Entertainment Music of the Sui and Tang Dynasties

The Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties left a vast cultural heritage to future generations, among which the ci lyric that flourished in the Song dynasty stands out as particularly significant. Since the Song dynasty, scholars have attempted to trace the origin of ci lyrics, with three major theories exerting the greatest influence: Zhu Xi’s 朱熹 (1130–1200) claim that ci lyrics originated from the practice of filling melodic gaps with meaningful words 1 ; Yang Shen’s argument that ci lyrics can be traced back to the Six Dynasties 2 ; and Wang Sen’s assertion that ci lyrics derive from the Classic of Poetry ( Shijing 詩經). 3 A review of these historical perspectives reveals three major shortcomings. First, some scholars focus solely on the uneven-line form, drawing comparisons between ci lyrics and the uneven-line verses of the Six Dynasties or earlier poetry. This conflates distinct song lyric traditions with fundamentally different musical features, thereby obscuring the unique nature of tune lyrics during the Sui-Tang period and the distinct characteristics of ci lyrics from the Song dynasty onward. Second, based on the assumption that poetry preceded ci lyrics, some scholars explain the emergence of uneven-line lyrics solely through the practice of filling melodic gaps with meaningful words. This overlooks both the diversity of musical expressions and the historical inevitability of the emergence of uneven-line song lyrics in the entertainment music of the Sui-Tang period. Third, some approaches regard the study of ci lyrics as merely a subfield of literary theory, which distorts the historical process of their development and misrepresents their true origins.