"This “feminine” connection played an important role in setting the ci’s thematic range and made problematic its legitimacy as a genre for serious literary pursuit. It also makes the ci a particularly interesting genre from the point of view of feminism and gender studies.1 The predominance of feminine themes in early ci meant that a female courtesan might be found singing the female-voiced song of a male poet, whose work, in turn, drew on female voices in the tradition as well as on male imitations of those voices." eh, but even the shi jing also does this extensively, re the assumed female voice?
This chapter's very clear and provides a decent historical exegesis.
It's interesting to see the ci described as lyric poetry in contrast to the shi, bc really don't we think a LOT of shi poetry came out of musical traditions initially as well? I guess perhaps re Tang shi poetry, this is less true.
"In the ci, the stanza break comes to serve an important aesthetic function, with the expectation that it will introduce a change in meter, rhyme, setting, or mood, in a practice known as huan tou. The form this transition takes in any particular song lyric is a unique and important element of the poem’s aesthetic effect. In this sense, the ci is both similar to and different from Tang regulated verse; the third couplet of a regulated shi poem was also expected to introduce a thematic shift or change (chap. 8). But in regulated verse, a strong metrical and tonal equivalence unites the second and third couplets, thus in effect subordinating the thematic shift to the tight unity of the poem. This is replaced in the ci with variation of both line length and tonal patterning."
"the suggestion of eroticism that had been attached to some conventional depictions of abandoned women, especially in the sensuous palacestyle poetry of the Six Dynasties period, which preceded the Tang" oh D told me about this also
cloud locks? cicada locks?
"The candle’s tears in line 2 are a typical example of the poetic device of fusing emotion and scene (qing jing jiao rong). This practice of imbuing physical elements of the scene with human emotion brings to mind the Western notion of the “pathetic fallacy,” a term coined by John Ruskin in the nineteenth century for a practice he deplored"
“Buddha-Like Barbarian” is this just Bodhisatva Barbarian?
"The first two lines, often cited by subsequent critics, evoke the image of the female figure by reference to the resplendent screen that hides her in line 1," oh I would NOT have known this without exegesis
Li Qingzhao's poems feel forcefully more serious than these other guys', and more 'honest' in their presentation of female PoV. Only Wei Zhuang and Li Yu approach her in seriousness.
"It is important to note that in the last line, the relationship of heartbreak in the first two characters with the “fragrant grasses green” is not explicit. As translated here, the heartbreak applies to the speaker, who sees the grasses, the color of which reminds her, again, of late spring and hence of the irretrievable loss of time. Another translation would be “Heartbroken, the fragrant grasses green,” in which the emotion is linked more explicitly to the grasses. While in either case the emotion must ultimately be traced back to the speaker, the poetic effect is quite different. In Chinese, these phrases can simply be juxtaposed. No decision needs to be made concerning the attribution of the emotion. This is one of the ubiquitous problems in the translation of Chinese poetry into English: the translator is often forced to make a choice one way or the other in order to craft a smooth English line. The same is true for the choice of pronoun where none is present in the original or for the choice of verb tense. For the Chinese reader, these details can remain unspecified, allowing the poem to retain its polysemous and indeterminate, evocative quality."
"Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072), a statesman and an essayist of the Northern Song" him again!
"The shi and ci at this point occupied different spheres, characterized by a division of labor in which the ci was assigned the treatment of delicate emotions. If the shi was seen as a vehicle of the will or intent (shi yan zhi [the shi gives voice to the intent]), then the ci was seen as a vehicle of feeling (ci yan qing [the ci gives voice to emotion])."
"The poem moves from scene to feeling, in a typical progression known as “entering the emotion through the scene” (you jing ru qing),"
"These poets’ song lyrics remain largely within the “delicate and restrained” wanyue school, as opposed to the “bold and unrestrained” or heroic haofang school, which developed as the thematic range of the ci broadened even further during the Song."
"But the emotion remains at arm’s length, as vague as the sense of familiarity aroused by the swallows: “as if we knew each other.”" I didn't know how to read that, but it's v nice once you do
"Yan Shu’s poem addresses its subject from without, leaving an empty space at the center where the complaint (yuan) remains unspoken."
"In conclusion, it may be useful to review some characteristics of the shorter, xiaoling, ci poems, which have been the subject of this chapter. Generally consisting of two stanzas (although some have only one), the poems are structurally simpler than the more elaborate manci (chap. 13). Often the break between stanzas marks a move from past to present, from interior to exterior, from speech to scene, or vice versa. In the manci, these shifts become more complex. Early literati ci may betray the influence of shi aesthetics in their use of juxtaposed scenes and states; although the ci allows more elaboration of the relationship between them than does the shi, it remains for the manci to take this elaboration further, incorporating descriptive and narrative sequences that the xiaoling could never accommodate. Thematically, the xiaoling tends to restrict itself to subjects involving the delicate and personal emotions surrounding love, abandonment, separation, or nostalgia, treating these subjects with a characteristic allusiveness that accords with its brevity and concision. The manci came to accommodate a broader variety of subjects and a greater range of emotion, which its length and complexity allowed it to treat in a more exhaustive manner. But the xiaoling set the stage for the manci and the development of the haofang (heroic) style by adapting a popular medium for literati use and carving a niche for it in the hierarchy of literary forms that were acceptable for intellectual pursuit."
