Hundred Flowers Tanci

钱涛Jun 2024

2.8

Word count: 9.9K words
Chapters: 6

Summary

Traditional Chinese thought and culture have a long history, marked by a high degree of originality, inventiveness and literary quality. Early intellectual forms are highly distinctive: religious theology, medical classics, ancient military texts, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and the Hundred Schools, feng shui and metaphysics, the Twenty-Four Histories, and local customs and geography are all vast and profound in content. This "Classic Chinese Studies: Essential Cultural Original Texts" series preserves the original appearance of the texts, with the emphasis on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers can cultivate their temperament and come to appreciate the classics of Chinese studies imperceptibly.

Editor's review

Baihua Tanci (The Hundred Flowers in Tanci) is a work in the tanci (plucked-string ballad) form by Qian Tao. Taking "the hundred flowers" as its theme, it uses flowers to express personal feeling and unfolds its sung verses, making it a rather distinctive specimen of traditional narrative-singing literature. This edition is included in the "Classic Chinese Studies: Essential Cultural Original Texts" series, preserving the original appearance of the text and focusing on preserving and transmitting traditional thought and culture. Its highlights are: the tanci form combines narrative with the beauty of chanting, with flexible line patterns that are easy to recite, allowing readers to feel the linguistic appeal of folk narrative singing directly; and the "hundred flowers" theme brings its own layers of imagery and emotion, suited to close appreciation of its comparisons and implied sentiments. Readers need not be bound by textual scholarship; they can first read it aloud as verse to feel its rhythm and imagery, then note how the sung verses use flowers to figure people and scenery to express feeling. It suits readers interested in narrative-singing literature, popular literature and traditional verse, and can also serve as a light anthology for understanding the tanci genre.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in tanci, narrative-singing and other forms of popular literature
Readers who enjoy traditional verse and are willing to recite it and savor its rhythm
Literature lovers drawn to the theme of flowers and to traditional imagery
General readers who want a light anthology giving them a sense of classics of Chinese studies in their original form

Not a good fit for

Specialist researchers needing detailed collation and textual criticism
Readers who prefer vernacular fiction or modern prose

Reading tips

First recite several passages aloud to feel the line patterns and rhymes of tanci, then go back to the meaning.
Note how flower names correspond to people, feelings and scenes in the sung verses, and jot down the threads of comparison and suggestion.
Read in sections, one or two songs at a time, to avoid aesthetic fatigue from reading straight through.

版权信息
钱塘钱涛怒白
今列女传
附录
李师师外传
附录

FAQ

What kind of genre is tanci?

Tanci is a form of traditional narrative-singing literature, characterized by a combination of verse and prose, meant to be both sung and spoken, with flexible line patterns and a strong sense of rhythm. This book adopts that form and, taking "the hundred flowers" as its theme, unfolds its sung verses, letting readers feel the rhythm and expressive manner of narrative-singing language.

Is this book suited to reading straight through from beginning to end?

It is better suited to reading in sections aloud. Works in the tanci form are valued for their linguistic rhythm and the charm of the sung verses, and reading straight through easily brings fatigue. It is better to read one or two passages at a time, chanting them aloud, then go back to the meaning and imagery; the reading experience will be better.

Does this book have annotations and explanations?

This book belongs to the "Classic Chinese Studies: Essential Cultural Original Texts" series, which focuses on preserving the original appearance of the text and presents the text as it is, rather than making vernacular annotation and explanation the focus of its editing. Readers may use reference works or background material on popular literature as they read.

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About the author

钱涛 Author

Public information about Qian Tao is currently limited, and no clear records of his life, native place, or dates of birth and death have been found. One work by him is held in the collection, Baihua Tanci (Verses on a Hundred Flowers). Judging from the title and genre, the book uses the tanci storytelling form to celebrate a hundred flowers, combining the popular appeal of narrative song literature with the traditional interest in describing objects to convey deeper feelings. Its subject matter is often classified under Eastern philosophy, suggesting that the content goes beyond portraying the forms of flowers and plants to express reflections on nature, life, and human affairs through floral imagery. Because relevant materials about the author are scarce, it is difficult to describe his life and the full scope of his writing in detail. Readers may begin with the text of Baihua Tanci to appreciate its linguistic rhythm and imagery, and to note the transitional features of tanci as a genre between folk transmission and literati writing. The work has some reference value for understanding how the theme of flowers is presented in narrative song literature.