Line configuration and poetic vision are probably the two most important subjects
of inquiry in traditional Chinese poetry criticism. The study of line configuration,
called jufa (sentence rules), is essentially an analysis of how monosyllabic and disyl-
labic words form a poetic line or couplet to create certain unique rhythm and aes-
thetic effect. Poetic vision, called yixiang/yijing (idea-image/idea-scape), refers to a
heightened presentation of outer and inner realities, characterized by the “beyond-
ness” of one kind or another—“the meaning beyond words” (yan wai zhi yi), “the
image beyond images” (xiang wai zhi xiang), “the scene beyond scenes (jing wai
zhi jing),” and the like. The traditional study of poetic vision is usually an impres-
sionistic description of such “beyondness” in the rarefied terms of aesthetics.
Bifurcated as they seem, concrete line configuration and nebulous poetic vision
are inextricably intertwined. While line configuration provides the foundation for
the creation of poetic vision, poetic vision breathes life into poetic lines, making
them dynamic and engaging. Traditional Chinese critics became aware of this con-
nection long ago. As early as the sixth century, Zhong Rong (ca. 469–518) pointed
out the connection between pentasyllabic lines and new pleasurable, inexhaustible
tastes of poetry.1 More than a millennium later, the Qing critic Liu Xizai (1813–
1881) went one step further to explore the deeper connection between internal
rhythms of tetrasyllabic, pentasyllabic, and heptasyllabic lines and different poetic
visions.2 In a way, our close reading of the 143 poems in this anthology is an inno-
vative continuation of this millennia-old critical endeavor. Drawing from modern
linguistic and aesthetic theories, many of us have sought to understand why poetic
lines, if configured in certain manners, can yield ineffable aesthetic experience.
Here I shall synthesize our findings and present a broad outline for a systematic
study of the rhythms, syntax, and visions in Chinese poetry.
r e t h i n k i n g j u f a:
t ow a rD a n i n t e g r a t i o n oF r h y t h m a nD s y n ta xRhythm and syntax are two principal issues in the study of line configuration in
Chinese poetry. Rhythm primarily concerns the oral-aural dimension and syntax
primarily the spatiotemporal-logical dimension in the ordering of words.
In studying line configuration, traditional Chinese scholars were preoccupied
with rhythm to the neglect of syntax. Six Dynasties critics like Zhi Yu (d. 211)
and Liu Xie (ca. 465–ca. 522) recognized that major genres and subgenres each
have their distinctive line types. Some employ lines of fixed length (trisyllabic,
❀ 18 ❀
A Synthesis
Rhythm, Syntax, and Vision of Chinese Poetry