Folk Songs in the Ming Dynasty

In the field of the pictorial decoration of Chinese architecture, the decor of the period of the Ming and Qing dynasties is considered the most outstanding since, at that time, the technique was perfect, and the methods of decoration were rich in their diversity, which was not possible in previous eras. The polychrome painting of official buildings during the Ming and Qing dynasties’ reign is quite different from the Song dynasty’s polychrome painting. The transition from the Song dynasty’s polychrome painting to the Ming and Qing dynasties’ polychrome painting was completed during the Yuan dynasty’s reign. Due to the decrease of dougong in size in the Ming dynasty, polychrome painting began to be placed on beams. Xuanzi polychrome painting, which originated from painting beams under the Yuan dynasty, became the primary type. By the Qing dynasty, Hexi polychrome painting and Suzhou polychrome painting, which evolved from the folk polychrome painting of the Jiangnan region of the Ming dynasty, appeared. The Xuanzi type was one of the three main polychrome painting types in the Qing dynasty. It was fully developed compared to the Hexi type as it was used more widely. The article explains the development of the artistic features of the various decorative parts of Xuanzi polychrome painting during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the characteristics of each gradation, and the method of distinguishing it, as well as its place of application.

After the long-term ethnic confrontation and the havoc that occurred during the Southern Song, Liao, Jin, Xia, Mongolian, and Yuan Dynasties, the rulers of the early Ming Dynasty once devoted themselves to the revival of the long-decayed Royal Academy of Painting and intended to reproduce the grand occasion of the former academy-style painting, to enjoy being the royal family. For a period of time, the painting in the early Ming Dynasty was shrouded in the retro style of academy style painting. From the perspective of region and time, the academy-style painting system represented by Liu, Li, Ma, and Xia in the Southern Song Dynasty was undoubtedly the most easily accepted and learned painting style from the psychological and cognitive levels of painters in the early Ming Dynasty. However, from the mid-Ming Dynasty, the painting style of the Zhejiang school gradually became wild, and its painters often regarded themselves as "immortal drunk", and their brush and ink language were indulgent and unruly, like a golden snake dancing wildly. Pursue the ink splash effect mixed with ink and wash, and even show the sense of power and speed of sweeping and swaying freely like a performance in front of people. And its form also began to be rude and frugal, resulting in the slander of "mad monster" and "crazy evil school". The "madness" of the painters during this period was not an accidental case, but an artistic phenomenon that was precisely opposed to the Wumen literati painting school that began to occupy the mainstream of the painting circle in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. The artistic pursuit and the aesthetic tendency of the orthodox social mainstream thinking. Under the unprecedented strengthening of centralization during the Ming Dynasty and the ideological control of the eight-legged scholars, the art world was full of "madness". This phenomenon makes people think about the two-way interaction between the times and art, and whether mainstream art can reflect mainstream consciousness. form? Between "cult" and "orthodox", who can better express the demands of an era? I hope to have a preliminary discussion here.

In the late Ming Dynasty, a family of the Po, who was a Mongolian military officer, emerged in Xuanfu. At first, they served as “Yi Ding(Tatar Soliders)” in Jiubian(nine-frontier fortification system of the Ming Dynasty). Unlike the Mongolians who joined the Wei Suo system in the early Ming Dynasty, the Po family served as private armed servants of Ming Dynasty border defense generals. They not only serve as frontline soldiers for border defense generals, but also serve as Mongolian language translators for them. In short, they have a lot of effectiveness.At the same time, they were incorporated into the military status of the garrison in Xuanfu, and became officials in the camp step by step from the positions of garrison and guerrilla.Its members took part in a series of eastern expeditions and western wars in the late Ming Empire, such as the Imjin War, and participated in the battles of Jigsan and Ulsan to expel the Japanese army, while the father and son of Pou Tingxiang participated in the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin Dynasty and sacrificed their lives on the battlefield. After the change of Dynasties in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the members of the Po family chose to become officials in the Qing Dynasty for the sake of family interests, and tried to let the next generation continue to engage in the army and maintain their glory. However, due to the collapse of the former Ming Dynasty’s military officer system, the Qing Dynasty’s vigilance against the former Ming Dynasty’s generals, and the characteristics of the Qing Dynasty’s military system and military officer system itself, the Po family did not get the same position of power as the former Ming.In the end, like other generals on the Jiubian(nine-frontier), the former Ming generals, who were born as adherents, gradually withered away in the Qing Dynasty.

