Cipai (), often translated as "tune title", "ci tune pattern", or "ci melody title", is the name of a fixed tune and metrical pattern used in the composition of ci poetry, a genre of classical Chinese song lyric. A cipai originally denoted the melody to which a ci text was fitted; in later literary practice, it came to function mainly as the name of a formal template governing line length, stanza division, rhyme positions, and tonal arrangement.
Cipai is not usually the subject title of an individual poem. Rather, it indicates the inherited tune pattern according to which the poem is written. Different poems may therefore share the same cipai while expressing entirely different themes. In traditional notation, a poem may be identified by its cipai, followed by a subtitle, preface, or incipit.
Terminology
The term cipai combines ci (), referring to the lyric genre, and pai (), meaning "label", "sign", or "title". Related terms include cidiao (), meaning "ci tune" or "ci mode", and cipu (), referring to manuals or catalogues that record the formal patterns of ci tunes.
History
Ci poetry developed from lyrics written to music. The form began to emerge in the Sui and Tang dynasties, took shape during the Five Dynasties period, and flourished in the Song dynasty. Encyclopaedia Britannica describes ci as a Chinese poetic song form characterized by irregular line lengths, prescribed rhyme schemes, and tonal patterns, each associated with the name of a musical air.
In early practice, poets wrote words to pre-existing melodies. The name of the melody became the label of the lyric pattern. Over time, these labels were transmitted as cipai. In the Song dynasty, poets such as Liu Yong, Su Shi, Li Qingzhao, Zhou Bangyan, and Xin Qiji greatly developed the genre and expanded its literary range.
Separation from melody The separation of cipai from actual musical performance was gradual rather than sudden. In the Tang, Five Dynasties, and early Song periods, ci was closely connected with singing and banquet music. By the Northern Song, however, the genre increasingly acquired independent literary status. The Academy of Chinese Studies notes that Su Shi expanded ci from lyrics sung by entertainers into a major literary form and broadened its subject matter beyond earlier conventions.
As the melodies associated with older cipai ceased to be transmitted, poets increasingly composed according to written prosodic patterns rather than living tunes. By the Qing dynasty, poets still composed large numbers of ci even though many earlier tunes had been lost; some Qing writers attempted to create new tunes or reconcile lyrics and melodies anew. In this later usage, a cipai functioned mainly as a literary metrical form.
Form
Each cipai prescribes a particular formal structure. This may include the total number of lines, the number of characters or syllables in each line, the division into sections or stanzas, the rhyme scheme, and the required tonal category of individual syllables.
The tonal rules of cipai are traditionally based on the distinction between ping (, level tones) and ze (, oblique tones). In practice, many patterns also allow variant positions, and a single cipai may have more than one accepted form. Zhu Huiguo describes the study of ci tunes and prosody as a central component of modern ci studies, noting that the tune is the carrier of the prosody of a given ci.
Some cipai are short, while others are long and complex. Traditional classifications of ci by length include xiaoling (, short lyric), zhongdiao (, medium-length lyric), and changdiao (, long lyric).
Function as title
In many editions of classical Chinese poetry, the cipai appears where a modern reader might expect a title. However, it usually indicates the formal pattern rather than the topic of the poem. A poem written to the tune title may concern the moon, exile, political emotion, or private longing; the shared feature is the metrical pattern, not the content.
Traditional citation often separates the cipai from a subtitle or incipit. For example, Su Shi's famous Mid-Autumn poem is commonly referred to as Shui Diao Ge Tou: Mingyue jishi you (), where is the cipai and Mingyue jishi you is the opening phrase.
