Ci (tzu; [t?s?????]; simplified Chinese: ?; traditional Chinese: ?; pinyin: cí; Wade-Giles: w=tz??2), to a point interchangeably with ?/?, are a form, a type of lyric poetry in the tradition of Classical Chinese poetry. Ci use a set of poetic meters derived from a base set of certain patterns, in fixed-rhythm, fixed-tone, and variable line-length formal types, or model examples. The rhythmic and tonal pattern of the ci are based upon certain, definitive musical song tunes. They are also known as Changduanju (???/???, "lines of irregular lengths") and Shiyu (??/??, "that which is beside poetry").
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 cípái ??. 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, and several ci often shared the same title had had little or nothing to do with the topics of those poems, which rather referred to their shared rhythmic and tonal patterns. Some ci would have a "subtitle" or a commentary, sometimes as long as a paragraph, indicating the content. Sometimes, for the sake of clarity, a ci is listed under its title, followed by its first line.
Ci most often express feelings of desire, often in an adopted persona, but the greatest exponents of the form (such as Li Houzhu and Su Shi) used it to address a wide range of topics.
Video Ci (poetry)
History
Although the oldest surviving textual examples of surviving ci are from 8th century CE Dunhuang manuscripts, beginning in the poetry of the Liang Dynasty, the ci followed the tradition of the Shi Jing and the yuefu: they were lyrics which developed from anonymous popular songs into a sophisticated literary genre; although in the case of the ci form some of its fixed-rhythm patterns have an origin in Central Asia. The form was further developed in the Tang Dynasty. Although the contributions of Li Bo (also known as Li Po, 701 - 762) are fraught with historical doubt, certainly the Tang poet Wen Tingyun (812-870) was a great master of the ci, 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. However, the ci 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 ci 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 valorization, often in a context of a brief poetic story narrative within a ci poem or a linked group of ci poems in an application of the chuanqi form of short story tales to poetry.
Maps Ci (poetry)
Classification
Two main categories of ci employed in Song Dynasty were xi?olìng ?? (the original form since Pre-Song) and màncí ?? (starting after Liu Yong), depending on the song being either short and in fast tempo or long and in slow tempo. Later in Ming Dynasty and Qing Dyansties, the ci, or rather the cipai, are classified for the number of characters it dictates. It's called xi?olìng ?? if it's no more than 58 characters, zh?ngdiào ?? for 59-90, and chángdiào ?? for over 90. If the ci appears in one stanza, it's called d?ndiào ??, mostly xi?olìng written in Pre-Song era. The largest majority is shu?ngdiào ?? with two stanzas or qüè ? in identical or nearly identical patterns. There also are rare cases of s?ndié ?? and sìdié ??, for three and four qüè, respectively. In terms of style, ci can also be classified as either w?nyu? ?? (grace) or háofàng ?? (bold).
Cipai
Most cipai consist of three characters. The literal meaning of a cipai 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 cipai have alternative names, usually taken from a famous piece of that very cipai. There also are variants of certain cipai, indicated by a prefix or a suffix.
Example
To the Tune of Riverside City - For ten years here I wander and there you lie
- ????????????,????????,?????????????,???????? ???????????,????????,?????????????:???,?????
- "For ten years here I wander and there you lie./ I don't think about you often,/ yet how can I forget you!/ With your grave a thousand miles away,/ where can I confide my loneliness?/ Even if we met, could you recognize me,/ with dust all over my face/ and hair like frost?/ Last night I had a dream in which I returned home./ By the window,/ you were combing your hair./ We looked at each other silently,/ with tears streaming down our cheeks./ There's a place which every year will be my misery:/ the moonlit night,/ the hill of short pines. ?Su Shi, ????·????????,???
In the title of this ci, "the Tune of Riverside City" is the cipai, followed by the first sentence of the poem. Su Shi got married when he was 19, his wife 16. His wife died when she was only 27. Because of his government duties, Su Shi had 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 ci.
Famous Ci Poets
- Tang Dynasty & Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
- Wen Tingyun (812-870)
- Wei Zhuang (836-910)
- Li Cunxu (885-926)
- Gu Xiong (fl. 928)
- Lu Qianyi (fl. 931)
- Yan Xuan (fl. 932)
- Mao Xizhen (fl. 947)
- Xue Zhaoyun (10th century)
- Sun Guangxian (d. 968)
- Li Yu (937-978)
- Song Dynasty
- Liu Yong (987-1053)
- Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072)
- Su Shi (1037-1101)
- Huang Tingjian (1045-1105)
- Qin Guan (1049-1100)
- Zhou Bangyan (1056-1121)
- Li Qingzhao (1081-1149?)
- Lu You (1125-1209)
- Xin Qiji (1140-1207)
- Jiang Kui (1155-1221)
- Wang Yisun (1240-1290)
- Post-Song
- Gao Bing (1350-1423)
- Qian Qianyi (1582-1664)
- Wu Weiye (1609-1671)
- Gong Dingzi (1615-1673)
- Zhu Yizun (1629-1709)
- Nalan Xingde (1655-1685)
- Mao Zedong (1893-1976)
See also
- Classical Chinese poetry forms
- Dan dan you qing
- Shui diao ge tou
- Song poetry
Notes and references
- Kang-i Sun Chang. The evolution of Chinese tz'u poetry from late T'ang to Northern Sung.Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1980.
- Davis, A. R. (Albert Richard), Editor and Introduction,(1970), The Penguin Book of Chinese Verse. (Baltimore: Penguin Books).
- Frankel, Hans H. (1978). The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press) ISBN 0-300-02242-5
- Marsha Wagner, The lotus boat: origins of Chinese tz'u poetry in T'ang popular culture (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984.
- Zhang, Hongsheng (2002). "Gong Dingzi and the Courtesan Gu Mei: Their Romance and the Revival of the Song Lyric in the Ming-Qing Transition", in Hsiang Lectures on Chinese Poetry, Volume 2, Grace S. Fong, editor. (Montreal: Center for East Asian Research, McGill University).
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