Word Reading Introduction

Author: Chen Zhenhuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: This book provides a detailed introduction to various aspects of ci poetry, including its meter, tonal patterns, structure, rhyme schemes, grammatical features, and types of allusions. It serves as an entry key for those who love reading ci, helping them enhance their appreciation skills, while also offering valuable reference for beginners in composing ci. Ci is a form of poetry. Initially, it was lyrics written to accompany music, hence also known as "quzi ci." As a type of poetry, ci differs from the so-called "old-style poetry" in that the latter, especially the "near-style poetry," has only a few fixed formats with regard to word count, line count, tonal patterns, and rhyme schemes. In contrast, ci is much more complex, with each piece belonging to a specific ci tune, each having its own relatively fixed format. The varying lengths of its lines and the dense or sparse rhyme patterns clearly distinguish it from near-style poetry. This is because ci differs from poetry, which does not necessarily require musical accompaniment. Even when music is involved, it is usually composed after the poetry is written, with the music adapting to the poem. In other words, the integration of poetry and music is often a case of music accommodating poetry, allowing the poem to maintain its original orderly format without needing to conform to musical requirements. However, ci is different—it is usually composed to fit existing musical scores, making its line count, word count, tonal patterns, and rhyme schemes all influenced by musical rhythms. With the diversity of musical scores, the forms of ci evolve endlessly, giving rise to various tunes such as "Langtaosha," "Die Liehua," and "Qinyuan Chun." As mentioned above, each ci tune generally follows a certain format based on its corresponding musical score, but this format was not fixed from the beginning. When people compose ci according to the score, they primarily aim for coherence, singability, and pleasantness rather than strict adherence to every word and line. Just as we can sing one syllable per beat in a song or multiple syllables in a single beat, the reverse is also true—multiple beats can accommodate one syllable or a group of syllables can be sung across several beats. Similarly, when composing ci, while following the musical score, authors may add or omit syllables in certain positions and slightly adjust the tonal patterns in less critical parts to ensure the singing remains melodious and engaging. This further diversifies the forms of ci tunes. Early ci often had multiple variations within a single tune, primarily due to this flexibility. After the Song Dynasty, musical scores gradually disappeared, and many poets, unfamiliar with music, focused on composing ci as poetry rather than for singing. Consequently, they disregarded the musical scores and simply copied the existing formats of certain tunes, word by word and line by line, like "imitating a painting by tracing its outline." Whether it's "Genglouzi" or "Genglouzi," if your opening format is "," I will follow suit with "." As a result, the formats became more rigid and strict. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, scholars compiled old ci and standardized the tunes, providing a reference for composers. Thus, ci evolved into a pure literary form, a highly regulated poetic genre.