Selected Yuan Qu with Comments - China Literature and History Classics Lecture Hall

Author: Deng Shaoji
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: The emergence and flourishing of Yuanqu mark another major boom in the prosperity of heterogeneous-verse poetry following the Song Dynasty's Ci poetry, holding significant status in the history of Chinese poetry. China is a land of poetry, with a long-standing tradition of poetic creation. From the perspective of poetic forms, there was originally a distinction between homogeneous and heterogeneous verse. Before the mid-Tang Dynasty, the initial forms were the Book of Songs, Yuefu, and ancient and modern regulated verse, with line structures evolving from four-character to five-character to seven-character, representing the primary path of poetic form transformation. Heterogeneous verse also emerged and developed but never achieved a dominant position. After the mid-Tang Dynasty, as the form of heterogeneous verse known as "long-short couplets" (i.e., heterogeneous verse), Ci poetry began to appear and gradually flourished, eventually forming a major tradition by the Song Dynasty, an event of great significance in the history of Chinese literature. If the Tang people created and perfected homogeneous poetic forms such as seven-character ancient verse and five-seven-character regulated verse (quatrains and regulated poems), making outstanding contributions, the Song people made equally outstanding contributions in the creation and perfection of Ci (long-short couplets) as heterogeneous verse. This series of books selects the most brilliant essence from the vast body of Chinese literature and history works. Not only are they rich in literary brilliance, but they also represent the intellectual forefront of their respective eras. A group of renowned scholars from one of China's most authoritative academic institutions—the Institute of Literature at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences—have immersed themselves in these classics, extracting their essence and applying their knowledge and talent to provide insightful annotations, explanations, and critiques, guiding readers into a higher and broader realm of literary and historical studies. Yuanqu has its own unique system and stylistic characteristics. The selections in this book represent the finest chapters of Yuanqu, with concise and precise interpretations, making it an excellent introductory reading for those seeking to understand this literary genre.