The Complete Ci of Liu Yuxi

刘禹锡Bashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

Rating 4.4

Word count: 470 words
Chapters: 12

Summary

Liu Yuxi was a prominent statesman and man of letters of the Tang Dynasty. Though frustrated in politics, he displayed outstanding literary talent. His "Inscription on a Humble Room" is a widely admired model of classical prose, and the three essays of "On Heaven" are important texts of ancient naive materialism. His poetry inherited the Dali poetic style while introducing new changes; he was skilled in allusion yet wrote with smooth, flowing energy, rich diction, and agile strokes. Above all, his poems brim with a vigorous, robust spirit and an upright, transcendent quality, with a distinctive lingering charm—earning him Bai Juyi's praise as a "poetic hero." In the Tang Dynasty, few authors excelled in both poetry and prose; Liu Yuxi was one of them.

Editor's review

Liu Yuxi is renowned in the Tang Dynasty for excelling in both poetry and prose, and is known as the "poetic hero." This volume gathers his ci works, offering readers a dedicated entry into this master whose political career faltered while his literature stood tall. Liu Yuxi's ci share the spirit of his poetry: allusions are used with classical propriety yet never become obscure; diction is rich and strokes flow smoothly. Between the lines there is often a vigorous, upright air and a distinctive, lingering charm. Unlike popular editions that select only famous pieces, this complete collection lets readers grasp the full scope and stylistic development of his ci, and facilitates reading alongside his poetry and prose to appreciate his literary-historical position of "inheriting the Dali poetic style while introducing new changes." It suits slow, careful reading in a quiet setting and serves as desktop material for the study of Tang verse. For readers who wish to understand Liu Yuxi's literary achievements beyond "Inscription on a Humble Room" and "On Heaven," this book provides a relatively complete textual foundation.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love Tang literature and wish to study Liu Yuxi's ci specifically
Researchers of ancient verse and Chinese majors needing a relatively complete text
Intermediate readers who have read Liu Yuxi's poetry and prose and want to extend to his ci
Classical literature enthusiasts interested in the "poetic hero" style who are willing to read slowly and savor

Not a good fit for

General leisure readers seeking light stories or modern and contemporary fiction
Beginners with no foundation in classical Chinese who need line-by-line vernacular translation
Readers who only want a few famous pieces such as "Inscription on a Humble Room" and do not plan systematic reading

Reading tips

First read through without pausing to feel the overall tone and rhythm of the ci, then return to read each piece closely.
Keep a notebook, jot down allusions and unfamiliar words as you go, and check them together afterward.
Read alongside Liu Yuxi's poetry and prose collections, comparing similarities and differences in language and sentiment between the same author's poetry and ci.
Read only a small number of pieces at a time, aloud, to appreciate his vigorous spirit and flowing strokes.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
竹枝词
竹枝词
竹枝词
竹枝词
杨柳枝
杨柳枝
浪淘沙
浪淘沙
潇湘神
潇湘神
杨柳枝

FAQ

Can I read this book without a foundation in classical Chinese?

You can try, but you will need tools. This is a complete collection of ci, with main texts mostly in classical Chinese. Beginners should read piece by piece with a classical Chinese dictionary and annotated editions, first grasping the general meaning and then examining words closely; do not pursue speed. If you rely entirely on vernacular translation, the reading experience will be diminished.

Liu Yuxi is famous for poetry—are his ci worth reading?

Yes. Sources show Liu Yuxi excelled in both poetry and prose; his poetry is known for vigor, uprightness, rich diction, and beauty, and his ci share this spirit, using allusion without obscurity and flowing smoothly. Reading his ci helps form a complete understanding of his literary profile and reveals one facet of Tang verse composition.

Is this book suitable as material for academic research?

As a complete-collection text published by Bashu Publishing House, it is suitable as foundational material for studying Liu Yuxi's ci and convenient for surveying all pieces. Whether it meets the edition and collation requirements of a specific research project, however, readers must judge after checking the edition information against their own topic.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

刘禹锡 Author

Liu Yuxi is a well-known poet in the history of classical Chinese literature. Publicly available sources offer limited information about his life, native place, and dates of birth and death, so this page makes no conjecture on those points. This site holds fourteen of his works, spanning classical poetry, prose and miscellaneous writings, as well as the categories of social fiction, social science, and Eastern philosophy. Representative titles include The Complete Ci Poems of Liu Yuxi, Collected Ci Poems of Liu Yuxi, and pieces such as "Song of the Dim Mirror," "Presented to Liu Jing on Passing the Examination," "Seeing Off Attendant Censor Yang of the Taiyuan on an Early Autumn Return," "A Playful Reply to Letian," and "Inscribed on Vice Director Dou's New Residence in Chongde Lane on an Autumn Day." These works show that he wrote chiefly poetry, with some ci and occasional poems of exchange and inscription. His language is concise, his imagery clear, and he often draws on everyday scenes and human encounters, conveying feeling with subtlety and thought. His poems of reply also reflect his exchanges with literary contemporaries. Through these works readers may appreciate his poetic style and the pleasure of reading classical Chinese poetry.