Harmonizing with Qingzhen's Lyrics

方千里Jun 2024

3.2

Word count: 9.3K words
Chapters: 95

Summary

The intellectual tradition of China has a long history and is highly original, inventive, and literary. Early forms of thought are distinctive: religious theology, classical texts of Chinese medicine, ancient military strategy, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and the Hundred Schools, feng shui and metaphysical studies, the Twenty-Four Histories, and local customs and geography—all are profound and extensive. This series, "Essential Classics of Chinese Culture: Original Texts," preserves the original appearance of the books and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers cultivate character and quietly absorb the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

*He Qingzhen Ci* is Fang Qianli's collection of matching-rhyme responses to the Qingzhen ci of Zhou Bangyan, belonging to the tradition of he-Zhou ci in the history of ci scholarship and embodying Song poets' reception and re-creation of earlier ci. Published in the "Essential Classics of Chinese Culture: Original Texts" series, it prioritizes preserving the original text, allowing readers to observe how matching-rhyme works echo the originals in meter, diction, and sentiment. Its value lies in offering a practical model of ci composition: under the same tune, how to inherit the original's tonal and emotional character while striking out on one's own—this is the key pleasure of reading such works. Readers may wish to read in parallel with the originals, comparing similarities and differences in rhyme, syntax, and treatment of imagery, to better appreciate the measure of the matching-rhyme form. This book suits slow, careful reading rather than haste; for readers studying the transmission and reception of Song ci, it is a worthy desk reference.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying Song ci meter and the matching-rhyme tradition
Researchers interested in the reception history and textual transmission of ci scholarship
Lovers of classical literature who enjoy reading poems one by one in parallel and savoring them

Not a good fit for

Readers new to Song ci who need an introductory guide
Readers who only want anthologies of famous works and do not seek the full original text

Reading tips

First read the relevant Qingzhen ci originals, then compare each matching-rhyme work.
Keep a ci manual or rhyme dictionary at hand, and note how the matching-rhyme works handle rhyme.
After every few poems, record comparative observations to avoid sacrificing care for quantity.

版权信息
和清真词
瑞龙吟
琐窗寒
风流子
渡江云
应天长
荔枝香
荔枝香
还京乐
扫花游
解连环
玲珑四犯
丹凤吟
满江红
瑞鹤仙
西平乐
浪淘沙
忆旧游
蓦山溪
少年游
少年游
秋蕊香
渔家傲
渔家傲
南乡子
望江南
浣沙溪
浣沙溪
浣沙溪
迎春乐
迎春乐
点绛唇
一落索
一落索
垂丝钓
满庭芳
隔浦莲
法曲献仙音
过秦楼
侧犯
塞翁吟
苏幕遮
浣沙溪
浣沙溪
浣沙溪
浣沙溪
点绛唇
诉衷情
风流子
华胥引
宴清都
四园竹
齐天乐
木兰花
霜叶飞
蕙兰芳
塞垣春
丁香结
氐州第一
解蹀躞
少年游
庆春宫
醉桃源
醉桃源
点绛唇
夜游宫
夜游宫
诉衷情
伤情怨
红林檎近
红林檎近
满路花
解语花
六么令
倒犯
大酺
玉烛新（海棠）
花犯（荷花）
丑奴儿
水龙吟（海棠）
六丑
虞美人
虞美人
兰陵王
蝶恋花
蝶恋花
蝶恋花
蝶恋花
西河（钱塘）
三部乐
菩萨蛮
品令
玉楼春
满路花

FAQ

What does "he Qingzhen ci" mean?

"Qingzhen" refers to the Song dynasty ci poet Zhou Bangyan, and "he" means to match rhymes or write responses. Fang Qianli composed works following the tunes and rhymes of Zhou Bangyan's originals, forming matching-rhyme works. Understanding this convention is the prerequisite for reading this book.

Can I read this book without knowing Zhou Bangyan?

You can, but the experience will be diminished. The appeal of matching-rhyme works lies largely in their echoes of and variations on the originals. It is advisable to first become familiar with the basic character of several representative ci by Zhou Bangyan before entering this book; the reading effect will be noticeably different.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to Song ci?

Not really. This book is an original-text edition focused on preserving the original appearance of the text and lacks a systematic introduction for beginners. Readers with no background should first read annotated anthologies to build basic familiarity, then return to study a dedicated matching-rhyme collection such as this.

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About the author

方千里 Author

Fang Qianli was a Song dynasty ci poet whose life and official career can no longer be established in detail; basic information such as his nationality and dates of birth and death is limited in publicly available sources, so only a rough picture can be gained from his surviving work. One work by him is extant, the He Qingzhen ci, a collection of poems written in matching response to Zhou Bangyan's Qingzhen ci. Zhou's ci is known for strict prosody and tightly woven structure, and Fang matched each piece rhyme for rhyme, striving to conform to the original in tonal patterns and line divisions, which shows his familiarity with and esteem for Zhou's metrical art. Such matching poems are both a special form of literary appreciation and a kind of study and demonstration, allowing later readers to examine the transmission and reception of ci prosody in the Song. Because historical records are sparse, details of his life and his place in ci history remain difficult to determine, and readers should approach the matching poems themselves to understand his poetic orientation.