advising that the whole piece be played slowly. Slow without slackness: the sense of the phrase must still carry. The jianzi takes 爰, the right half of 缓 (see the left-hand symbols of Qinxue Rumen).