疾swift
Pinyin: jí
Terms and marksSwift: a quick touch and a crisp attack; often paired with xu (leisurely).
How it is played
Asks for a quick touch and crisp attack here, close in meaning to ji (急); the ancients often paired 疾 and 徐 to mean fast and slow in general. The Tang manuscript Jieshi Diao Youlan writes “swift quan fu” and “swift press up” to say that a particular motion is done quickly; Qing scores also note 疾 beside a character as a rhythm hint. Fast without haste: do not let the pursuit of speed make the notes cramped.
In the classical handbooks
大指当九案宫商疾全扶宫商Gist: The thumb at the ninth hui stops gong and shang; a swift quan fu on gong and shang.
疾而不促。緩而不弛。Gist: Quick without haste; slow without slackness.
Easily confused with
- 急jí· quickJi (急) and ji (疾) both mean fast and are used alike; 急 appears mostly as a marginal note beside jianzi, 疾 mostly paired with 徐 or qualifying a particular motion.
- 徐xú· leisurelyXu is leisurely and relaxed, the opposite of swift.