Glossary

Author: Wang Guowei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-10-01
Features: The Record of Ci Poetry was completed in the 34th year of the Guangxu reign (1908), which was precisely the period when Wang Guowei was engaged in the study of Ci poetry. His other works such as Collected Ci Poetry of Twenty-one Masters from the Tang and Five Dynasties and On Poetic Language were also completed around the same time. This Record of Ci Poetry is highly beneficial for studying Wang Guowei and his contributions to the field of Ci poetry. Wang Guowei was an outstanding scholar of modern China. His achievements in literature, aesthetics, history, and paleography were exceptionally remarkable. He spent his tragic life in sorrow and frustration. Academia could not liberate him, and his poet's soul ultimately led him to lose faith in the world he lived in.
Ci poetry of Ming and Qing dynasties was often scattered in various collections, with few comprehensive compilations and even rarer printed editions. If a single scholar's collection was limited, they would feel ashamed of their narrowness, and if multiple scholars' works were recorded, they would be meticulous to the smallest detail. Therefore, the focus was limited to the Yuan dynasty. For collections with printed editions, the printed version was noted; for those without, the manuscript version was recorded. For printed editions where the Ci poetry was published separately, the separate edition was noted; if not, the complete edition was recorded. There were also cases where rare printed editions were noted as manuscript versions by certain scholars, or when separate editions were insufficient, the complete edition was used instead—always seeking appropriateness.