r Hy tHm, s y n taX , anD v ision oF C H i ne s e P oe t ry 393fu, and shi genres, ci poetry does not exhibit an overall uniform semantic rhythm.
Each of the roughly four hundred major ci tunes has its own fixed combination of
lines (mostly irregular) and employs a unique set of semantic rhythms. This ab-
sence of uniformity enabled ci poets to be far more innovative than practitioners
of other genres in the use of semantic rhythms. Of the many new features of ci
rhythms, two are most noteworthy: the ingenious use of existent shi rhythms and
the creation of radically new ones.
The most ingenious use of shi rhythms was the creation of a multiline syntactic
construction scarcely used in earlier poetic genres. Lines 4–7 from “To the Tune
‘Crows Call at Night’” (C12.1), by Li Yu (937–978), are a good example of this novel
construction:
4 Cut, it doesn’t break,
Tidied, a mess again—
6 [This] is separation grief.
[This] is altogether a different kind of flavor in the heart.
[QTWDC 4.450]
cut◦ not break 剪不斷 (jiăn bú duàn)
tidy◦ still mess 理還亂 (lĭ huán luàn)
is◦ separation grief 是離愁 (shì lí chóu)
quite is one kind taste flavor in◦ heart [suffix] 別是一般滋味在心頭 (bié shì yì bān zī wèi zài xīn tóu )
These four lines employ shi rhythms: the trisyllabic 1 + 2 in the first three lines and
the heptasyllabic 4 + 3, with an additional disyllabic segment, in the fourth line.
Although each line is a mini subject + predicate, none functions independently.
Instead, the lines work together to form an extended subject + predicate construc-
tion. The first two lines constitute the subject, while the next two are its twin predi-
cates. This subject + predicate relationship is clearly underscored by the verb “is”
(shi) in lines 6 and 7. Interestingly, the word shi in line 6 can also be glossed as the
demonstrative pronoun “this,” thus instead presenting us with a multiline topic +
comment construction. In this reading, the first two lines are the topic; the third
line, the comment; and the fourth line, a further amplification of the comment.
The breakup of a long sentence into multiple lines is often similar to enjamb-
ment in Western poetry. Like enjambment, a multiline subject + predicate or topic
- comment construction attempts to subvert the established alignment between
line and completion of a syntactic construction. Often, especially where “leading
words” (lingzi) are employed, a line ends abruptly in the middle of a sentence in
order to achieve a special effect (for instance, “Meditation on the Past at Red Cliff ”
[C13.3], lines 3 and 13). The two multiline constructions represent a revolutionary
break from poetic tradition. All earlier poetic genres and subgenres, including the
irregular-line yuefu, almost uniformly feature end-stopped lines. Typically, an end-
stopped line is paired with another to form a couplet—a larger unit with a stronger
sense of closure. A multiplication of couplets, in turn, brings an entire poem to