Chinese Poetry (IX): Ci—Lyric verses

詞 Ci, definition: 1. phrase, 2. statement, 3. expression, 4. lyrics^[1]

The origin

With the establishment of the Sui Dynasty (581-618), China was reunited after over three centuries of division. The cultural traditions of various ethnic groups converged in the Central Plain where the capital cities were located. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), with the reopening of the trade roads, international commerce grew vigorously. In addition to traders and envoys, artists from foreign lands brought in exotic music instruments, songs and dances. In this environment, music making in China went through fundamental changes. A multicultural banquet music “yànyuè” 燕樂/宴樂 came into prominence. Finding its place at the imperial courts, yànyuè gradually became part of popular culture.^[2]

Lyrics of the Han language were created to match preexisting melodies of various origins.^[3] At its incipience, these verses were called quzi ci 曲子詞 (“words for melody”). Examples of these anonymous song-verses were discovered among Dunhuang manuscripts at the turn of the twentieth century.^[4] Their subject matters ranged from amorous passion to urban life, traveling and religious inspirations.^[5] Despite their rich content, realistic descriptions, and vivid expressions, the early ci, written by commoners, were often unpolished.

Versification

All structural elements of ci were governed by the components of the existing melody:

•Ci poems were categorized by the names of the melodies. Each poem might have its own literary title—often based on words taken from the first verse. In some cases, the literary titles of popular verses and the names of the original melodies became interchangeable.
•Although the rhyming rules would be less rigid than those of shi, the tonal patterns 平仄 must be in conformity with the melodic contours.
•Shadowing the musical phrases, lengths of verses in ci were variable—hence the name cháng-duǎn-jù 長短句 (long-and-short-verses). The organization of verses and the total word-counts were fixed.

For example: The tune “Púsà-mán” 菩薩蠻 (literally, Bodhisattva-like barbarians) has two stanzas, each of four verses. The line-pattern for the first stanza is 7-7-5-5; the second 5-5-5-5. The last two verses of both stanzas share the same tonal patterns and rhymes. The total word-count for Púsà-mán is 44.^[6]

From folk entertainments to elite literature

Ci remained mostly a folk genre throughout the Tang Dynasty. Nonetheless, already in the late eighth century, established poets began to explore the new territory. Huajian ji 花間集 (“Amidst-Flowers Collection”) and Zunqian ji 尊前集 (“Fronting-the-Chalice Collection”), the two anthologies included in the “Ji” 集 (literary collections) section of Siku Quanshu 四庫全書,^[7] contained early literary ci by known authors. The former, compiled by Zhao Chongzuo 趙崇祚 around 940, incorporated five hundred verses by eighteen poets.^[8] The latter, quoted in several annotative sources of the Northern Song Dynasty, was likely generated in the early Song. Since Zunqian ji was anonymous and undated, the authenticity of its contents had been a subject of disputes among scholars.^[9]

Wen Tingyun 溫庭筠 (c. 812-870) of the late Tang was the first distinguished writer of ci. With illustrious style and rich vocabulary, he brought refinements into the new genre. Nonetheless, the subjects of his works were limited to young loves, forlornness, and boudoir sentiments.^[10] Among the poets following Wen’s footsteps during the Five-Dynasties-and-Ten-Kingdoms period (907-979) were Wei Zhuang 韋莊 (836-910) and Zhang Mì 張泌 (c. 930-?). Later annotators used the term “Huajian Faction” 花間派 to designate their works.^[11]

Li Yù 李煜 (937-978), the last ruler of the State of Southern Tang,^[12] was another celebrated ci writer of this period. A reluctant ruler, Li was a devotee of arts and music. In his late twenties, he lost a young son and his wife in succession. His verses reflected his experiences and emotions truthfully. After he became a captive of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, his later works were laden with regrets and nostalgic laments. Wang Kuowei 王國維 (1877-1927) in his literary treatise Renjian cihua 人間詞話 (1910) credited Li Yù for widening the scope and deepening the emotions of ci, and, thus elevating the genre from lyrics for the entertainers to verses of the literati. Channeling Nietzsche, Wang claimed that Li’s ci were “truly written with blood.”^[13]

