Ci (poetry)

Cí, also known as "song lyrics,[1][2]" 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.

[5] Although the oldest surviving textual examples of cí are from 8th century CE Dunhuang manuscripts,[6] 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.

In the case of the cí form, some of its fixed-rhythm patterns have been influenced by music and poetry of Central Asia and elsewhere.

Although the contributions of Li Bai (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.

[8] Much of the process of importing Serindian influence into Classical Chinese poetry was mediated through the short-lived state of Western Liang (555–587).

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 (reigned 713–756).

[9] 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 [581–618] emperors there was a great vogue for it, which continued into T'ang times.

In terms of style, cí can also be classified as either wǎnyuē (婉約; grace) or háofàng (豪放; bold).

They were the "level" (平 píng), "rising" (上 shǎng), "departing" (去 qù), and "entering" (入 rù) tones."

The formations of Ci are complicated, in different names of cipai, the number of characters, syntactical structure, tones and rhyme are also different.

One night in early 1075, about 10 years after her death, Su Shi dreamed of his wife, then composed this famous cí.