A Study of Ci Tune Patterns and the Establishment of Ci Poetics in the Qing Dynasty 清代詞譜與清代詞學建構硏究

Ci, or song lyrics, were originally sung to music. After the Yuan dynasty, as the music of ci tunes gradually declined and disappeared, the question of how to establish the formal orthodoxy and legitimacy in the writing of ci lyrics became a matter of great concern. This was especially true in the Qing dynasty, when against the broad backdrop of the revival in ci poetics, the investigation into catalogues of ci tune patterns (cipu) was an important step in exalting the ci genre. The appearance of Wan Shu’s 萬樹compilation, Cilü 詞律 (Ci Metrics), was a significant indicator that the Qing scholars studied the catalogues of ci tune patterns with increased depth, meticulousness, and involved a broad range of fields. The fruits of their research in turn contributed to the writing in the ci genre. The effects are abundantly manifested in many areas, including the development of poetry groups and movements, the unfolding of collective writing activities, and the variety in writing styles. This project aims to conduct a thorough examination of ci tune catalogues in the Qing dynasty. Moreover, by incorporating specific developments in Qing ci poetry, this project will analyze the interplay between theory and practice, thereby gain new insight on this particular level in the study of the ci genre and poetics in the Qing dynasty.