Fruition

Having been freed from frivolities, literary ci flourished during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Quan Song Ci (“Complete Song Ci”) 全宋詞, compiled and edited by Tang Guizhang 唐圭璋 (1901-1990), contained over twenty thousand works by one thousand three hundred and thirty poets.^[14] Collectively, Song ci were often compared with Tang shi.

Similar to the Tang Dynasty, a unified government provided the stability necessary for economic and cultural development in the Song Dynasty. Unlike the Tang Dynasty which benefited greatly from its exchanges with foreign states, the Song Dynasty existed under the threat of its northern neighbors. While the Tang culture was exuberant and all-embracing, the Song culture was intricate, stoic, and impassioned.

In 1127, Jurchen-Jin besieged Song capital Bianjing and abducted Emperor Qinzong and his father Emperor Huizong, forcing the Song court to retreat southwards, maintaining only the territories south of the Yangzi River.^[15] This crisis, known as the Jingkang Incident, changed the fortune of the Song imperial court; weakened the strength of the nation; and altered the lives of the people, including artists and poets. Descriptions of nature and the joy of life—common themes in ci of the Northern Song—were replaced by laments of displacement and separation, nostalgia for peace time, and patriotic sentiments in those of the Southern Song.

Ci poems of the early Song, following the style of their predecessors of the Five-Dynasties, were simple and of limited extent. As the genre continued to evolve, more tune patterns were added to the repertoire.^[16] Greater variety of lengths, structures and styles were developed. Based on the tempo, there were xiǎolìng 小令–brief and quick, and màncí 慢詞—lengthy and slow. In subsequent centuries, detailed classifications were realized:

•xiǎolìng 小令: small tunes—verses within 58 words
•zhongdiào 中調: medium tunes—verses between 59 and 90 words; could be further divided into yǐn 引, closer to xiǎolìng, and jìn 近, longer than yǐn.
•chángdiào 長調: long tunes—verses longer than 90 words.

Single stanza^[17] verses were called dāndiào 單調; two-stanza, shuāngdiào 雙調; three-, sāndié 三疊; and four-, sìdié 四疊.

Stylistically, there are two major schools of ci: wanyue 婉約 “delicate and demure,” and haofang 豪放 (magnificent and free-spirited). Liú Yǒng 柳永 (987-1053) and Li Qīngzhào 李清照 (1084-1155) were representative of the former.^[18] The later, led by Su Shi 蘇軾 (1037-1101),^[19] gained prominence after the Jingkang Incident.

There is an idiom: “The shi describes one’s ideas; the ci expresses one’s emotions.” “詩言志, 詞言情.”^[20] Variable verse lengths in the ci accentuate the ebbs and flows of emotions. Word-repetitions, anaphora, and onomatopoeia, devices which frequently appeared in ci poems, not only vivify sounds and images, but also enhance the complexities of feelings. The contributions of the ci poets from the Tang to the Song Dynasties brought the reciprocal relationship between Chinese poetry and music to a new height. They also paved the way for dramatic literature in the later eras.

