A Textual Study of Ci Gu:A Rare Cipu of Zhexi School Written in the Early Qing Dynasty
Ci Gu(《词鹄》),a voluminous Cipu(a genre of works dedicated to the study of the tonal patterns in Ci-poetry)spanning fifteen volumes,was published in 1705.Due to its rarity,Ci Gu remained largely unknown in academic circles until recently.The"hundred-year fervor"of Cipu compilation and study of tonal laws,which spanned from the late Ming to the early Qing Dynasty,marked a significant reconstruction of the tradition of Ci-poetry,with Ci Gu serving as a microcosm of this transformative period.The academic significance of Ci Gu is primarily reflected in three aspects:Firstly,it provides a historical linkage in the evolution of early Qing Cipu.Ci Gu was one of the earliest works to systematically critique The Rules of Ci-poetry(《词律》).Its authors,Sun Zhimi who is Scholar-in-Attendance,a close associate of Emperor Kangxi,and Lou Yan,one of editors of the Officially Approved Cipu(《钦定词谱》).Ci Gu laid foundational concepts later adopted in the Officially Approved Cipu,such as attaching importance to modes of ancient Chinese music and rigorous cross-checking.Ci Gu bridges the gap between The Rules of Ci-poetry and Officially Approved Cipu,also connecting with other Cipu writings like Xuansheng Ji(《选声集》),Tianci Tupu(《填词图谱》),and Hong'e xuan Cipai (《红萼轩词牌》).Works that historically connect academic traditions are usually well-known,so discovering new documents like Ci Gu with such characteristics is particularly noteworthy.Secondly,the research approaches of Ci Gu are characterized by its unique temporal features,with many of its designs being unprecedented or singular in the academic history.The method of"interchanging categories",which means that a poem is treated as a form under two tones at the same time,and distinguishing the melody of Ci-poetry based on special performance forms are uniquely historical design concepts found only in Ci Gu.Its innovative approaches,such as marking hidden rhymes within sentences,designing special symbols for each rhyme change,and refuting The Rules of Ci-poetry's method of"comparative study of front and back sections"and"checked tone replacing level tone",were groundbreaking in the academic history.Practices like using a comma to mark the beginning word became rare in Cipu after Ci Gu.The preservation of Ci Gu is fortuitous,for it has offered us a significant sample of an unnoticed era.Thirdly,Ci Gu provides possibilities for exploring the Cipu scholarly concepts of the Zhexi Ci-poetry School in the early Qing.Renowned for their mastery of tonal patterns,the Cipu works of the Zhexi School are rarely heard today.Despite their keen interest in Cipu studies,various reasons led to the failure of the publication of many works of Cipu like Ci Wei(《词纬》),Qiancaitang Cipu(《潜采堂谱》)and Qunya Ji(《群雅集》),thus Zhexi School had long been neglected in the academic writings of Cipu history.As friends and disciples of Zhu Yizun,Zhou Yun,and others,Sun Zhimi and Lou Yan's Ci Gu preserves precious clues for us to pursue the Cipu scholarship of the Zhexi School.
Ci GuThe Rules of Ci-poetryOfficially Approved CipuCipuZhexi Ci-poetry Schoolthe late Ming to the early Qing Dynasty
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