On the Theatricality of the Ci-Poetry in Tang and Song Dynasties

Abstract

Ci-poetry and drama are both genres of musical literature and the theatricality of the ci-poetry is demonstrated from many different aspects, such as the first-person narration, the emotional lyrics with unique features, the musical dialogues between two people or among many people, the dramatic conflict presented in the lyrics, the dramatic actions and the dramatic situations, etc. There are all kinds of plays in the ci-poetry, namely the serious drama, the comedy, the tragedy, the comedy with tears, the fantasy and the allegorical play. The ci-poetry of the Tang and Song dynasties exerted great influence on drama and on the other hand, the army-joining drama of the Tang dynasty and the miscellaneous drama of the Song dynasty to some extent inspired the creation of ci-poetry. The relationship between ci-poetry and drama confirms the mutual infiltration and cross reference among different literary genres in the Song dynasty.