The Development of Ci
词的发展
Like many other literary genres, ci originated among the people but matured in the hands of the literati. Some extant early ci works were attributed to the authorship of the famous Tang poets Li Bai and Bai Juyi. By the time of the Song Dynasty, almost all famous writers composed ci poetry and thus pushed this genre to its culmination toward perfection. Ci is thus the most representative literary form of the Song Dynasty. However，for a long period of time, the literati retained the concept of “solemn shi and charming ci. ” Shi is regarded as the classical and elegant literary form expressing serious and sober themes, while ci is a “trivial” vehicle for people to express their personal feelings. For example, Ouyang Xiu, litterateur of the early Northern Song，wrote about the solemn themes of politics and personal aspirations by way of shi, while in his ci poems, he mainly sang of the love between man and woman in a soft, circumlocutory and detailed way. Therefore, ci poetry has another name, “shi the junior. ” However, some great ci poets of the Song Dynasty, like Su Shi and Xin Qiji，broke through its limitations and extended the range of themes and artistic conception.
像许多其他文学体裁，词起源于民间，但在文人手中成熟。现存的一些早期的词归功于以唐代著名诗人李白和白居易。到了宋朝的时候，几乎所有的著名作家都写词，从而推动这一流派追求完美到巅峰。因此词是宋代最有代表性的文学形式。然而，在很长一段时间，文人保留了“庄严的诗和迷人的词的概念。 “诗”被认为是经典和优雅的文学形式表达严肃和清醒的主题，而词是 “琐碎”的人们表达自己的切身感受的工具。例如，北宋初的文学家欧阳修，写了关于政治和个人愿望的庄严主题的诗，而在他的词中，他主要歌颂男女之间的爱情，委婉曲折和细节描写。因此，词还有另一个名字，“诗的载体”。 不过，宋有一些伟大的词人，像苏轼，辛弃疾，突破了词的局限性和扩展词的主题和意境。
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