Remarks on Ci Poetry, Ancient and Modern

Name: Remarks on Ci Poetry, Ancient and Modern
ISBN: 9787532553891

沈雄Shanghai Classics Publishing House · ChinaApr 2017

3.9

Word count: 159K words
Chapters: 11
ISBN: 9787532553891

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Summary

The eight-volume Gu Jin Ci Hua was compiled by Shen Xiong in the early Qing dynasty. Three works in the history of ci studies bear the title Gu Jin Ci Hua. The Southern Song scholar Yang Zhuo wrote one, long lost; the modern scholar Zhao Wanli reconstructed 67 entries from works such as Tiao Xi Yu Yin Cong Hua and Hua Cao Cui Bian, and it is now available in Tang Guizhang's Ci Hua Cong Bian (Zhonghua Book Company). A second Gu Jin Ci Hua, of unknown authorship, was cited in Shen Xiong's work and in the early Qing Li Dai Ci Hua; its contents "mostly concern figures of the period after the Southern Song court moved south and of the Yuan and Ming," and it "is evidently a separate book, unrelated to Yang Zhuo" (Zhao Wanli). Shen Xiong's Gu Jin Ci Hua is the third. Shen's work quotes from both earlier ones, a point worth noting.

Editor's review

Compiled by the Qing dynasty ci poet Shen Xiong, Gu Jin Ci Hua is a compendium of ci criticism, anecdotes about ci poets, and commentary on individual works drawn from earlier ages. It is not a systematic theoretical treatise in the modern sense but rather a curated "forest of notes on ci," valued for preserving many fragments of lost texts and vivid literati lore. For scholars of ci, it is an indispensable primary source for tracing the threads of ci criticism from the Song to the early Qing; many works it cites no longer survive, which makes it especially precious. For lovers of classical literature, it is a window onto how earlier readers judged ci, debated ci, and even socialized through ci; its immediate comments on famous works by Su Shi, Xin Qiji, Li Qingzhao, and others brim with lively aesthetic judgment and the marks of their eras. This Shanghai Classics Publishing House edition generally includes collation and editorial work, improving readability and reliability. Note that the original's format makes for somewhat miscellaneous content; read it in the spirit of gathering choice blossoms rather than expecting a tightly structured systematic treatise. It is more like a garden built from fragments of ci criticism across the ages, where a stroll often brings unexpected pleasures.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers or students with a strong interest in the history of classical Chinese ci studies and ci criticism.
Literature lovers who wish to understand more deeply the creative context, anecdotes, and reception history of ci poets from the Tang and Song to the early Qing.
Readers who enjoy classical note-style and anecdotal works and relish discovering pleasures in fragmentary information.
Aspiring writers of classical ci who hope to draw inspiration and guidance from earlier critics' comments.

Not a good fit for

Those expecting a rigorously structured, intellectually unified theoretical monograph in the modern academic mold.
Complete beginners unfamiliar with classical literature who want a light introductory read.

Reading tips

Use it as a reference or sourcebook, consulting it by individual poet or cipai; this is more efficient than reading it straight through.
Keep a classic ci anthology (such as Three Hundred Song Ci) at hand while reading, to compare against the works discussed and deepen your appreciation.
Distinguish the views quoted from others from compiler Shen Xiong's own notes; this helps clarify how ci poetics differed across eras.

About the publisher

Shanghai Classics Publishing House China · Founded in 1956

Shanghai Classics Publishing House is a professional publisher centered on the collation of ancient texts and academic research works. Its publishing areas cover historical readings, classical poetry, folk literature, literary appreciation, canonical works, and Eastern philosophy. Its books include Chen Yinke's A Brief Discussion of the Origins of the Sui and Tang Institutions, Xin Qiji's Chronological Annotated Edition of Jiaxuan's Ci (Simplified Edition), Tang Xianzu's The Peony Pavilion, Liu Xie's The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, as well as New Annotations to Three Hundred Tang Poems (Collector's Edition), Annotated Edition of Han Changli's Collected Works (Simplified Edition, 3 volumes), and Youyang Zazu. Its authors include Chen Yinke, Xin Qiji, Tang Xianzu, Liu Xie, Deng Guangming, Hengtang Tuishi, Han Yu, and Ma Qichang. In terms of publishing characteristics, the house emphasizes collation, annotation, and compilation of ancient texts alongside academic research works, and continues to issue simplified and collector's editions that balance scholarship and accessibility. Public information about the publisher's fuller publishing profile is limited.

导读
词话序
凡例
词话上卷
词话下卷
词品上卷
词品下卷
词辨上卷
词辨下卷
词评上卷
词评下卷

FAQ

What is the relationship between this book and Tang Guizhang's Ci Hua Cong Bian?

Gu Jin Ci Hua is an independent Qing dynasty work, later included in Tang Guizhang's comprehensive Ci Hua Cong Bian. The Shanghai Classics stand-alone edition is generally an independently edited version of Gu Jin Ci Hua, convenient for focused reading and research.

Are all the views in the book Shen Xiong's own?

No. The book is primarily a compilation: Shen Xiong drew widely on ci criticism, notes, poetry talks, and even histories from earlier and contemporary periods, often appending his own comments. Sources are clearly indicated, but some texts are now lost, which gives the compilation high value.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to ci studies?

Not really as a first book. Its content is miscellaneous and lacks modern disciplinary system. Better to begin with contemporary surveys of ci history and poetics to build a basic framework, then use this book as an advanced reader for broadening perspective and encountering primary materials.

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About the author

沈雄 Author

Shen Xiong was a Qing-dynasty compiler of works on ci poetry. His life is now difficult to verify, and publicly available information about him is limited. Judging from the works attributed to him, his writings center on the genre of ci. His representative work, Gujin Cihua (Remarks on Ci from Ancient and Modern Times), draws widely on anecdotes about ci poets of successive eras, the circumstances behind individual works, and critical views on ci, combining breadth of material with a reference function for both source compilation and criticism. The book follows the traditional cihua format of recording as one goes and letting anecdote carry argument; its language is concise and its entries clear, making it easy for readers to follow a ci to its story and from the story to its critical point. Besides Gujin Cihua, the collection holds one related work by him, showing that his focus remained on preserving and organizing historical materials for ci studies. Though such work is not distinguished by theoretical originality, it offers later scholars useful leads for studying the origins and development of ci, the interactions among ci poets, and the fashions of the ci world, and it holds a place in the transmission of classical Chinese poetic literature.