c i P oe t ry : s Hor t s ong ly riC s 251but later ci pattern books also commonly list a number of variations on the same
tune title. The first line sets the tone for the reproaches that will follow by fore-
grounding the fact that it is the man who had left her. Her straight answers to
each question in turn enumerate evidence of the man’s neglect (“I tied the love
knot in my own silk sash [since you were not here to tie it]”) and her own faithful-
ness (“These streaks in my makeup are from crying for you”). The speaker uses
the humble first-person feminine pronoun qie (literally, concubine) in line 9 and
the intimate second-person address lang jun (used by a woman for her husband
or lover) in line 8; together, these place the entire defense in the context of an
intimate and faithful relationship. The “cypresses” and pine trees in line 9 are
traditional symbols of integrity and faithfulness because they do not change with
the seasons. The poem ends with a word-for-word reiteration of the declaration of
devotion in line 2.
The first poem follows the contours of the male gaze as it takes in elements of
the woman’s appearance that are conventionally associated with abandonment, be-
ginning with her posture in a doorway and then moving up and down her body. As
such, it makes explicit the suggestion of eroticism that had been attached to some
conventional depictions of abandoned women, especially in the sensuous palace-
style poetry of the Six Dynasties period, which preceded the Tang (chap. 7). When
the second speaker couches the same elements in a defense of her faithfulness, the
audience associates them with other abandoned women’s voices from the folk tra-
dition, in which male changeability is typically contrasted with female constancy.
These references lend credibility and weight to the woman’s defense, although it
is still difficult for us to resist questioning its reliability.
The next three poems in this selection are found in the literati ci anthology
Huajian ji. Although it represented an effort to legitimize the song lyric as a genre,
the Huajian ji is largely dominated by what were considered “feminine” themes of
love and abandonment. It is the influence of the more ornate and sensuous strain
of abandonment complaints, influenced by Six Dynasties palace-style poetry, that
we see in this first selection, by Wen Tingyun. A skilled musician with a reputa-
tion for frequenting the pleasure quarters, Wen Tingyun is usually credited with
having adapted the popular form of the ci for a literati audience; he also originated
a number of tune patterns. The influence of literati sensibilities should be appar-
ent in the poem’s diction and imagery.
C 1 2. 4
To the Tune “On the Water Clock at Night”Incense in the jade burner,
2 Red wax tears
Unbidden, reflect an autumn mood in the painted hall.
4 Blackened brows fade,
Cloud locks are tousled,
6 The night is long, quilt and pillow cold.