Classical Chinese literature exerts a powerful hold on readers and writers in later periods. The question of how earlier literature was preserved, classified, anthologized, and distributed is vital for understanding how authors defined their creative and interpretive endeavors during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Printing expanded, with a dramatic increase in numbers and variety in the sixteenth century. For many of the texts discussed in our volume, the earliest extant editions or reconstituted versions date from the Ming dynasty, and many important commentaries and annotations were produced during the late imperial period. Encyclopedias and collectanea show how tradition is repackaged. Political legitimation is bound up with state-sponsored comprehensive collections and encyclopedias. Anthologies of earlier literature and commentaries on them yield insights into literary trends in later periods. Primers and textbooks demonstrate the role of classical literature in acquiring basic linguistic and literary competence.

Covering four bibliographical categories, Hong Mai’s Miscellaneous Notes from his Study is recognized as the top fiction in the Southern Song Dynasty. This work had been popular from Song Dynasty to Ming and Qing Dynasty. Occupying a significant position in the history of documentation, it is regarded as an important work for Confucian scholars to improve themselves in textual research, distinguishing the originals, and compiling manuscripts. Hong Mai had begun working on the miscellaneous notes since he was forty-one, and the writing had proceeded for forty years. This study explores Hong Mai’s work through Hong’s reading in relation to the politics, important events, and historical milieu in the Southern Song Dynasty. Through this work, this study investigates Hong Mai’s intention in writing, providing a new way for people to understand the writer Hong Mai and his Miscellaneous Notes. The main academic contribution and creative features of this dissertation as well as the keynote of each chapter are expressed summarily as follows: Chapter One “introduction” reviews current related studies and points out possible ways of thinking. It then clarifies the concepts of notes in the writing by people in Song Dynasty. Besides, it indicates the implicit meanings of the study as the title Miscellaneous Notes from Hong Mai’s Study suggests and the meaning of “moving at any time.” From the publication and circulation of Miscellaneous Notes, this dissertation examines how this work was positioned as “the top fiction in the Southern Song Dynasty,” and presents readers’ passion for promoting reading beyond time. Chapter Two explores how, privileged from his official family and rich family collection of documents, Hong Mai found his way in the kingdom of knowledge and became a representative of profound erudition for the emperor and courtiers in the Southern Song Dynasty. Chapter Three introduces the process of Hong Mai’s integration between reading and experience. Because Hong Mai was very passionate for reading, Miscellaneous Notes from Hong Mai’s Study can be regarded both as his reading production and a kind of knowledge output. Situated in the cultural exchange and conversation stimulated by the Southern Song culture, Hong Mai constructs his writing with sense and sensibility, producing works in response to contemporary issues. This chapter focuses on the four very different prefaces written in the period between Miscellaneous Notes from Hong Mai’s Study and Five Notes from Hong Mai’s Study, scrutinizing the transformation of Hong Mai’s thinking when writing Miscellaneous Notes from Hong Mai’s Study, and exploring what motivates Hong’s writing during his writing career. Second, this chapter traces Hong Mai’s academic inspiration through the works of his father and brother, his teacher Zhang Jiu-cheng, and the Northern Song writers Ou Yang-xiu, Su Shi, Si Ma Guang. By referring to the reading notes written when Hong was young and the investigation of the chronology of each volume of notes, this chapter explores the construction of Hong Mai’s writing in Miscellaneous Notes from Hong Mai’s Study. At about 50 years old, Hong Mai completed the first three volumes of Miscellaneous Notes from Hong Mai’s Study. The first volume took about six years. It was a period when Hong Mai trained himself in the writing of notes. Afterwards, Hong Mai was familiar with this form of writing. Although Miscellaneous Notes from Hong Mai’s Study, The Second Miscellaneous Notes from Hong Mai’s Study, The Third Miscellaneous Notes from Hong Mai’s Study were completed in 18, 13, 5 years respectively, in fact, most of the notes in these three works were written in four to five years. Chapter Four to Six focus on the construction of Hong Mai’s reading experience and writing after Miscellaneous Notes from Hong Mai’s Study is studied. Chapter Four “Archeology of All Things and the Observation of and Writing on Plants, Woods, Insects, and Fish”: is divided into three types of notes: archeology of tools, plants, woods, insects, and fish, and medicine divination, and astronomy. Chapter Five “Notes and Writings on Political Suggestion and Comment”: Although Hong Mai was not a courtier in the Southern Song Dynasty, he cared much about the political situation at that time. Through the notes which reflect history, he found a way to participate in politics. This chapter examines how Hong Mai develops conversations with the emperor and his contemporaries. However, because of the limitation at that time, the empire was ruled by the monarch of the same family of Zhao (Emperor Xiao Zong). Hong Mai was appreciated by the emperor, but he was not assigned to any important position. Chapter Six “Reading Notes and Writing Constitution on Poetry”: This chapter examines the transmission and conversation of Hong Mai’s poetry reading experience so as to provide contemporary poetry readers a new reading perspective for poetry appreciation, and lead readers to an innovation way of reading. Hong Mai not only presents poems embodied readers’ life, but also contributes to correcting the absurdity in poetry and compiling documents. Chapter Seven “Conclusion”: This dissertation begins from Hong Mai’s reading experience and writing construction, reexamining the author and his Miscellaneous Notes from Hong Mai’s Study. On the one hand, this dissertation presents Hong Mai’s academic achievement, but on the other, from the hindsight, it demonstrates how man is confined by his own problems and the social and historical milieu. Through reading and writing, Hong Mai situates himself in between history and reality, trying to improve and solve political and social issues, and relieving his personal anxiety in life.

