r Hy tHm, s y n taX , anD v ision oF C H i ne s e P oe t ry 383lovely◦ yao miao xi well decorated 美要眇兮宜修
quickly◦ I ride xi cassia boat 沛吾乘兮桂舟
These opening lines of “The Lord of the Xiang River” (C2.1) are clearly topic +
comment, with the trisyllabic segment as the topic and the disyllabic segment as
the comment. Although line 4 seems like subject + predicate, it should also be
taken as topic + comment. The long pause created by xi makes the “cassia boat”
more an afterthought than the object of the verb “ride.” A comparison of these
topic + comment constructions with those in the Book of Poetry reveals two impor-
tant changes, which ironically seem to weaken the evocative power of the topic +
comment.
The first change is the addition of an extra character to the topic. This extra
character creates an imbalance between topic and comment. In all these lines, the
topic expands from a simple object (as in the Book of Poetry) to a self-contained syn-
tactic construction: a mini subject + predicate in lines l and 2 (“The lord would not
come”; “Oh for whom are you lingering?”), a mini topic + comment in line 3 (“You,
lovely” [yao miao, an assonant reduplicative]), and again a mini subject + predicate
in line 4 (“Quickly I ride”). This expansion makes the trisyllabic segment a site of
concentrated emotional expression in and of itself.
The second change is the insertion of the pause indicator xi between the topic
and the comment. This pause provides a sense of closure to the topic and, in effect,
reduces the ensuing comment to an afterthought. The weakening of the comment
is also reflected in its shift from emotional response to pure supplemental infor-
mation, as shown in line 2 (“middle isle”). As a weakened comment or simply an
appendage, the disyllabic segment of a typical early Chuci line can often be omitted
without impairing a line’s meaning. In “The Lord of the Xiang River,” for instance,
all the lines would still be perfectly coherent without the disyllabic segments. In
terms of aesthetic effect, however, these disyllabic segments are indispensable be-
cause they help to create the quick and powerful rhythm of a shaman chant and
dance and amplify emotional expression.
In later Chuci works, represented by “On Encountering Trouble” (C2.3), the
pause indicator xi is repositioned, as shown in the following excerpt, to the end
of the first line of a couplet. This may seem an insignificant move, but it actually
brings about a profound change in both rhythm and syntax.
Having from birth this inward beauty,
10 I added to it fair outward adornment:
I dressed in selinea and shady angelica,
And twined autumn orchids to make a garland.
Swiftly I sped as in fearful pursuit,
Afraid that time would race on and leave me behind.
15 In the morning I gathered the angelica on the mountains,
In the evening I plucked the sedges of the islets.
The days and months hurried on, never delaying,