Remarks on Ci Poetry from the Rengu Tower

夏敬观Jun 2024

3.8

Word count: 47K words
Chapters: 94

Summary

Traditional Chinese thought and culture have a long history and are 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 of Thought, feng shui and metaphysics, the Twenty-Four Histories, customs and local gazetteers—all are profound and extensive. This series, "Essential Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture: Original Texts," preserves the appearance of the original books and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers can cultivate their temperament and imperceptibly come to appreciate the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

Ren Gu Lou Ci Hua is an important work by Xia Jingguan on ci poetry, recording in the form of traditional ci hua his evaluations of ci poets and works across the dynasties and his views on ci poetics. The book offers appreciations of specific lines and also discusses ci prosody, origins, and stylistic distinctions, reflecting the perspective of a modern ci scholar who was both critic and practitioner. As part of the series "Essential Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture: Original Texts," this edition preserves the appearance of the original book, making it easy for readers to encounter the original form of the ci hua. Its value lies in offering lovers of ci poetry a reading path close to traditional criticism; it is suitable, after one has read a certain number of famous Tang and Song ci poems, for comparison and reference, allowing readers to experience the discursive habits and aesthetic orientations of the ancients when discussing ci. It should be read slowly and savored, not rushed through; consulting it alongside specific ci works will better convey the pleasure of the ci hua's mixture of narrative and comment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in traditional ci hua and ci criticism
Those who have read anthologies of Tang and Song ci and wish to learn more about ci style
Readers who enjoy item-by-item commentary and slow-reading note-style texts
Readers engaged in teaching classical literature or introductory research on ci poetry

Not a good fit for

Complete beginners with no foundation in ci poetry who wish to start with a systematic textbook
Readers expecting modern vernacular explanations or sentence-by-sentence translation aids
Those who prefer plot-driven, story-based reading experiences

Reading tips

Begin with entries on ci poets you already know, then gradually extend to unfamiliar ones
Keep an anthology of Tang and Song ci at hand for comparison, turning to the original works whenever a ci is quoted
Jot down the book's comments and your own impressions as you go, forming reading notes
Read only a few entries at a time to avoid aesthetic fatigue from continuous reading

版权信息
文道希
郑叔问陈伯弢
张次珊
桂伯华
蔡公忏
严幼陵
陶伯荪
王又点
洪泽丞
汪憬吾
姚景之
吕贞伯
叶遐庵
黄<躬勹>庵
诸贞长
王半塘
冒疚斋
吴湖帆
夏瞿禅
张次珊
刘麟生
易实甫
陈瞿庵
黄秋岳
赵叔雍
陈蒙庵
张孟劬
杨梓勤
胡栗长
龙榆生
林子有
梁众异
李释戡
左幼聊
皮鹿门
蒯礼卿
杨铁夫
杨昀谷
胡研孙
赵尧生
周二窗
陈石遗
王壬秋杨蓬海陶子缜
邵次公
郭啸麓
潘兰史
郁葆青康竹鸣
李拔可
朱大可
瞿兑之
溥心畲
夏午诒
廖忏庵
黄公度
余伯陶
卢冀野
潘若海
吴董卿
粤三家词
雁来红图卷词录
徐仲可
恽瑾叔
汪衮甫汪旭初
吴瞿安
陈伯平
黄君坦
陈寥士
劳玉初
陈师曾
俞阶青
郑翼谋
梁公约
沈子培
张文襄
陈寅恪方恪
程彦清子大
严载如
邵伯
袁文薮
关颖人
沈尹默
邵莲士蔡师愚
彭莼思
许季纯
陈倦鹤
吴仲言
徐绍周
易大厂
张次珊
王木斋
寿石工
许守白
谭祖庚

FAQ

Can I read this book without any background in ci poetry?

You can try, but there will be a certain threshold. The book involves ci patterns, prosody, and poets of successive dynasties; if you know nothing about Tang and Song ci, you may lose your bearings while reading. It is advisable to read a concise ci anthology or an introductory work on ci poetics first, then return to this book, and your understanding will be much smoother.

Is this book the complete original or an edited selection?

According to the available information, this edition belongs to the series "Essential Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture: Original Texts," which focuses on preserving the original appearance of the books in order to transmit traditional thought and culture. For the specific arrangement of contents, please refer to the copyright page and table of contents of the physical copy; before reading, you may browse the table of contents to understand the scope and format of what is included.

How should one read a work in the ci hua genre?

Ci hua are mostly note-style entries and need not be read straight through in order. You can treat the book as both a reference and a work for appreciation, dipping into entries about poets or ci works that interest you and comparing them with the original works as you read, savoring the measure and preferences in the comments; this is more effective than reading it all at once.

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

夏敬观 Author

Xia Jingguan was a modern scholar and poet, though available public information about him is limited and many details of his life remain unclear. Four of his works are included here: Mei Yaochen's Poems, Cihua from Rengu Lou, Shihua from Rengu Lou, and Xueshan Shihua. These titles show that his scholarly interests centered on the compilation, commentary, and theoretical study of classical poetry and ci. Cihua from Rengu Lou and Shihua from Rengu Lou use the traditional cihua and shihua forms to discuss the origins and development of poetry and ci, compositional methods, and individual writers and works, combining appreciation with criticism. Mei Yaochen's Poems reflects his work on Song dynasty poetry, while Xueshan Shihua likewise belongs to the shihua tradition. His writing follows the traditional literati style of note-form commentary, emphasizing personal insight and appreciation in concise language. His works are commonly classified under classical poetry, culture, Eastern philosophy, and literary appreciation, and may serve as reference for enthusiasts and researchers of classical Chinese poetry.