The Complete Ci Poems of Li Haogu

全宋词Jul 2024

3.4

Word count: 1.4K words
Chapters: 9

Summary

This collection is part of the Complete Song Ci. Ci poetry began in the Southern Liang, took shape in the Tang, and reached its height in the Song. Tang poetry and Song ci have long been acclaimed as twin peaks, each representing the literature of a major historical era. According to statistics, more than 1,300 poets of the Northern and Southern Song left ci works to posterity, with a total of nearly 20,000 pieces—a figure that conveys the scale of composition at the time. Song ci mainly falls into two styles, the "delicate and restrained" and the "bold and unconstrained," each excelling in its own beauty and reaching its own heights, rich and varied.

Editor's review

This book compiles Li Haogu's ci from the Complete Song Ci, a collection of one poet's works extracted from the comprehensive anthology. Li Haogu's extant ci are few in number; precisely because of its brevity, this volume serves as a slice through one facet of Southern Song ci: it allows close study of his choice of tunes, diction, and conception, and also invites readers to place him within the grand landscape of more than a thousand ci poets and nearly 20,000 works across the two Song dynasties, and to observe how an individual poet navigated between the two major stylistic currents of the delicate and the bold. For specialist readers, it is convenient textual material for concentrated consultation; for general enthusiasts, it is better suited as a thematic supplement than as an introductory book to Song ci. It should be read alongside the history of the Southern Song and the evolution of the ci form to appreciate the larger picture through small details.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars of classical literature researching Southern Song ci and the textual tradition of the Complete Song Ci
Enthusiasts with some grounding in Song ci who wish to extend their reading to lesser-known poets
Teachers and students needing Li Haogu's ci texts for classroom teaching or thesis writing
Those interested in textual compilation who are curious about the format of single-author collections extracted from comprehensive anthologies

Not a good fit for

Complete beginners to Song ci hoping to start with famous works by major poets
Readers who need detailed annotations, appreciation, and vernacular translations to assist their reading
Readers who prefer long-form monographs over primary ci texts

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the overall character, then examine rare characters, words, and allusions poem by poem.
Read Li Haogu's ci alongside works in the same tunes by famous contemporaries, comparing differences in conception and diction.
After reading, consult the relevant volumes of the Complete Song Ci to confirm that the selected pieces match the comprehensive anthology.
Take brief notes on the historical context of the Southern Song to help understand the emotional orientation of the ci.

版权信息
八声甘州
江城子
水调歌头
酹江月
贺新郎
清平乐
浣溪沙
菩萨蛮

FAQ

Does Li Haogu have a large number of ci works?

The source material does not give an exact count of pieces, but among the more than 1,300 poets included in the Complete Song Ci, Li Haogu is a poet with relatively few extant ci. This volume is correspondingly concise, suited to concentrated reading rather than grand scale.

Is this book suitable for beginners to Song ci?

Not really. This book is a single-author collection extracted from the comprehensive anthology, focused on providing texts and lacking annotations and guidance for beginners. It is advisable to first read annotated anthologies of Song ci to build a foundation before turning to such single-author collections.

What is the relationship between this book and the Complete Song Ci?

According to the source material, the content of this book is taken from the Complete Song Ci and is the compilation of Li Haogu's ci from that comprehensive anthology. Readers may regard it as a thematic extract of the Complete Song Ci, convenient for studying this poet's works separately.

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About the author

全宋词 Author

Quan Song Ci (Complete Song Ci) is not a single ci poet but the compiler name used for the dynastic anthology of Song ci; this site lists 114 works under that author entry. Public information is limited, so no personal biography can be confirmed. The titles indicate edited collections of individual Song poets, including complete ci by major figures such as Xin Qiji and Li Qingzhao, as well as works by Chao Buzhi, Zhang Lei, Chen Shidao, Liu Kezhuang, Jiang Kui, and Liu Chenweng from various periods of the Song. These editions generally aim to preserve, collate, recover, and annotate the surviving ci, keeping the original character of the texts while making each poet's works accessible for reading and for research on themes, tonal patterns, and stylistic change. The series reflects the philological approach of dynastic compilations and serves as a bridge between popular access to classical texts and scholarly study of ci, and is commonly classified under ancient poetry.