Cheng Qianfan recommends: Ancient Ci and Fu

Author: Cao Hong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: The term "ci" () and "fu" () were originally the same and could be used interchangeably as literary forms. In the late Western Han Dynasty, the great scholar Liu Xiang compiled the works of authors like Qu Yuan and Song Yu. Due to their strong regional characteristics, these works were collectively titled Chuci (《》), meaning the words or literature of the Chu people. However, when his son Liu Xin assisted him in compiling the imperial library catalog Bielu (《》) and Qilue (《》), he categorized them separately as Qu Yuan Fu (《》) and Song Yu Fu (《》), showing that in the eyes of the Han people, there was no distinction between ci and fu. Later, however, works titled "fu" became more common, leading people to view "ci" as referring exclusively to the works of Qu Yuan, Song Yu, and their followers. As a general term, "fu" could include "ci," but "ci" did not include "fu." The term "fu" has two meanings in the context of literary categories: one refers to a rhetorical device, and the other refers to a literary genre. In terms of rhetoric, "fu" means elaboration or exposition. Any description of objective phenomena using this rhetorical device can be called "fu." It was originally embodied in the Book of Songs () and later generalized by the Han people, alongside the other two rhetorical devices, bi () and xing (), which use comparison and metaphor. This rhetorical device, due to its widespread use by writers and influenced by other indispensable factors, gradually evolved into a distinctive cultural form—fu.