Form

Ci (Chinese Lyric Meter)

Also Known As Also romanized tz'u (Wade-Giles), as in the standard English-language scholarship on the form.
East Asian Verse Forms

A Chinese lyric verse form of irregular line lengths written to fit one of several hundred fixed musical tune-patterns (cipai), each dictating its own line lengths, rhyme and tonal scheme, that rose from popular song in the Tang dynasty to become the dominant literary verse form of the Song dynasty.

Facts
Place of Origin
China, emerging in the Tang dynasty (8th-9th century) and flourishing as the leading literary form of the Song dynasty (10th-13th century). 1
Structure
Lines of varying length fixed by a chosen tune-pattern (cipai), each pattern prescribing its own number of lines, syllable counts, rhyme scheme and tonal contour. 1
Notable Example
The Song dynasty ci of Li Qingzhao and Su Shi. 1
Mode
Poetry 2
Structure
Fixed Form 2
Connections

Form Of Genre

Lyric Poetry, Genres
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica

Influenced

Qu (Chinese Verse Drama Form), Forms
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica

Influenced By

Shi (Chinese Classical Poetry), Forms
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
In the Other Atlases

Original Language

Classical Chinese

Also in Language Atlas: the original language of this subject.

Source Ci (Poetry) (Wikipedia)Lead paragraphtier 2
Quote, Lead paragraph
in the tradition of Classical Chinese poetry

Originated In

China

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source Encyclopaedia Britannicatier 1
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
  • Place of Origin: China, emerging in the Tang dynasty (8th-9th century) and flourishing as the leading literary form of the Song dynasty (10th-13th century).
  • Structure: Lines of varying length fixed by a chosen tune-pattern (cipai), each pattern prescribing its own number of lines, syllable counts, rhyme scheme and tonal contour.
  • Notable Example: The Song dynasty ci of Li Qingzhao and Su Shi.
View the Source
2. Ci (Poetry) (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)
  • References section, Sun Chang citation title
    Sun Chang, Kang-i. The evolution of Chinese tz'u poetry from late T'ang to Northern Sung.
  • Lead paragraph
    is a type of lyric poetry
  • Lead paragraph, sentence on structure
    Cí, also known as "song lyrics," use various poetic meters derived from a base set of fixed pattern forms, using fixed-rhythm, fixed-tone, and line-lengths varying according that of the model examples.
View the Source

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