The Tang Collection Before the Wine Cup

AnonymousJun 2024

4.2

Word count: 15K words
Chapters: 59

Summary

Traditional Chinese thought and culture have a long history and are highly original, inventive and literary. Early forms of thought have distinctive features: 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, customs and local gazetteers, and more—profound and extensive. This "Essence of Chinese Classics: Original Cultural Texts" series preserves the original appearance of the books, emphasizing the preservation and transmission of traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers cultivate temperament and subtly encounter classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

Zunqian ji of the Tang is one of the titles in the "Essence of Chinese Classics: Original Cultural Texts" series, attributed to an unknown compiler and belonging to the category of Tang–Five Dynasties ci anthologies. "Zunqian" generally refers to the setting of banquets and drinking parties; the selected works are mostly short ci tunes, with subjects including feasting, boudoir feelings, scenery and parting thoughts, collectively presenting the character of early ci as sung at banquets. This book preserves the original appearance of the text, emphasizing documentary preservation and transmission, and is suitable for readers who wish to experience the natural voice of Tang–Five Dynasties ci and the forms of early ci tunes. It should not be measured against the strict prosodic rules of Song ci; instead, attention should be paid to line patterns, mood and performance context. For the study of ci history and of how ci moved from folk and banquet settings into literati composition, this book has reference value as an anthology; general readers may also use it as a handy volume of short ci, reading by tune and savoring repeatedly.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students of literature studying ci history or interested in Tang–Five Dynasties ci anthologies
Readers who enjoy short ci and wish to understand the character of early ci
Researchers in classical Chinese literature seeking documentary leads on Tang–Five Dynasties ci

Not a good fit for

Beginners expecting detailed annotations, appreciation of each piece and vernacular translation
Readers interested only in famous works by major poets, with limited interest in an anonymous anthology

Reading tips

First understand the relationship between "zunqian" and banquet song lyrics, then move on to the individual ci.
Read selectively by tune or theme; there is no need to read page by page in order.
Use a ci history textbook or annotated Tang–Five Dynasties ci anthology alongside it to ease comprehension.

版权信息
尊前集
《尊前集》跋
明皇一首
好时光
昭宗二首
巫山一段云二首
庄宗四首
李王五首
李白十二首
菩萨蛮三首
韦应物四首
王健十首
杜牧一首
刘禹锡三十八首
潇湘神二首
白居易二十六首
卢贞一首
司空图一首
韩偓二首
薛能十八首
成文干十首
冯延巳三首
温飞卿五首
皇甫松十首
韦庄五首
张泌一首
毛文锡一首
欧阳炯三十一首
赤枣子二首
女冠子二首
玉楼春二首
更漏子二首
定风波
木兰花
清平乐
菩萨蛮四首
和凝七首
孙光宪二十三首
南歌子二首
应天长
生查子四首
遐方怨
更漏子四首
魏承班六首
谒金门三首
阎选二首
尹鹗十一首
李珣十八首
李王八首
冯延巳七首
李王一首
庾传素一首
刘侍读一首
欧阳彬一首
许岷二首
林楚烟一首
薛昭蕴一首
徐昌图三首

FAQ

What does Zunqian ji mainly collect?

It belongs to the category of Tang–Five Dynasties ci anthologies, and most of its selections are short ci tunes sung at banquets. Common subjects include feasting, boudoir feelings, parting thoughts and scenery. This book preserves the original appearance of the text, allowing readers to observe the line patterns, mood and performance context of early ci, rather than treating it as the collected works of a single poet.

Does this book have annotations and appreciation?

This series emphasizes preserving the original appearance of the books and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional texts; it generally does not center on detailed annotations or piece-by-piece appreciation. Readers who need vernacular explanations or background research should consult separately edited editions with collation, annotation and commentary; this book is better used as a companion to the original text.

How should general readers approach it?

Begin by browsing short, accessible tunes at random to get a feel for the voice and situations of early ci, then use basic knowledge of ci history to understand their place in the development of the form. Look up unfamiliar characters and words in reference works; there is no need to finish it in one go. Reading selectively by tune or theme is easier.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.