Collected Ci of Zhang Yan

张炎Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJul 2024

4.6

Word count: 2K words
Chapters: 20

Report an error Find this book

Summary

Zhang Yan's Ci Collection is a work of contemporary fiction by Zhang Yan.

Editor's review

Zhang Yan was a major ci poet of the late Song and early Yuan, and his collection has long been known for its clear, lofty, refined and elegant quality and profound implicit meaning. This Zhang Yan's Ci Collection, presented in the form of a traditional publishing house edition, is suitable as an introductory and reference text for studying his ci. In it readers can concentrate on Zhang Yan's layered touches of scenery, personal circumstance, and sense of dynastic loss; the language is clear and beautiful, the threads of meaning finely woven, and reading it offers both musical beauty and the resonance of historical vicissitude. For readers who wish to understand how Song ci transformed at the turn of dynasties, this is a collection that provides concrete textual evidence; for those who write classical-style poetry, it also offers a model for refining diction, using allusion, and structuring a piece. It is best read slowly and savored, not necessarily in one sitting; with brief annotations on tune patterns and allusions, repeated immersion will reveal all the more its clear, lofty realm and deep, brooding thought.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who love Song ci and wish to read Zhang Yan's representative works closely
Students of classical literature who need to study late Song and early Yuan ci texts
Writers of classical-style poetry who want to study the clear, lofty, refined structure
Readers interested in literati emotional expression at the turn of dynasties

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer the narrative pace and plot of contemporary fiction
Beginners with no foundation in classical Chinese who are unwilling to consult annotations
Readers who want only an overview of ci theory and not the actual works

Reading tips

Read through once, mark the poems that move you most, then examine each for allusions and tune patterns.
Keep a notebook and excerpt by category—scenery, objects, personal reflection—comparing habits of diction.
Read several aloud to feel the musicality and syntactic rhythm, then return to the written structure.
Read alongside late Song and early Yuan historical context, but let the text lead and avoid over-allegorizing.

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

版权信息
序
1.鹧鸪天
2.清平乐
3.清平乐
4.朝中措
5.阮郎归·有怀北游
6.浪淘沙·题陈汝朝百鹭画卷
7.解连环·孤雁
8.满庭芳·小春
9.高阳台·西湖春感
10.甘州
11.月下笛
12.梅子黄时雨·病后别罗江诸友
13.声声慢·题吴梦窗遗笔
14.长亭怨·旧居有感
15.祝英台近（与周草窗话旧）
16.水龙吟·白莲
17.绮罗香·红叶
18.疏影·梅影

FAQ

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

You can try, but you will need annotations and reference tools. Start with short poems with few allusions, use vernacular translations or dictionaries to clarify words, gradually accumulate common images and allusions, and then read works with deeper implicit meaning; the difficulty will drop noticeably.

Is Zhang Yan's ci collection suitable as an introduction to Song ci?

It is better as an advanced reader. Zhang Yan's ci emphasizes clarity, allusion, and structure; beginners who first read more straightforward poets such as Yan Shu or Li Qingzhao and then come to Zhang Yan will more easily appreciate his implicit, deeply婉 style and are less likely to be frustrated by dense allusions.

Do I need to know ci tune patterns to read this collection?

You need not master tune patterns systematically first, but knowing the general line structure and emotional character of common tunes helps. Note structural variation among works in the same tune, read aloud to feel rhythm, and tune knowledge will accumulate naturally through repeated reading; do not aim for completeness at the start.

Comments

Find this book

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

张炎 Author

Zhang Yan is a Song-dynasty ci poet, though public information about his life and official career is limited; his dates of birth and death, nationality, and English name are not clearly recorded in the available data. The collection contains nine works attributed to him, mainly focused on ci scholarship. These include compilations of his ci poetry such as The Complete Ci of Zhang Yan, The Ci of Zhang Yan, and Ci of the White Clouds in the Mountains, as well as the specialized study Ciyuan. These works show that his writing centers on classical poetry, especially the ci form, and also covers the organization of tonal patterns, compositional methods, and theories of creation, with a refined and restrained style that emphasizes the harmony of sound and mood. The library also classifies related material under social fiction, folk literature, culture, and philosophy, indicating that his editorial writings extend into other subjects. Zhang Yan's works on ci scholarship offer reference texts and theoretical clues for later study of Song ci and hold a certain documentary value.