List of famous cipai Well-known cipai include: Cipai Pinyin Literal Meaning Number of characters Yì Jiāngnán Recalling the lands south of the Changjiang 27 Rú Mèng Lìng As if in a dream 33 Cháng Xiāngsī Endless longing 36 Dǎo Liàn Zǐ Pounding white silk (a women's domestic chore in old China) 27 Yú Gē Zǐ Fisherman's song 27 Huàn Xī Shā Washing silk by a creek (alluding to the legendary beauty Xi Shi) 42 Púsà Mán Originally referring to the hairstyle and attire of women from the Nanzhao kingdom, said to resemble bodhisattvas 44 Bǔ Suàn Zǐ Song of the fortune-teller 44 Jiǎnzì Mùlán Huā A shortened version of "Magnolia Flower" 44 Cǎi Sāng Zǐ Picking mulberry leaves 44 Yè Jīn Mén An audience at the Golden Gate (the Han imperial palace gate) 45 Sù Zhōng Qíng Pouring out one's innermost feelings 45 Hǎo Shì Jìn Good fortune is near at hand 45 Yì Qín É Remembering the maiden of Qin (alluding to Nongyu, who flew off with her flute-playing husband Xiao Shi) 46 Qīng Píng Yuè Music in the Qingping mode, suggesting peaceful times 46 Gēng Lòu Zǐ Song of the night water-clock dripping through the watches 46 Ruǎn Láng Guī Young Master Ruan returns (alluding to Ruan Zhao, who met immortal maidens on Mount Tiantai and returned to find generations had passed) 47 Huà Táng Chūn Spring within a painted hall 47 Xī Jiāng Yuè The moon over the western river 50 Nán Gē Zǐ A song of the south 52 Zuì Huā Yīn Drunk in the shade of flowers 52 Làng Táo Shā Waves washing over the sand 54 Zhègū Tiān A sky filled with the calls of partridges 55 Quèqiáo Xiān Immortals meeting on the Magpie Bridge (alluding to the annual reunion of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl) 56 Yú Měirén Lady Yu, the beloved consort of the warlord Xiang Yu, who took her own life on the battlefield 56 Nán Xiāng Zǐ A song of the southern countryside 56 Yù Lóu Chūn Spring in the jade tower 56 Yī Jiǎn Méi A single sprig of plum blossom 60 Lín Jiāng Xiān An immortal by the river 60 Dié Liàn Huā Butterflies in love with flowers 60 Chāi Tóu Fèng A phoenix-shaped ornament on a hairpin 60 Yú Jiā Ào The proud spirit of a fisherman's household 62 Pò Zhèn Zǐ Army-breaking Song (originally a Tang military dance tune celebrating victory) 62 Sū Mù Zhē A transliteration of a Central Asian tune name, originally accompanying a water-splashing festival dance 62 Qīng Yù Àn A tray of green jade (from a Han-dynasty poem about a treasured gift) 67 Jiāng Chéng Zǐ A small town beside the river 70 Fēng Rù Sōng Wind passing through the pines 76 Mǎn Jiāng Hóng The whole river dyed red (by sunset glow or fallen petals) 93 Shuǐ Diào Gē Tóu The opening section of the grand "Water Melody" suite 95 Bā Shēng Gānzhōu Eight stanzas of the Ganzhou tune (named for a frontier region on the Silk Road) 97 Shēng Shēng Màn Note after note, slow and lingering 97 Niàn Nú Jiāo The charm of Niannu, a celebrated Tang-dynasty courtesan and singer 100 Yǒng Yù Yuè The joy of an everlasting reunion 104 Wàng Hǎi Cháo Watching the sea tide (especially the famed tidal bore at Hangzhou Bay) 107 Qìn Yuán Chūn Spring at Qin Villa, the estate of a Han-dynasty princess 114 Hè Xīn Láng Congratulating the bridegroom 116 Mō Yú Ér Groping for fish (from a folk fishing song) 116 Lánlíng Wáng The Prince of Lanling, a sixth-century general renowned for his beauty and valor in battle 131 Yīng Tí Xù A prelude of orioles' song 240
See also Ci (poetry) Qupai Classical Chinese poetry forms Song poetry Sanqu
References