266 t He F i v e Dy na s t i e s anD t He s ong Dy na s t y
examples of leading words, the most important device that Liu Yong developed for
the manci form.
In the first stanza, the autumn scene is not described but is methodically pre-
sented in four steps. A leading word (or phrase) is used to lead and to define each
step, explaining which aspect of autumn is being perceived and from what per-
spective. The four steps are linked in such a way that they echo one another while
moving along in linear order, reflecting nuanced changes in the persona’s mood as
he undergoes four different phases in his sensual experience of autumn.
The first leading word, “face,” which stands at the beginning of the song and
introduces the evening scene (lines 1–2), highlights the active interaction between
the gazer and what is gazed and intensifies the impact of the “cool autumn” (line 2)
on the poet. The second step (lines 3–5) follows by reflecting on that coolness of
the season. The persona’s sensual perception takes a turn here. While the first step
emphasizes—as suggested by the leading word “face”—the spatial vastness of na-
ture, the second step probes its temporal depth. The leading word “gradually” (line
3) tells how the autumn chill invades slowly but inexorably, turning mountains and
rivers “bleak” (line 4). The lingering setting sun, the “remnant” (can) of the day
that has passed (line 5), also implies the gradual yet unstoppable lapse of time and
symbolizes the dying of the year. The time element in the second step has some
bearing on the persona as well: he has been lingering on the balcony long enough
to notice the inching away of the sunlight and the ever-advancing autumn.
The phrase “here and there,” which marks the beginning of the third step (lines
6–7), also performs a leading function. It indicates that the persona now turns
his eye to the things around him and sees the signs of dying and decay. The spa-
tial (“here and there”) and the temporal (“slowly” [ line 7]) aspects of autumn are
subjected to scrutiny one more time. The persona then looks afar again to see
if there is anything alive, and he finds that “only”—thus begins the fourth step
(lines 8–9)—the Yangtze is in movement. Symbolizing the unending flow of time,
the eastward-flowing river never stops. The image of the ceaselessly flowing river
underscores the bleakness of the scene in the previous lines.
The purpose of this carefully planned four-step presentation of autumn is to
prepare for the poet’s emotional response in the second stanza. Here we see the
structural function of the stanzaic division in the song lyric (chap. 12). In Liu
Yong’s manci, the division plays an even more important role in the organization
of his poetic description and narration.
Again, a step-by-step scheme becomes visible as the persona unfolds his inner
thoughts in the second stanza. It begins where the first stanza leaves off, but not
without a twist first—the persona admits in line 10 that he “cannot bear to ascend
the height” and look afar. But this is exactly what he does in lines 11 and 12. From
the vantage point of a balcony, he watches, at a time of year when things are decay-
ing, the Yangtze River and lets its eastward-flowing water carry his thoughts to his
faraway homeland. Careful readers might have noticed that this segment is pre-
ceded by the leading word “[I] look” (line 11). Actually, the next segment (lines 13–
14) and the segment that follows (lines 15–16) also begin with leading words, while