Ci--Poems in Irregular Meter
Ci is a variety of poetry. It is different from ordinary poetry in
that its lines are not of the same length, while each line of a poem has
a fixed number of words, generally five or seven words. However,
the number of lines and the number of words in each line of ci are not
flexible, neither are its tonal pattern and rhyme scheme. There are
fixed tunes or forms, and poets have to write ci according to them,
or fill them with proper words.
It was said that originally this form of poetry was created and
adopted by musicians and singers among the ordinary people. Ci
means words of songs. Later it was used by poets, who gradually
made it very literary.
Among the earliest ci writers were Li Bai and Bai Juyi, the two
famous Tang poets. Some other Tang poets also used this form.
They mainly wrote about personal feelings, especially feelings of
women. Their ci works are very beautiful, but usually poor in con-
tent.
Li Yu(937 - 978), the last emperor of the Southern Tang (one
of the Ten States), was the most remarkable ci writer of the period
of the Five Dynasties. Although a talented poet, he was a poor ruler.
His state was conquered by the Song, and he was taken to Bianjing
(now Kaifeng) as a prisoner. In his ci he wrote about the old happy
days when he was an emperor, his sadness at losing his kingdom,
and the women he had loved. His works are full of beautiful imagery
and imagination, and they are widely read and liked. Here is one:
Silent and alone, I go up the stairs of the ~estern cham-
ber.
The moon is like a hook.
With a lonely tree the deep courtyard looks in the clear au-
tumn.
It cannot be cut apart with scissors,
Nor can it be disentangled,
For it is the sadness of departure
In the heart it has an indescribable taste.
During the Song period, ci prospered. It became more popular, more
refined and more colorful than it had been before. Besides poets, em-
perors and ministers, actresses and prostitutes, also tried to write it.
There were over 200 Song poets whose ci works were later collected
and preserved, and they used as many as 870 different tunes.
From the late Tang to the early Song, the themes of ci were
generally confined to personal joys and sorrows, and to love between
men and women. Liu Yong(9877- 10537), a very popular ci writ-
er, had a wider range of themes. Many of his works describe urban
scenes, the life of actresses and prostitutes, and the feelings of lonely
travellers.
It was Su Shi who brought about a change in the style of ci. His
ci works not only describe departure and friendship, but praise an-
cient heroes, express his own patriotic sentiments and heroic aspira-
tions, show his sympathy with the poor and his wish to become one
with nature. The range of his topics is much wider than that of any
other ci writer. Most poets before him wrote ci in a delicate and re-
fined style. He started a heroic and vigorous style, and opened a new
path for the development of this literary form,. Here is the first half
of his well-known ci on the history of Chibi:
The great river flows eastward;
Its waves have swept away all the ancient heroes.
West of the old fortress,
People say, is Red Cliff where Lord Zhou fought during
the time of the Three Kingdoms.
The jagged rocks thrust into the air;
The wild waves dash upon the shore,
And roll up a thousand heaps of snow.
The river and mountain form a beautiful picture,
Reminding people of the many heroes there once were !
A few years before Su Shi died, a woman poet of unusual talent
was born in Shandong. Her name was Li Qingzhao(1084- 11517).
Before the collapse of the Northern Song, she and her husband Zhao
Mingcheng led a happy life. Shortly after they fled south to escape
the Jin troops, Zhao died. She wandered alone in the southeast for
the rest of her life.
She wrote beautiful poems, ci and prose, but was mainly known
for her cl. Those she wrote before she fled south describe her life as a
young girl and a young wife, and express her love of nature. There
was a clear change in her style after she went south. Then she wrote
about her misfortunes, which also reflect the misfortunes of the coun-
try. In her day it was very difficult for a woman to ~become a learned
person, let alone a poet. She was brave enough to break through the
limitations that feudal customs imposed on women and choose her
own way of life.
Here is one of her best-known short ci works:
Last night the rain was weak but the wind was fierce;
After a deep sleep the effects of wine still remain.
I ask the girt as she is rolling up the screen,
And she says,"No change in the crabapple tree."
"Don't you know,
Don't you know,
There should be more green but less red."
The Southern Song produced two famous poets: Lu You and
Xin Qiji.
Lu You( 1125- 1210)was born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang. His fa-
ther and his father's friends were patriotic scholars, and their influ-
ence cultivated in the boy a deep love for his country and his people.
He loved to study and studied hard when he was young, and was
known as a poet when he was not yet 20. At 29 he passed the civil
service examinations, but he was not given a government post be-
cause he was disliked by those in power. At that time the emperor
and many important ministers followed an appeasement policy, and
did not want to fight the Jin, which had occupied North and Central
China, but Lu You was opposed to this policy.
After serving in the army stationed in Sichuan for a few years,
he worked as an unimportant official in Fujian, Jiangxi and Zhejiang.
Finally, at 66, he returned to his home town, where he lived most of
the time during the rest of his life. He died when he was an old man
of 85 with the bitter disappointment that he had not seen North and
Central China recovered from the enemy.
He left behind as many as over 9,000 poems, many of which are
full of patriotic feelings and militant spirit. He also wrote poems de-
scribing the life and miseries of the ordinary people. In painting a
truthful picture of his age he is like Du Fu, and in the use of language
he seems to have been influenced by Bai Juyi, for he uses very simple
and natural language.
He wrote about 130 ci works. In his ci he talks about the fate
of his country, and his own disappointment at the political and mili-
tary situation, like the following lines:
The enemy has not yet been defeated,
But my hair is turning grey.
My tears have flowed in vain.
Never did I expect
Although my heart is on the Tianshan Mountains,
I am growing old in a quiet place by a river.
Here "the Tianshan Mountains" refer to the front. The last two lines
express his deep sorrow at being unable to carry out his wishes.
Xi Qiji(1140 - 1207) was born in Jinan, Shandong. When the
Jin troops were sweeping south against the Southern Song, he joined
those people who had armed themselves to fight the invaders. Later
he crossed the Changjiang River to work for the Southern Song gov-
ernment. In spite of his low position, he wrote to the emperor,
putting forward suggestions about resistance.
The Southern Song rulers, following the policy of nonresistance,
never gave him any important post or an opportunity to fight the ene-
my. He died at 68 with his cherished dreams unfulfilled.
Most of his literary works are cf, over 600 of which have been
collected. He carried forward the heroic and bold style that Su$hi
had started. His works are very colorful and rich in content, reflect-
ing from different angles the social life of his day and his own feel-
ings. He has been regarded as the most outstanding patriotic ci writ-
er of the Southern Song period.
Where can I see the Central Plains ?
Around 13eigu Tower the scenery is very beautiful.
How many states have risen and fallen in the past thou-
sand years !
They are endless,
Just like the endless Changjiang River rolling on.
These are the first few lines of the well-known ci "To the Tune of
Nanxiangzi: Thoughts on Ascending Beigu Tower near Jingkou." In
it the poet expreesses his view on history and reveals his concern for
his country.
Xin Qiji's ci and Lu You's poems encouraged the people of the
Southern Song to fight the enemy and win victories in the war. In
later ages, whenever there was a national crisis, people would turn to
these two great patriotic poets, and draw courage and inspiration
from their works.