Ci (poetry)


, also known as and , is a type of lyric poetry in the tradition of Classical Chinese poetry that also draws upon folk traditions., also known as "song lyrics," use various poetic meters derived from a base set of fixed pattern forms, using fixed-rhythm, fixed-tone, and line-lengths varying according that of the model examples. The rhythmic and tonal pattern of the are based upon certain, definitive musical song tunes, and in many cases the name of the musical tune is given in the title of a piece, in a form such as "after...."
Typically, the number of characters in each line and the arrangement of tones were determined by one of around 800 set patterns, each associated with a particular title, called . Originally, they were written to be sung to a tune of that title, with a set rhythm, rhyme, and tempo. Therefore, the title may have nothing to do with its content. Indeed, several often shared the same title. The titles did not refer to the content, but rather their shared rhythmic and tonal patterns. Some have a "subtitle" or a commentary, sometimes as long as a paragraph, indicating the content. Sometimes, for the sake of clarity, a is listed under its title, followed by its first line.

History

Although the oldest surviving textual examples of are from 8th century CE Dunhuang manuscripts, beginning in the poetry of the Liang dynasty, the followed the tradition of the and the : they were lyrics which developed from anonymous popular songs into a sophisticated literary genre. In the case of the form, some of its fixed-rhythm patterns have been influenced by music and poetry of Central Asia and elsewhere.
The form developed during the late Tang dynasty. Although the contributions of Li Bai are fraught with historical doubt, certainly the Tang poet Wen Tingyun was a great master of the, writing it in its distinct and mature form. One of the more notable practitioners and developers of this form was Li Yu of the Southern Tang dynasty, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, subsequent to Tang. Before the form was formalized by the scholarly, it's antecedents had grown up in a setting of popular music. Serindian influences were particularly important in this regard; with the influence of Kucha drum dance tunes being the most important. Much of the process of importing Serindian influence into Classical Chinese poetry was mediated through the short-lived state of Western Liang (555–587). Western Liang was basically a city-state centered on the city known in Tang times as Liangzhou. In Western Liang a musical hybrid of Chinese and Kuchean traditions developed, and became popularized throughout the Tang culture, from the people to even the emperor Xuanzong of Tang|Xuanzong]. This was part of a larger movement: "...of all the specialists of ambiguous social status who were sent to China by a foreign government, the most popular and influential were the musicians―instrumentalists, singers, and dancers―and the instruments and musical modes that they brought with them....For many centuries, the music of the West had had its admirers in China, but under the Sui emperors there was a great vogue for it, which continued into T'ang times." Foreign music was brought to China, often as a result of wars of conquest or as a type of "tribute" and this music found a place in informal settings at the imperial court to other less reputable settings. Ci poetry largely developed during the late Tang from the music made in popular settings such as houses of pleasure and from the inclusion of romantic and erotic themes of late Tang poets such as Li Shangyin.
However, the form of Classical Chinese poetry is especially associated with the poetry of the Song dynasty, during which it was indeed a popular poetic form. A revival of the poetry form occurred during the end of the Ming dynasty and the beginning of the Qing dynasty which was characterized by an exploration of the emotions connected with romantic love together with its secularization, often in a context of a brief poetic story narrative within a poem or a linked group of poems in an application of the form of short story tales to poetry.

Classification

Song

During the Song dynasty, two main categories of employed were and , depending on the song being either short and in fast tempo or long and in slow tempo. Most were written in the pre-Song era.

Ming and Qing

Later, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the, or rather the, became classified for the number of characters it dictates. It is called
  1. 小令 if it is no more than 58 characters,
  2. 中調 for 59–90 characters, and
  3. 長調 for over 90 characters.
If the appears in one stanza, it is called. The largest majority is with two stanzas or in identical or nearly identical patterns. There also are rare cases of and, for three and four, respectively. In terms of style, can also be classified as either or.

Formation

There are four main tones in Mandarin Chinese, though a fifth tone may be considered. The tonal systems of past centuries were different. The term "tonal contour" is used to indicate that these tones are not tones in the sense of absolute musical pitches, but rather in terms of the overall relative "shape" of the tones as spoken or chanted.
The four tones of Middle Chinese were first described by Shen Yue around AD 500. They were the "level", "rising", "departing", and "entering" tones. The level is classified as ; all three other tones are classified as oblique. So, in any cipai, the formation of Ci, each Chinese character in Ci will be required in detailed tones with, shown using 平 and 仄.

Cipai

Cipai, also called Cige and Cidiao, is the name of various formations of Ci. Most consist of three characters. The literal meaning of a can be rather obscure, making it difficult to translate. Some are taken straight from earlier poems, and some are clearly of Non-Han origin—mostly songs introduced from Central Asia. Some have alternative names, usually taken from a famous piece of that very. There also are variants of certain, indicated by a prefix or a suffix. The formations of Ci are complicated, in different names of, the number of characters, syntactical structure, tones and rhyme are also different.
For example, choosing the , the tone requirements of each character in this cipai is following:
The following is a poem based on Jiang Chengzi.
Su Shi, 蘇軾,《江城子·十年生死兩茫茫》
In the title of this cí, is the name of. Su Shi was married when he was 19, and his wife was 16. His wife died when she was only 27. Because of his government duties, Su Shi moved to many different places in China, all far away from his hometown. One night in early 1075, about 10 years after her death, Su Shi dreamed of his wife, then composed this famous cí.

Famous ''cí'' poets

Tang, Five Dynasties, Ten Kingdoms

Song

Post-Song