History of Chinese Lexicography

Author: Xie Taofang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-12-01
Features: Song Ci is the continuation of Tang and Five Dynasties Ci, and the tunes (music) it uses are also the inheritance and development of the tunes of the Tang and Five Dynasties. The music they is systematic. Chinese music in the Tang Dynasty presented a flourishing and diverse scene: ancient, the Qing of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, folk music of the Central Plains, and foreign coexisted, competing, and undergoing cultural selection. The new sound on which the Ci form is based—what kind of music was it? Since the Sui Dynasty, due to the influence of foreign music, mainly Western music, Chinese music underwent a major transformation: music dominated by the Western Quzi music was sinicized and combined with China's traditional folk music to produce the new Sui-Tang . , the same as , means "banquet." refers to music used for banquets. The music used by ancient Chinese courts and noble families during banquets was called . However, the Sui-Tang was the popular new folk music of the time and differed greatly from ancient in terms of scale, mode, melody, instruments, and performance methods. The Western Quzi music had already spread to the interior during the Northern Dynasties. In the early years of the Sui Dynasty, music theorist Zheng Yi discovered its value and made it theoretically compatible with the musical traditions of the Han ethnic group. He added and to the ancient , , , , five tones, creating seven tones. He also associated it with the ancient theory, so the seven tones and intertwined to form . This new , centered on Western Indian music, became popular and caused a musical revolution. From the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, the development of went through three stages: during the Tang and Five Dynasties, had a strong component; by the Northern Song Dynasty, had further combined with China's folk music; and by the Southern Song Dynasty, had become classical and was declining. Song people could still clearly feel this major musical transformation and believed that the Ci form had become popular with the rise of this new . In the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, the literary figure Su Shi said: "Compared to music, it has reached the extreme of chaos and now, all the music used by the common people are . It is impossible to find the ancient music, let alone the?" Scholars are now learning the things of the six dynasties, the of string and gourd, and they are as if clanging pots and pans, knocking over jars and bowls, and cannot help but fall asleep and laugh secretly."—"Postscript to Xian Yu's ," 《》 Su Shi was not familiar with music theory and held a negative attitude toward popular music. From its negative meaning, we can see that ancient almost did not exist in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the popular music was "all " (foreign music and pipa). He also mocked those scholars who clung to the old ways and still used music that was seemingly ancient but not truly so to sing ancient poems, the sounds were harsh and dull, making people sleepy or laugh. Scholar Shen Kuo was knowledgeable about music. When discussing the new , he said: "Zheng Yi of the Sui Dynasty first outlined it, and it rotated and generated . The were mixed, chaotic and disorganized, and it became the new foreign sound. Since the Tang , an edict was issued to combine with . Since then, the music lost its ancient rules. The music of the former kings was considered , the new sound was , and the combined was . The current music and lyrics follow each other, only the ballads heard in the streets and 《》《》 are somewhat similar to the old customs. However, the Tang people often sang about the names of the tunes, so the emotions and sounds were still harmonious. Modern people no longer know about the sounds."—《》 Shen Kuo accurately summarized the music of the Tang period and later. The new was dominated by "." He also believed that the lyrics accompanying were consistent with the music's expression in the Tang Dynasty, while the lyrics of the Song people were separated from the music's expression. This was a normal development pattern. Song people no longer paid attention to the original meaning of the tunes when composing Ci. At the same time, music theorist Chen Chang discussed the new sound of the Tang Dynasty: "In ancient times, the lyrics and sentences of musical pieces had fixed forms, sometimes three or four words to suit the purpose, or five or nine words to match the rhythm. Therefore, the composition of chapters and thoughts was elegant and could be described. When the lyrics were few and the sound was lacking, the sound had to be sufficient for the piece, like the "" in the . In the late Tang Dynasty, folk music spread widely among the people, but the sentences had no fixed length, and the words had no fixed number, interspersed with frivolous and extravagant text and the trivialities of the streets. It was not like 《》《》 that could be ranked. The music of the current dynasty was prosperous, and the singers and music officials mostly came from the market and fields, avoiding heavy labor and not knowing much about music. As for the tunes, they followed the old customs of and were not pure . It was difficult to achieve harmony in the sound and rhythm and to respond to all things when playing."