246 t He F i v e Dy na s t i e s anD t He s ong Dy na s t y
to the number of notes in a line, for example. Although there are examples of yuefu
poems that employ uneven lines (see, for example, C4.4), the majority of yuefu
poems have lines of five characters. Yuefu poems also have in common with the ci
an origin in music. However, while the ci of a particular tune title are united by a
common prosodic matrix, yuefu poems that share the same title are united by their
common theme or subject (chap. 4).
Some tune titles do require even lines; in fact, many of the earliest literati song
lyrics in the short form (xiaoling, as opposed to the long form, manci, which de-
veloped later) closely resemble the regulated quatrain (jueju [chap. 10]), having
four lines of seven characters each. But in place of the tight, unitary structure of
regulated shi poetry (chap. 8), the structure of the ci is at once more fluid and less
unified, displaying much less parallelism and often shifting between imagistic
presentation and the quotation of inner speech. And as opposed to the suspension
of time that occurs in Tang regulated verse as it moves from the temporal to the
universal and back again, the ci moves more freely between past, present, and
imagined time in its depiction of complex emotional states and processes.
During the Song, with the development of the long form of the ci, these charac-
teristics became more pronounced. The manci (chap. 13) accommodates more nar-
ration and allows for the exploration of more complex and multifaceted emotional
states. This is partly a result of its increased length (usually between seventy and
one hundred or even two hundred characters, as opposed to fewer than fifty-eight
characters in the xiaoling) and partly a result of the increased use of so-called line-
leading words (lingzi). These short words or phrases used at transitional points in
the poem “increased rhythmic flexibility, enhanced semantic continuity, and high-
lighted the distinct turns in the complex unfolding of the poet’s feelings.”2To put flesh on some of these generic characteristics of the ci, let us look at a poem
by one of the best-known poets of the genre, the last emperor of the Southern
Tang, Li Yu (937–978). The Southern Tang was one of the smaller kingdoms that
arose during the post-Tang period of division known as the Five Dynasties. Taken
prisoner in 975 by the new Song emperor, who eventually had him poisoned, Li Yu
is credited with having broadened the thematic range of the ci and made it more
personal.C 1 2. 1
To the Tune “Crows Call at Night”
(or “Pleasure at Meeting” [Xiang jian huan])Without a word, alone I climb the West Pavilion.
2 The moon is like a hook.
In the lonely inner garden of wutong trees is locked late autumn.34 Cut, it doesn’t break,
Tidied, a mess again—❀