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^[1] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/詞
^[2] Music_and_Art_of_China_Kenneth Moore_Met museum
At the imperial courts, yànyuè coexisted with yayuè 雅樂, ceremonial music. During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, a music bureau was established. Based on the origins of the music, there were seven “divisions,” each with specific repertoire 樂, instruments 器, numbers of performers 工, and dress codes 衣. (隋書, 卷十五志第十, 音樂下) The Tang courts further expanded the system into nine- and ten- divisions. Based on the performance settings, there were two categories: standing/outdoors 立部and sitting/indoors 坐部.
Wang Xiaodun, Sun Xiaohui, and Chang Shijun,”Yuebu of the Tang Dynasty: Musical Transmission from the Han to the Early Tang Dynasty,” Yearbook for Traditional Music 36 (2004): 50-64. Accessed May 17, 2021 http://www.jstor.org/stable/20058791.
Emperor Xuanzhong founded “Pear Garden,” a training institute of musicians and dancers, and often participated in the training and performances. The term “Pear Garden disciples” has become a synonym for actors, especially those of Chinese operas.
^[3] 324 titles of these melodies are listed in Jiaofang ji 教坊記, a commentary on the court entertainment institution during the Kaiyuan period (713-741) written by Cui Lingqin 崔令欽, a court official. 教坊記/zh_wikisource.org
^[4] Mogao_Caves_Wiki; Dunhuang_manuscripts_Wiki. After the rediscovery of the “library cave,” many of the manuscripts were dispersed around the world, destroyed, or lost. Scholarly research during the twentieth century resulted in several collections of Dunhuang quci: Wang Zhongmin 王重民, edited 164 verses in Dunhuang quzi ci ji 敦煌曲子詞集 (1954); JaoTsung-I [Rao Zhongyi] 饒宗頤 collected 318 in Dunhuang qu 敦煌曲 (1971); and Ren Bantang 任半塘 [Ren Erbei 任二北 or Ren Na 任訥] included over 1200 in Dunhuang geci zongbian 敦煌歌辭總編 (1987).
^[5] Poems of Buddhist influences are categorized as Foqu 佛曲.
^[6] “Púsà-mán” 菩薩蠻 was among the tunes listed in Jiao fang ji 教坊記.
Late-nineth-century author Su È 蘇鶚 gave an anecdotal account of “Púsà-mán” in his short-story collection Duyang Zabian 杜陽雜編. According to Su, in early Dazhong period (c. 847), musicians, inspired by the bejeweled, Bodhisattva-like costume of tributary envoys from Nümán 女蠻國, created the tune. Púsà-mán is also the name of a female dance group of the imperial court of the Song Dynasty. History of Song, chapter 142, Music Records-16; 宋史, 卷142, 樂 16.
^[7] Complete_Library_of_the_Four_Treasuries_Wiki; 四庫全書/集部#詞曲類/zh.wikisource
^[8] In comparison to the large quantity of jintishi 近體詩 produced in the Tang Dynasty, five hundred is a very small number.
^[9] A few ci attributed to the High Tang poet Li Bai are among the most controversial selections in Zunqian ji.
^[10] Wen_Tingyun_Wiki
^[11] Huajian_Faction_Wiki
^[12] Not to be confused with the subsequent Dynasty, Southern Tang was one of the “Ten Kingdoms” during the transitional period between the Tang and the Song Dynasties. Southern_Tang_Wiki
^[13] 人間詞話, 卷 1-15, “詞至李後主而眼界始大, 感慨遂深, 遂變伶工之詞而為士大夫之詞.”
Id., 卷 1-18, “尼採謂：’一切文學, 餘愛以血書者.’ 後主之詞, 真所謂以血書者也.”
^[14] Quan Song Ci 全宋詞 was completed around 1937 and first published by The Commercial Press in Shanghai in 1940. Revised edition with supplemental materials was published in 1979.
^[15] Jingkang_incident_Wiki
^[16] Qīndìng cípǔ 欽定詞譜 (1715), a dictionary of ci titles compiled under the command of Kangxi Emperor, listed 826 tunes. Some later sources further expanded the list. Nevertheless, many tunes had multiple names. Some of them were variations of the same tune. The term cípái 詞牌, commonly used in literary discussions, was coined in later eras.
^[17] què 闋: stanza.
^[18] Li_Qingzhao_Wiki
^[19] Su_Shi_Wiki.
^[20] 《尚書•虞書•舜典》: “詩言志，歌永言，聲依永，律和聲。”

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