—《》 Chen Chang viewed the new from the perspective of Confucian music theory, showing a conservative tendency, but reflecting the socialization process of since the Tang Dynasty: in the late Tang Dynasty, "folk music" was the new and had already spread widely among the people. He mentioned the characteristic features of its lyrics as ", ," which was the new form of . It determined the number of sentences according to individual tunes, unlike the regulated poems or , which had fixed numbers of sentences. It was a fixed , where the number of words in each sentence varied according to individual tunes, unlike , which had fixed number of words in each sentence. Chen Chang explicitly stated that the music accompanying the new was the popular folk music of the late Tang Dynasty and had become a tradition, so that by the Song Dynasty, music had "followed the old customs of ." In the early Southern Song Dynasty, the Ci scholar compiled a collection of Ci selections titled 《》 and wrote the preface, tracing the origins of Ci music: "During the , the northern part was split, and the Northern Wei, the Eastern Qi, and the Zhou of Yuwen were all strong ethnic groups that dominated the Central Plains. Therefore, their folk songs were mixed with , fast-paced, vulgar, and without rhythm, and the sound and rhythm of the ancient were not passed down. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Zhou, the Quzi pipa musician Su Zhipo first spoke of ; Ni Hong and Zheng Yi developed it, and began to take shape. During the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Wenxiu and Zu Xiaojun discussed the music for sacrificial rites, and the number of tunes was thus greatly expanded. By the and period, the emperor and his ministers indulged in pleasure and the was particularly fond of , and the entire country was influenced by this custom. At that time, scholars began to compose lyrics based on the beats of the music officials. The length of the sentences varied according to the tunes, but the ancient principle of extending the sound was lost."—《》 This clearly expressed the relationship between the form of Ci and the new since the Sui and Tang Dynasties. From the Song people's discussions, we can see that the new was the foreign or . It began in the Sui Dynasty and became popular after in the Tang Dynasty, becoming the music favored by the common people, and accordingly, a new form of lyrics emerged. The relationship between the new and the new lyrics was different from the relationship between ancient music and poetry. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi discovered: "Ancient singers first had lyrics and then music, so it is said: 'Poetry expresses the mind, singing extends the words, sound follows the extension, and pitch harmonizes the sound.'" Now, the tunes are composed first and then the lyrics are added, which is to follow the sound.——Zhao Delin 《》 quoting Wang Zhuo Wang Zhuo discussed this in detail and said: "The extension of words is poetry, and one cannot seek songs outside of poetry. Now, the tunes are set first, and then the lyrics are composed to follow them, which is a reversal. Moreover, scholars divide poetry and music into two separate fields. Ancient poetry may be called , meaning poetry that can be sung. In , there are songs, ballads, recitations, introductions, marches, and tunes. Now, people refer to ancient as a branch of poetry, and only when lyrics are composed to match the tunes is it called , which is not ancient."—《》 Ancient lyrics were first composed and then matched with music, that is, "." The new musical literature of Ci was first composed with music and then matched with lyrics, that is, "" or "composing lyrics to follow the tunes." The emergence of the Ci form established music as the standard, so it was possible to compose lyrics according to the tunes and to create lyrics based on the tunes. This was a new stage in the history of Chinese musical literature. Modern Ci scholar Liu Yaomin said: "Because of the need to 'follow the music with poetry,' poetry will have the accuracy of music, and it will become and become Ci."