Ci Poems of Retreat into Zen

Escape Chan Ci collects 172 ci by Yang Wujiu and offers a concrete text for understanding the ci scene of the early Southern Song. Yang Wujiu was renowned for the three perfections of poetry, calligraphy, and painting; his ci mostly treat love between men and women, in ornate language and delicate description, with a clear and graceful quality within the restrained and tender tradition. Readers can find both the refined portrayal of emotion and scene characteristic of the traditional ci form and the aloof stance implied by the author's style name "Escaping Chan"—history records that Qin Hui sought his work and could not obtain it, an indifference to fame and gain that mirrors his ci style. This edition gives modern readers the convenience of reading Yang Wujiu's ci together, suited to careful reading in quiet hours to appreciate his wordcraft and scene-making. For readers interested in the evolution of the Song ci form and the interplay of literati painting, calligraphy, and literary exchange, this book also serves as a case study to be read against contemporary collections, revealing the continuity and change of the restrained and tender style around the time of the southward crossing.