There were systems of Mang robes both in Ming and Qing dynasties. However, they differ greatly in style although they have got the same name. A Mang robe in Ming Dynasty has big and wide body and sleeves, the same style as that of Han nationality. But the Mang robes of the Qing Dynasty bear the features of typical nomadic style with turtle neck, buttons on the right side, and horse-hoof sleeves. Although the Qing Mang robe system is from the Ming dynasty, only those external ornaments that can be accepted by the rulers remain. Rulers of Qing Dynasty believed that ornaments were only used to decorate the garments and there was no need to rigidly adhere to the external form.

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English. 明清易代之際，結社逃禪之風日漸濃厚，結社行爲在晚明的去政治化、去功利化特徵，是心學、佛學衝擊傳統儒家思想的結果。復社是明代科舉制度影響下的文社，但一些復社成員卻同時結有禪社，可見儒學和佛學兩股風潮在當時並非完全對立或此消彼長的關係，而是借助文學活動展開各自的影響路徑。陸世儀、陳瑚等人在崇禎初年拒不入復社，代表了當時不同的聲音。儘管復社參與政治鬥争，由明入清的文人學者仍肯定了復社對文章創作的積極作用，試圖重申儒家思想以推動清初社事回歸訂文字交的正常軌道。基於盟社觀、文學觀，清代文人也對社事與國家興亡之關係發表看法。復社的衰落、明朝的滅亡都引起了詩人們對生命價值和歷史政治的再思考，也涉及朋友相交的基礎、結社訂盟的形式、文章創作的宗旨等問題。乾隆以後文人的盟社觀，受到清朝嚴控文網的影響。 In the transition of the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was a thriving trend for poets to join societies and worship Buddhism. The depoliticization and getting rid of utilitarianism of the societies in late Ming times were the result of the impact of the philosophy of Wang Yangming (1472 1529) and Buddhism on traditional Confucianism. The Fu Society was formed under the influence of the imperial examination system in the Ming Dynasty for creative writing, but some members of the Fu Society also joined Buddhist Societies. It can be seen that Confucianism and Buddhism were not completely opposed in the late Ming, but exerted their influence with the help of literary activities. Lu Shiyi (1611 1672), Chen Hu (1613 1675), and others refused to join the Fu Society during the early Chongzhen era (1627 1644), representing the different voices at that time. Although the Fu Society participated in political struggles, writers and scholars from the Ming Dynasty still recognized its positive role in literary creation, and its efforts to reiterate the importance of Confucianism to promote the society by leading it back to concentrate on writing in the early Qing Dynasty. Based on the society’s view of literature, the Qing-dynasty literati also talked about the relationship between society and the rise and fall of the empire. The decline of the Fu Society and the collapse of the Ming Dynasty caused poets to rethink the value of life, history, and politics. It also involved the basis of friendship, the form of association, and the purpose of writing. After the Qianlong era (1736 1796), the writers’ view of alliance and community was influenced by the Qing Dynasty’s strict control of literary networks.