① Therefore, the origin of the Ci form must have been after the popularity of the new in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the Ci form must be that follows the music. After examining the Song people's discussions on the relationship between the Ci form and music, we can see that the Song people had already correctly solved the musical nature of Ci. The Tang Dynasty implemented an open cultural policy, absorbing foreign culture and promoting the transformation of traditional culture, thus creating a great new culture. The prosperity of the Ci literary form brought about by the popularity of the new is an example of this. This was difficult for later proponents of traditional culture to accept in terms of ideology, but it was a historical fact. The Song people had already been forced to acknowledge it. Zhang Yan had studied music theory with the Ci scholar and musician Yang Xuan when he was young, and thus praised Yang Xuan as "deeply knowledgeable about music theory" and "holding the rules very strictly," appending his 《》 to 《》 afterward. Zhang Yan inherited Yang Xuan's Ci methods and undoubtedly regarded them as the standard of Ci methods. The first four rules of 《》—choosing tunes, choosing rules, following the tunes, and rhyming according to the rules—are all about music theory. Zhang Yan appended it to show that he intended to guide learners of Ci to solve the difficulties of coordinating the rules. It was not easy to accurately summarize the specific experience of coordinating the rules, so Zhang Yan had to admit: "Ci wants to be harmonious with music, but it is not easy to say." He hoped that Ci scholars would be proficient in music theory, and then the problem of coordinating the rules would be easier to solve, so he specifically discussed the meaning of "" in singing: "The size of the tunes must conform to the , how can there be no beats?" If a Ci scholar could recognize music theory and have a keen sense of rhythm, the Ci composed according to the tunes would certainly be singable. Liu Tiyrin, styled Gongyong (1612–1677), was a native of Yingchuan, Henan. In the twelfth year of the Shunzhi reign (1655), he passed the imperial examination and was ranked with Wang Shizhen and Wang Wan. In the capital, he engaged in literary exchanges and hosted cultural gatherings. He rose to the position of Minister of Personnel and retired to study with Sun Qifeng. He wrote 《》 in nine volumes and 《》 in four volumes. Because he admired the characters of Cheng Lian, Lu Jia, Sima Wei, Hu Yi, Shen Lingshi, Wang Ji, and Wei Yingwu, he named his study . In 《》, Liu Tiyrin discussed the characteristics of the Ci form and the experience of its creation, and his discussions were profound, reflecting a high level of artistic appreciation. Regarding the relationship between Ci and poetry, Liu Tiyrin essentially negated the "" theory. He believed that in terms of thought, "Ci has the same meaning as ancient poetry," such as Su Shi's 《》, which is the legacy of Qu Yuan's 《》； in terms of art, "Ci has the same artistry as ancient poetry," such as Liu Yong's 《》, which has the same artistic effect as the ancient 《》. Because the nature of poetry and Ci is different, "the realm of Ci has what poetry cannot reach, limited by the form." This was the earliest discussion of Ci in terms of the category of , and it is likely to have influenced Wang Guowei's theory. Since the Ming Dynasty, the debate over the "" in the history of Ci has been completely agreed upon by Wang Shizhen. He said: "Jiaxuan's ',' is like the 《》； ',,' is like the 《》； neither is the of Ci scholars." He believed that Li Qingzhao's Ci was the true of Ci: "Liu Qi's , sometimes frivolous, so Zhan Su criticized Shao You. If Gu Shanshan also could not avoid it, like ',' below that is the body. Only the Lady Yi's ',' ',' are profound, stable, elegant, not falling into , nor falling into , truly a person." Regarding the division of the history of Ci, Liu Tiyrin borrowed the division method of Tang poetry. He believed that Ci also had initial, flourishing, middle, and late stages, not by generation. Niu Qiao, He Ning, Zhang Mi, Ouyang Jiong, Han Kuo, Lu Qianyi, etc., were not different from Tang , like the Tang initial not shedding the Sui tunes, but they were all . In the Song Dynasty, it reached its peak, Zhou, Zhang, Liu, Kang, becoming major figures. As for Jiang Baishi and Shi Bangqing, they were like the middle of Tang. The early Ming was later than Tang, and they were not reluctant to surpass the predecessors, but in reality, they were empty and took from others, and they had not dreamed of the . This took the Tang and Five Dynasties Ci as the initial, the Northern Song Ci as the flourishing period, the Southern Song Ci as the middle period, and the Yuan and Ming as the late period, roughly reflecting the development process of the Ci form from its rise to its decline. Of course, it is somewhat inappropriate to compare it with the division of Tang poetry, because the development of the Ci form has its own characteristics. Liu Tiyrin's discussion of the experience of creating Ci is quite extensive, such as believing that: "Ci should be subtle and avoid repetition," "each word of Ci has an eye, a word cannot be lightly placed," "the transition between and should not be completely detached, nor should it be clearly ," "Ci especially cannot include a dead sentence," "sudden shock is indeed a wonderful realm in Ci." These discussions on experience are deeply aware of the art of Ci. Liu Tiyrin's Ci theory has already provided a theoretical call for the revival of Ci studies, and when he discussed Ci, he first used and , which already reflected the beginning of changes in social aesthetic tastes. His theory was likely influenced by his friend Wang Shizhen's theory.