The Song Dynasty (960 to 1279) Poetry and Ci -Lyric

The Poetry in the Song Dynasty (960-1279)

In the Song Dynasty, traditional poetry and Ci -lyric poetry (poetry written to certain tunes with strict tonal patterns and rhyming schemes, with a fixed numbers of lines and words, originating in the Tang Dynasty and fully developed in Song Dynasty) developed shoulder to shoulder.

In the matter of traditional poetry, Wang Yucheng (954—1001）succeeded the tradition of realism from the New Yuefu of Bai Juyi of the Tang Dynasty(618-907), the Four Great Masters of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) Ou Yangxiu, Wang Anshi, Su Shi and Huang Tingjian enlarged the topics of poetry, their tendency of "writing poetry by means of prose, " "writing poetry by means of scholarship," and "writing poetry by means of comments " created some unique styles of Song Dynasty poetry until the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), and then Lu You, Yang Wanli and Fan Chengdi, with their patriotic poems, pushed Song poetry to a new level.

Generally speaking, the Tang Dynasty poetry expressed life with more passion but Song Dynasty poetry observed society with more reason; Tang Dynasty poetry had more fantastic elegance and charm, but Song Dynasty poetry had more wisdom; Tang Dynasty poetry was broader, but Song Dynasty poetry was more profound.

At the same time, Ci -- Lyric entered its most prosperous times.

Ci - Lyric is a form of poetry written to certain tune with strict tonal patterns and rhyming schemes, with a fixed number of lines and words.

Depending on the length, Ci - lyric can be divided into three sorts:

--Xiao Ling ： (a Short Meter for Ci): poems that contain relatively few syllables (62 words or fewer, for example, 58).

-- Zhong Diao（Ci /lyric poems composed of 65 or 59 words, and up to 90 words ）

-- Chang Diao( Ci /lyric poems composed of more than 91 words)

There were two big Ci- lyric poetry schools:   

-- Wan Yue Ci School (a Subtle and Concise School of Ci): this school wrote lyrics with a subtle and concise style, suitable for the portrayal of picturesque descriptions of delicate feelings and tender thoughts, a style of writing opposite to the Vigorous and Sprightly school of Ci.

Based on the tradition of the latter period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-979), this school mainly wrote content related to the personal feelings and love.

Among the representative poets of this school were Liu Yong, Zhou Bangyan, Li Qingzhao etc.

-- Hao Fang Ci School (Powerful and Free School of Ci): this school wrote lyrics with a vigorous and sprightly / powerful and free style of Ci, a writing style opposite to that of the traditional Subtle and Concise school.

Su Shi(1037－1101) founded the Powerful and Free school of Ci (lyric )during the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). He enlarged the subject matter of the lyrics, transformed lyric poetry into a new style that could express manifold topics.

Xin Qiji （1140－1207）a Southern Song Dynasty poet, who with a group of patriotic poets pushed lyric poetry to its highest point with their patriotic lyrics.

The Ci – lyrics of the Song Dynasty and Tang Poetry are considered to be the two peaks of Chinese poetry.