History and Theory of Tang and Song Ci Poetry

Author: Wang Zhaopeng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-01-01
Features: The History and Theory of Tang-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 earlier works, such as Studies on the Group of Song Ci Poets After the Southern Song Capital Relocation and Chronological Records of Song and Southern Song Ci Poets, filled gaps in the study of ci poetry and had a significant impact. History and Theory of Tang-Song Ci Poetry can be seen as a new academic milestone in his career. Unlike general historical-theoretical works that focus only on "theory," this book is divided into two parts: "History and Theory" and "Investigation and Documentation," fully reflecting the author's approach of blending theory with empirical evidence and integrating traditional scholarship with modern knowledge.
Reading the "History and Theory" section, the chapters on "Transformation Theory," "Positioning Theory," and "Paradigm Theory" stand out for their theoretical innovation and offer methodological insights. 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 ci poetry, few earlier ci scholars have provided clear and specific descriptions. Since the 20th century, scholars' proposals for periodizing Song ci 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 mindset, artistic context, and stylistic evolution of individual and collective ci poets. However, the author argues, "the center of historical activity is the subject of the activity—humans, and the center of literary historical activity is naturally the creative subject—the writer." From this perspective, the author advocates for periodizing Song ci poetry by focusing on poetic groups, using the life and creative periods of poets as the basis, and grouping those of the same age (same generation) who lived and created concurrently into a "generational cohort." According to this standard, the three hundred years of Song ci history have seen six 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 have fallen due to using a monolithic, unidirectional mindset to examine the pluralistic and multidimensional history of ancient ci poetry.
The second theoretical highlight in the "History and Theory" section 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 ci poets. Subsequently, the same method is used to explore the "quantitative" markers of the flourishing of Song ci poetry, demonstrating and depicting its prosperity as "the literature of an era" through four aspects: "the exponential increase in 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 investigate 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 "History and Theory" section is the well-known "Paradigm Theory." A decade ago, the author drew inspiration from the "paradigm" theory of Western philosophers of science and literary critics to conduct ci poetry criticism and research, summarizing the history of Tang-Song ci poetry as the evolution and transition 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 validate the correctness and operability of this theory. It is evident that the author's theoretical reflections on paradigm criticism are deepening and maturing.