"Thematically, the xiaoling tends to restrict itself to subjects involving the delicate and personal emotions surrounding love, abandonment, separation, or nostalgia, treating these subjects with a characteristic allusiveness that accords with its brevity and concision" so I can see now how Li Qingzhao is taking this form and doing More with it
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Chapter 12
Date: 2022-02-13 01:35 pm (UTC)played an important role in setting the ci’s thematic range and made problematic
its legitimacy as a genre for serious literary pursuit. It also makes the ci a particularly interesting genre from the point of view of feminism and gender studies.1
The predominance of feminine themes in early ci meant that a female courtesan
might be found singing the female-voiced song of a male poet, whose work, in
turn, drew on female voices in the tradition as well as on male imitations of those
voices." eh, but even the shi jing also does this extensively, re the assumed female voice?
This chapter's very clear and provides a decent historical exegesis.
It's interesting to see the ci described as lyric poetry in contrast to the shi, bc really don't we think a LOT of shi poetry came out of musical traditions initially as well? I guess perhaps re Tang shi poetry, this is less true.
"In the ci, the stanza break comes to serve an important aesthetic function, with
the expectation that it will introduce a change in meter, rhyme, setting, or mood,
in a practice known as huan tou. The form this transition takes in any particular
song lyric is a unique and important element of the poem’s aesthetic effect. In this
sense, the ci is both similar to and different from Tang regulated verse; the third
couplet of a regulated shi poem was also expected to introduce a thematic shift or
change (chap. 8). But in regulated verse, a strong metrical and tonal equivalence
unites the second and third couplets, thus in effect subordinating the thematic
shift to the tight unity of the poem. This is replaced in the ci with variation of both
line length and tonal patterning."
"the suggestion of eroticism that had been attached to some
conventional depictions of abandoned women, especially in the sensuous palacestyle poetry of the Six Dynasties period, which preceded the Tang" oh D told me about this also
cloud locks? cicada locks?
"The candle’s tears in line 2 are a typical example of the poetic device of
fusing emotion and scene (qing jing jiao rong). This practice of imbuing physical
elements of the scene with human emotion brings to mind the Western notion of
the “pathetic fallacy,” a term coined by John Ruskin in the nineteenth century for
a practice he deplored"
“Buddha-Like Barbarian” is this just Bodhisatva Barbarian?
"The first
two lines, often cited by subsequent critics, evoke the image of the female figure
by reference to the resplendent screen that hides her in line 1," oh I would NOT have known this without exegesis
Li Qingzhao's poems feel forcefully more serious than these other guys', and more 'honest' in their presentation of female PoV. Only Wei Zhuang and Li Yu approach her in seriousness.
"It is important to note that in the last line, the relationship of heartbreak in the
first two characters with the “fragrant grasses green” is not explicit. As translated
here, the heartbreak applies to the speaker, who sees the grasses, the color of which
reminds her, again, of late spring and hence of the irretrievable loss of time. Another translation would be “Heartbroken, the fragrant grasses green,” in which the
emotion is linked more explicitly to the grasses. While in either case the emotion
must ultimately be traced back to the speaker, the poetic effect is quite different.
In Chinese, these phrases can simply be juxtaposed. No decision needs to be made
concerning the attribution of the emotion. This is one of the ubiquitous problems
in the translation of Chinese poetry into English: the translator is often forced to
make a choice one way or the other in order to craft a smooth English line. The same
is true for the choice of pronoun where none is present in the original or for the
choice of verb tense. For the Chinese reader, these details can remain unspecified,
allowing the poem to retain its polysemous and indeterminate, evocative quality."
"Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072), a statesman and
an essayist of the Northern Song" him again!
"The shi and ci at this point occupied different spheres, characterized by a division of labor in which the ci was assigned the treatment of delicate emotions. If the
shi was seen as a vehicle of the will or intent (shi yan zhi [the shi gives voice to the
intent]), then the ci was seen as a vehicle of feeling (ci yan qing [the ci gives voice to
emotion])."
"The poem moves from scene to
feeling, in a typical progression known as “entering the emotion through the scene”
(you jing ru qing),"
"These poets’ song
lyrics remain largely within the “delicate and restrained” wanyue school, as opposed to the “bold and unrestrained” or heroic haofang school, which developed as
the thematic range of the ci broadened even further during the Song."
"But the emotion remains at
arm’s length, as vague as the sense of familiarity aroused by the swallows: “as if we
knew each other.”" I didn't know how to read that, but it's v nice once you do
"Yan Shu’s
poem addresses its subject from without, leaving an empty space at the center
where the complaint (yuan) remains unspoken."
"In conclusion, it may be useful to review some characteristics of the shorter, xiaoling, ci poems, which have been the subject of this chapter. Generally consisting
of two stanzas (although some have only one), the poems are structurally simpler
than the more elaborate manci (chap. 13). Often the break between stanzas marks
a move from past to present, from interior to exterior, from speech to scene, or vice versa. In the manci, these shifts become more complex. Early literati ci may
betray the influence of shi aesthetics in their use of juxtaposed scenes and states;
although the ci allows more elaboration of the relationship between them than
does the shi, it remains for the manci to take this elaboration further, incorporating
descriptive and narrative sequences that the xiaoling could never accommodate.
Thematically, the xiaoling tends to restrict itself to subjects involving the delicate
and personal emotions surrounding love, abandonment, separation, or nostalgia, treating these subjects with a characteristic allusiveness that accords with its
brevity and concision. The manci came to accommodate a broader variety of subjects and a greater range of emotion, which its length and complexity allowed it to
treat in a more exhaustive manner. But the xiaoling set the stage for the manci and
the development of the haofang (heroic) style by adapting a popular medium for
literati use and carving a niche for it in the hierarchy of literary forms that were
acceptable for intellectual pursuit."
"Thematically, the xiaoling tends to restrict itself to subjects involving the delicate
and personal emotions surrounding love, abandonment, separation, or nostalgia, treating these subjects with a characteristic allusiveness that accords with its
brevity and concision" so I can see now how Li Qingzhao is taking this form and doing More with it