Imperially Committed Register of Ci Tune Patterns
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Summary
Traditional Chinese culture has a long intellectual lineage, marked by a high degree of originality, inventiveness, and literary quality. Early thought forms are highly distinctive: religious theology, classical texts of Chinese medicine, ancient military strategy, Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist, and other schools of thought, feng shui and metaphysical learning, the Twenty-Four Histories, and local customs and geography—all are profound and far-reaching. This "Essence of Classic Chinese Learning: Original Texts" series preserves the appearance of the original books, with the emphasis on conserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers can cultivate their character and quietly absorb the classics of Chinese learning.
Editor's review
The Qinding Cipu is an official Qing-dynasty reference work on ci poetics, systematically recording ci tune patterns, line structures, tonal patterns, and rhyme positions. It has long been regarded as an essential metrical handbook for ci composers. This edition belongs to the "Essence of Classic Chinese Learning: Original Texts" series, which preserves the original appearance of the text and provides readers with a reliable reference for metrical patterns. Its value lies not in casual reading but in lookup and comparison: each ci tune entry lists the number of characters, punctuation, tonal marks, and sample lyrics in detail, helping beginners identify the structural form of each tune and enabling composers to write to the pattern and verify tonal rules. For readers studying ci poetics, textual editions, and Qing scholarship, this book also serves as a sample for observing the compilation style of official works. When reading, one should first become familiar with the notation system, then compare tune by tune using common patterns, and consult famous ci works alongside, in order to appreciate the relationship between metrical rules and literary expression. If one seeks only appreciation of ci works, the metrical information in this book will seem dense and dry.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Classical poetry enthusiasts learning to compose ci who need to check tune patterns, tonal rules, and rhyme positions
- University teachers and students engaged in ci studies or Qing textual scholarship who need to consult an official ci manual
- Readers who wish to systematically understand ci tune structures and are willing to compare famous ci works against the patterns
- Traditional culture readers who collect original classics and value editions that preserve the appearance of old books
Not a good fit for
- General literary readers who only want to read beautiful ci works and are not interested in metrical notation
- Beginner readers seeking modern vernacular annotations and line-by-line explanations
- Readers expecting light recreational reading who do not wish to consult a reference handbook
Reading tips
- First read the preface or editorial notes to understand the meanings of the tonal, punctuation, and rhyme notation before consulting the patterns.
- Start with common short tunes such as Huanxisha and Die Lian Hua, and verify familiar ci works line by line against the patterns.
- Keep a pen and a selection of famous ci at hand, annotating while consulting the patterns to build your own notes on metrical rules.
