During the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368), popular literature flourished. A new verse
form, the sanqu (song poem), which had close ties with music and drama, became
the most energetic poetic genre of the time.
The sanqu belongs to the tradition of song verse. Like the ci, sanqu originally
were verses set to music. The tunes or the metrical patterns used in song poems,
however, are different from those in the ci, because the sanqu tunes were nurtured
by the music of a different time with special features of its own. To understand
this, one need only note that the genre grew in the north. Its origin can be traced
back at least to the folk songs, with their distinctive local color, that were popular
in the Jin dynasty (1111–1234), when northern China was under the rule of the
Jurchens. The genre came to full blossom in the Yuan dynasty under Mongol rule,
which witnessed intense interaction between traditional Chinese culture and the
cultures of the non-Han peoples from the north and west.
The typical language of song poems is the northern vernacular Chinese, with
its vigorous colloquial flavor so characteristic of the genre. Although most of the
songs written by the versifiers from the streets and entertainment quarters have
been lost, and the great majority of the song poems handed down to us were actu-
ally works of literati poets, here and there in these poems the fresh and pungent
idioms and the spicy and rambunctious humor, accompanied by a vivacious flow
of everyday speech, unmistakably tell of the genre’s origins. The following obser-
vation by a modern scholar, therefore, seems not far from the truth: “Unless a chü
[sanqu] had at least a modicum of vulgar speech, it was thought to be a less than
satisfactory example of the genre.”1
The verse form of the song poems is basically the same as that of the arias in the
zaju, the Yuan variety plays, which also developed in the north. The blood link be-
tween the two genres is evident from the name sanqu itself, which literally means
“dispersed [dramatic] songs.” It comes as no surprise, then, that most of the Yuan
playwrights were also masters of the song poem.
The Mongol rulers of the Yuan were not enthusiastic about traditional Chinese
mores, nor were they promoters of serious literature. Ironically, their negligence
of cultural affairs proved to be a blessing to the development of the song poem
and other forms of popular literature. Writers felt less restricted by the traditional
ethical code. Also, many scholars, well versed in the classics and literature but not
able to—or reluctant to—join the civil service because of the political situation
of the time, diverted their talent to the writing of song poems and variety plays.2
❀ 16 ❀
Qu Poetry
Song Poems (Sanqu) of the Yuan Dynasty