Ci (poetry)

Cí
Traditional Chinese詞
Simplified Chinese词
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyincí
Gwoyeu Romatzyhtsyh
Wade–Gilestzʻŭ2
IPA[tsʰɨ̌]
Hakka
Romanizationci2
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationchìh
Jyutpingci4
IPA[tsʰi˩]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJsû
Eastern Min
Fuzhou BUCsṳ̀

Cí (pronounced [tsʰǐ]; Chinese: 詞), also known as chángduǎnjù (長短句; 长短句; 'lines of irregular lengths') and shīyú (詩餘; 诗馀; 'the poetry besides Shi'), is a type of lyric poetry in the tradition of Classical Chinese poetry that also draws upon folk traditions. Cí, also known as "song lyrics,[1][2]" use various poetic meters derived from a base set of fixed pattern forms, using fixed-rhythm, fixed-tone, and line-lengths varying according that of the model examples. The rhythmic and tonal pattern of the cí are based upon certain, definitive musical song tunes (cípái), and in many cases the name of the musical tune is given in the title of a cí piece, in a form such as "after (the tune of)...."[3][4]

Typically, the number of characters in each line and the arrangement of tones were determined by one of around 800 set patterns, each associated with a particular title, called cípái (詞牌). Originally, they were written to be sung to a tune of that title, with a set rhythm, rhyme, and tempo. Therefore, the title may have nothing to do with its content. Indeed, several cí often shared the same title. The titles did not refer to the content, but rather their shared rhythmic and tonal patterns. Some cí have a "subtitle" or a commentary, sometimes as long as a paragraph, indicating the content. Sometimes, for the sake of clarity, a cí is listed under its title, followed by its first line.[5]

  1. ^ "To the tune "Immortal by the River"—Returning at Night to Linggao | Global Medieval Sourcebook". sourcebook.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  2. ^ Ridgway, Benjamin (2012). "From the Banquet to the Border: The Transformation of Su Shi's Song Lyrics into a Poetry of National Loss in the Restoration Era". Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR). 34: 57–103. ISSN 0161-9705.
  3. ^ Fuller, Michael A. (2017). An Introduction to Chinese Poetry: From the Canon of Poetry to the Lyrics of the Song Dynasty. Vol. 408 (1 ed.). Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 978-0-674-97701-3.
  4. ^ Mazo, Ramón Lay. "A SUCCINT EXPLANATION OF CI LYRIC POETRY". www.icm.gov.mo. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  5. ^ Fuller, Michael A. (2013). Drifting among Rivers and Lakes: Southern Song Dynasty Poetry and the Problem of Literary History. Vol. 86 (1 ed.). Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 978-0-674-07322-7.