- Do not read straight through; look up tunes according to your writing or research needs, and repeatedly compare sample lyrics with the patterns.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 钦定词谱 卷首
- 提要
- 《御制词谱》序
- 词谱凡例
- 钦定词谱 卷一 上
- 钦定词谱 卷一 下
- 钦定词谱 卷二 上
- 钦定词谱 卷二 下
- 钦定词谱 卷三 上
- 钦定词谱 卷三 下
- 钦定词谱 卷四 上
- 钦定词谱 卷四 下
- 钦定词谱 卷五 上
- 钦定词谱 卷五 下
- 钦定词谱 卷六 上
- 钦定词谱 卷六 下
- 钦定词谱 卷七 上
- 钦定词谱 卷七 下
- 钦定词谱 卷八 上
- 钦定词谱 卷八 下
- 钦定词谱 卷九 上
- 钦定词谱 卷九 下
- 钦定词谱 卷十 上
- 钦定词谱 卷十 下
- 钦定词谱 卷十一 上
- 钦定词谱 卷十一 下
- 钦定词谱 卷十二 上
- 钦定词谱 卷十二 下
- 钦定词谱 卷十三 上
- 钦定词谱 卷十三 下
- 钦定词谱 卷十四 上
- 钦定词谱 卷十四 下
- 钦定词谱 卷十五 上
- 钦定词谱 卷十五 下
- 钦定词谱 卷十六 上
- 钦定词谱 卷十六 下
- 钦定词谱 卷十七 上
- 钦定词谱 卷十七 下
- 钦定词谱 卷十八 上
- 钦定词谱 卷十八 下
- 钦定词谱 卷十九 上
- 钦定词谱 卷十九 下
- 钦定词谱 卷二十 上
- 钦定词谱 卷二十 下
- 钦定词谱 卷二十一 上
- 钦定词谱 卷二十一 下
- 钦定词谱 卷二十二 上
- 钦定词谱 卷二十二 下
- 钦定词谱 卷二十三 上
- 钦定词谱 卷二十三 下
- 钦定词谱 卷二十四 上
- 钦定词谱 卷二十四 下
- 钦定词谱 卷二十五 上
- 钦定词谱 卷二十五 下
- 钦定词谱 卷二十六 上
- 钦定词谱 卷二十六 下
- 钦定词谱 卷二十七 上
- 钦定词谱 卷二十七 下
- 钦定词谱 卷二十八 上
- 钦定词谱 卷二十八 下
- 钦定词谱 卷二十九 上
- 钦定词谱 卷二十九 下
- 钦定词谱 卷三十 上
- 钦定词谱 卷三十 下
- 钦定词谱 卷三十一 上
- 钦定词谱 卷三十一 下
- 钦定词谱 卷三十二 上
- 钦定词谱 卷三十二 下
- 钦定词谱 卷三十三 上
- 钦定词谱 卷三十三 下
- 钦定词谱 卷三十四 上
- 钦定词谱 卷三十四 下
- 钦定词谱 卷三十五 上
- 钦定词谱 卷三十五 下
- 钦定词谱 卷三十六 上
- 钦定词谱 卷三十六 下
- 钦定词谱 卷三十七 上
- 钦定词谱 卷三十七 下
- 钦定词谱 卷三十八 上
- 钦定词谱 卷三十八 下
- 钦定词谱 卷三十九 上
- 钦定词谱 卷三十九 下
- 钦定词谱 卷四十 上
FAQ
Is this book suitable for someone with no foundation learning to compose ci?
It can be used as a reference work, but it should not be the only introductory book. The book focuses on metrical notation and sample lyrics and lacks modern vernacular explanation. Readers with no foundation should first read an introductory book on ci basics to understand concepts such as tune patterns, tonal rules, and rhyme categories, then return to consult the patterns for greater efficiency.
How is this book different from an ordinary ci anthology?
Ordinary ci anthologies focus on appreciation of works, while this book centers on ci tune metrics, recording line structures, tonal patterns, and rhyme positions for composing and verification. It is more like a reference manual for lookup, read by comparison and searching rather than straight through.
Do I need to read it in order from beginning to end?
No. The book is suitable for on-demand lookup; readers can go directly to the entry for the tune they wish to compose or study. To become systematically familiar with it, one may first select several common tunes and study them one by one, gaining experience with the notation before expanding to other tunes.
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About the author
王奕清
Author
Wang Yiqing: public sources offer very limited information about his life, and his birth and death years, native place, and official career are not clearly recorded. What can be confirmed is his connection with the compilation of the poetic-lexicographical work Qinding Cipu (Imperially Commissioned Manual of Ci Tunes). This Qing-dynasty official manual of ci tunes systematically organizes the metrical patterns of ci, listing tune names, line structures, tonal patterns, and rhyme schemes, with sample lyrics for reference; it is an important reference work for the study of ci form. The work suggests that Wang Yiqing's involvement lay in documentary organization and metrical scholarship, with attention to completeness of format and clarity of norms rather than to the display of a personal creative style. Because records are scarce, present-day knowledge of Wang Yiqing rests mainly on Qinding Cipu, and his place in the history of ci scholarship survives through that book. Overall, Wang Yiqing is an editor-type figure known through limited materials and an imperially commissioned manual of ci tunes.
