Tang and Song Ci History and Theory (Series of Chinese Classical Literature Studies)

Author: Wang Zhaopeng
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2000-01-01
Features: A History and Criticism of Tang and Song Ci Poetry, published this year by the People's Literature Publishing House, is another significant work in Wang Zhaopeng's research on Ci poetry. Wang Zhaopeng emerged as an academic newcomer in the last decade of the 20th century. His publications in the early 1990s, such as A Study of the Song Dynasty Ci Poets after the Southward Crossing and A Chronological Record of Song Dynasty Ci Poets, filled gaps in the study of Ci poetry and had a significant impact. A History and Criticism of Tang and Song Ci Poetry can be seen as a new academic milestone in his career. Unlike general historical-critical works that only focus on "criticism," this book is divided into two parts: the upper part is "History and Criticism," and the lower part is "Investigation and Documentation," fully reflecting the author's approach of combining theory with material and integrating traditional scholarship with modern knowledge.
Reading through the "History and Criticism" section, the chapters on "Transformation Theory," "Positioning Theory," and "Paradigm Theory" stand out for their theoretical innovation and offer methodological inspiration. The essence of Wang Zhaopeng's "Transformation Theory" lies in his newly developed "Generational Periodization" theory and methodology. Regarding the process of the evolution of Song Dynasty Ci poetry, few earlier scholars of Ci poetry provided clear and specific descriptions. Since the 20th century, scholars' proposals for periodizing Song Dynasty Ci poetry have rarely followed basic historical principles, failing to fully consider the chronological order of poets' lives and times. As a result, the development of Ci history has sometimes been fragmented or even inverted, making it difficult to fully grasp the changes in the mentality, artistic realm, and stylistic trends of individual and collective poets. However, the author argues, "The center of historical activity is the subject of the activity—human beings. The center of literary historical activity is naturally the creative subject—the writer." From this perspective, the author proposes that the periodization of Song Dynasty Ci poetry should center on poet groups, based on their life and creative eras, grouping poets of the same age (same generation) who lived and created roughly simultaneously into a "generational cohort." According to this standard, the 300-plus years of Song Dynasty Ci history have seen six such generational cohorts of poets, and the development of Song Ci poetry has accordingly gone through six stages. Wang Zhaopeng's innovative "Generational Periodization Theory" breaks free from the historical pitfalls into which modern researchers fell due to using a unidirectional, monolithic way of thinking to examine the diverse and multidimensional history of ancient Ci poetry.
The second theoretical highlight in the upper part of the book is the successful application of "quantitative analysis." In the chapter on "Positioning Theory," the author first employs "data statistics" and "data analysis" to conduct a quantitative, dynamic examination of the historical status of Song Dynasty Ci poets. Subsequently, the same method is used to explore the "quantitative" markers of the flourishing of Song Ci poetry, confirming and depicting its prosperity as "the literature of an era" through four aspects: "a doubling of Ci poems," "the comprehensive availability of Ci forms," "the emergence of renowned poets," and "the abundance of masterpieces." Furthermore, the chapter uses quantitative analysis to examine the relationship between "original Ci poems" and "Ci poems in response," confirming the significant status and influence of masterpieces and renowned poets in literary history.
The third theoretical highlight in the upper part of the book is the renowned "Paradigm Theory." A decade ago, the author drew on the "paradigm" theory from Western philosophers of science and literary critics to conduct Ci poetry criticism and research, summarizing the history of Tang and Song Ci poetry as the evolution of three major lyrical paradigms: the "Huajian Paradigm," the "Su Dong Paradigm," and the "Zheng Yuan Paradigm." Today, the book dedicates a special chapter to systematically explore the theoretical issues of applying "paradigm criticism" in classical literature and Ci poetry, using Su Dong's and Li Qingzhao's works as examples to demonstrate the validity and operability of this theory. It is evident that the author's theoretical reflections on paradigm criticism are deepening and maturing.