上slide up
Pinyin: shàng
Left hand, slidingAfter the stopped note sounds, the left finger slides along the string toward the bridge to the named hui, and the pitch rises.
How it is played
Once the right hand has plucked, the finger keeps pressing and moves right (toward the bridge) to the hui and fraction written in the score, stopping exactly there without plucking again. “上九” means slide up to the ninth hui; “一上”, “二上” and so on mark successive upward moves, each of which must land precisely. The wrist and forearm carry the finger; the pressure must not ease or the ring dies.
How it sounds
One pluck yields two notes, the second carried by the residual vibration and lighter than the first, with a continuous transition between them.
In the classical handbooks
凡向岳為上，自左而至右，皆謂之上。Gist: Whatever moves toward the bridge is shang; from left to right is always shang.
Easily confused with
- 绰chuò· slide up into the noteChuo slides into the position from below before the pluck; shang moves from the position to a new one after the pluck.
References
- 《琴学入门》国家图书馆藏刻本第 2 册（Wikimedia Commons 扫描）(opens in a new window)Primary source
- 颐和琴社《减字谱·指法符号简释》(opens in a new window)Qin community