Lyrics with Original Stories

叶申芗Jul 2024

3.7

Word count: 45K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

Traditional Chinese thought and culture have a long history and are highly original, inventive and literary. Early intellectual forms are distinctive: religious theology, classical texts of Chinese medicine, ancient military strategy, Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist and Hundred Schools thought, feng shui and metaphysics, the Twenty-Four Histories, and local customs and geography—all are profound and vast. This "Essence of Classic Chinese Culture Original Texts" series preserves the original appearance of the texts and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers cultivate temperament and subtly engage with the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

The Craft of Song Lyrics (Benshi Ci) is a work of ci criticism by Ye Shenxiang of the Qing dynasty and one of the titles in the "Essence of the Chinese Classics" series. Dedicated to preserving the original form of its source texts, the series focuses on conserving and transmitting traditional thought and culture; the value of this book therefore lies not in popularizing annotation but in offering a text close to the original, allowing readers to encounter directly the ci aesthetics and critical approach of the ancients. The book links ci works with anecdotes under the thread of "benshi" (origins and circumstances); reading it offers glimpses of ci-world lore while conveying how Qing critics evaluated ci compositions, and it is helpful both for understanding traditional ci discourse and for accumulating literary-historical material. It is best read as notes that are both informative and entertaining, without expecting a systematic theory of ci; reading it alongside the collected works or anthologies of the poets involved yields more substantial gains. It suits readers with some competence in literary Chinese and an interest in ci studies and literati anecdotes, to be dipped into and annotated at one's desk rather than read straight through.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with some grounding in literary Chinese who enjoy ci studies and literati anecdotes
Students of classical Chinese literature and ci scholars, usable as reference material
Classics enthusiasts who want to encounter the original text without relying on vernacular translation and annotation
Teachers and cultural workers who need ci-world anecdotes for writing or lectures

Not a good fit for

Beginners who struggle with literary Chinese and need sentence-by-sentence translation
Readers seeking systematic study of ci prosody and tonal patterns
Readers pursuing modern, systematized academic theories of ci

Reading tips

Read by poet or by ci entry in any order, without insisting on sequential reading; suited to scattered desk time.
When encountering an unfamiliar poet, consult that poet's collected works or an anthology to compare the anecdote with the work.
Keep a pen for marginal notes, recording useful anecdotes and critical remarks for easy retrieval in later writing or lecturing.
Read alongside other Qing works of ci criticism to compare critical perspectives and avoid relying on a single voice.

版权信息
自序
卷上唐五代北宋
卷下南宋辽金元

FAQ

What kind of book is Benshi Ci?

It is a work of ci criticism (cihua) by Ye Shenxiang of the Qing dynasty, linking ci works with related anecdotes in the "benshi" manner, belonging to the tradition of classical ci notes. Published in the "Classic Chinese Studies Essence: Original Texts" series, it preserves the original appearance of the book, with the emphasis on preserving and transmitting traditional thought and culture; it is not a modern annotated popular edition.

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

It will be rather hard going. The book preserves the original text and provides no vernacular translation or detailed annotation, so readers lacking classical Chinese proficiency will struggle. Beginners are advised to start with annotated ci anthologies or introductory works on ci studies, and return to this book once they have some grounding in classical Chinese, to appreciate the original flavor of its ci criticism.

Can one systematically learn to compose ci from this book?

No. The book focuses on the anecdotes behind ci works and on evaluation; it does not serve to teach ci prosody or tonal patterns. Those who wish to learn ci composition should turn to reference works on ci prosody and tonal patterns and introductory books on metrical rules. This book is better read as historical material on ci studies and literary anecdotes, to corroborate and enrich one's understanding of the background of ci works.

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About the author

叶申芗 Author

Ye Shenxiang is known to present-day readers chiefly through the Benshi Ci, a compilation of ci poetry and its associated anecdotes. Publicly available information about his life, official career, native place, and dates of birth and death is limited. The Benshi Ci is included in the "Chinese Classic Poetry Talks" series and is commonly classified as literary appreciation. Following the "benshi" convention, it gathers ci works together with related anecdotes, background stories, and commentary, presenting the poems within their specific contexts of composition and the figures involved. The book thus serves both as a source collection and as an appreciation guide. Its style is primarily narrative, clearly organized, and plain in language, making it easy for readers to learn about the background and transmission of ci works while reading them. The two works by Ye Shenxiang held in the library are both related to the Benshi Ci, indicating that his contribution lies mainly in the compilation and arrangement of this body of ci-talk literature. For readers who wish to understand ci poetry through anecdotal线索, the book offers a convenient introduction and retains some documentary reference value.