394 a s y n tHe sis
completion. While these principles of line formation are faithfully observed in shi,
sao, and fu poetry, they are anything but sacred in ci poetry. In availing themselves
of typical shi lines (trisyllabic, tetrasyllabic, pentasyllabic, and/or heptasyllabic), ci
poets often did what Li Yu did in “To the Tune ‘Crows Call at Night’”—breaking
away from the habit of coupling and composing sentences that extend over three
or more lines.
Apart from their use of existent shi lines, ci poets created two new line types:
the monosyllabic and the disyllabic.9 Obviously, the scarcity of monosyllabic and
disyllabic lines in earlier genres has much to do with the entrenched practice of
making each line a complete subject + predicate or topic + comment construction.
Monosyllabic and disyllabic lines are simply too short for either. Once ci poets had
freed themselves from this practice, it was only natural for them to make prodi-
gious use of monosyllabic and disyllabic lines, placing them in the pivotal position
of a poem.C 1 8. 3
To the Tune “Sixteen-Character Song”Heaven—
don’t let the moon shine upon the sojourner!
Where is the loved one?
[Under] the shadow of the cassia tree, alone watching the moon goddess.
[QSC 2:1030]heaven 天 (tiān)
don’t make round toad shine◦ sojourner asleep 休使圓蟾照客眠 (xiū shĭ yuán chán zhào kè mián)
person◦ where in 人何在 (rén hé zài)
cassia shadow alone◦ moon goddess 桂影自嬋娟 (guì yĭng zì chán juān)
This short poem, by Cai Shen (1088–1156), exhibits a radically lopsided topic +
comment construction. The monosyllabic line “Heaven” constitutes the topic, the
pivotal point of the entire poem. The remainder is, in effect, a series of amplifying
comments by the implied observer. First, he addresses heaven, asking it to prevent
the “round toad,” a Chinese mythical metaphor for the moon, from shining on
him, the lonesome sojourner. This apostrophe is followed by his brief monologue:
“Where is the loved one? / Under the shadow of the cassia tree [another mythical
metaphor for the moon], alone watching the moon goddess.” There seems to be a
deliberate ambiguity with regard to who is (are) watching the moon goddess: the
subject could be “I,” “she,” or “we each.” Calculatedly lopsided, this topic + com-
ment construction produces a maximum effect of novelty and amplification.
A doubling or tripling of monosyllabic or disyllabic segments is often used
to increase the intensity of emotional expression. Consider, for instance, these
powerful opening lines of the famous poem “To the Tune ‘One Beat Followed by
Another, a Long Tune’” (C13.4), by Li Qingzhao (1084–1151):