This study aims to examine the manner in which Yi Gyu-gyeong(李圭景, 1788-1856) assimilated and systematized Chinese graphological knowledge by analyzing the materials related to Chinese graphology contained in Oju Yeonmun Jangjeon Sango(五洲衍文長箋散稿) and investigating the patterns of cited works therein. To this end, the main body of this study first explores the content and structural composition of Oju Yeonmun Jangjeon Sango to clarify the author's intent in its compilation. Subsequently, it scrutinizes the specific content and methodological approach employed in the presentation of materials related to Chinese graphology, thereby evaluating the process through which such knowledge was compiled. Finally, it delineates the distinctive characteristics of the works cited within the realm of Chinese graphology. These findings may be summarized as follows: First, while Yi Gyu-gyeong primarily referenced graphological texts from the Qing dynasty, he also extensively cited works from the Song and Ming dynasties. Notably, the most frequently referenced texts include Yang Shen(楊愼)’s Danyan Zonglu(丹鉛總錄) and Sheng’an Ji(升菴集) from the Ming dynasty, as well as Gu Yanwu(顧炎武)’s Rizhilu(日知錄), spanning the Ming and Qing dynasties. Second, Yi Gyu-gyeong incorporated numerous Korean sources into his work, the most frequently cited among them being Cheongjanggwan Jeonseo(靑莊館全書), a compendium encompassing a wide array of scholarly knowledge and materials, authored by his grandfather, Yi Deok-mu(李德懋). Third, beyond these principal sources, he drew upon a diverse range of texts of varying scope and content, thereby engaging in extensive discourse on multiple facets of Chinese graphology. Fourth, his engagement with Chinese graphology also extended to the inclusion of Japanese texts, such as Wakan Sansai Zue(和漢三才圖會) and Nenroku(蔫錄), as well as records of Korean diplomatic missions to Japan, including Haedong Jegukgi(海東諸國記) and Haeyurok(海遊錄). These citations suggest a keen interest in Japan and indicate a broadly receptive stance toward Japanese scholarship.

The relationship between Chenghuang Temple and affiliated Garden is a representative urban historical public space in Shanghai, which is more typical in Qingpu. A large number of Chenghuang Temple and affiliated gardens were built in Qingpu during the Ming and Qing dynasties, of which two Chenghuang Temple and affiliated gardens in Qingpu County and Zhujiajiao Town are the most famous. The construction process of temples and gardens in both regions has gone through twists and turns, and there are many similarities: from the beginning of construction in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, to the destruction caused by war during the Xiantong period, as well as the reconstruction during the Guangxu period, and the new development in contemporary times. With the social change and the development of the times, the space and landscape of the Chenghuang Temple and affiliated garden in the two places have changed one after another, the relationship between affiliated garden has also changed, and the interactive relationship with the urban space has also been reconstructed. This paper focuses on the development of temples and gardens in Qingpu County and Zhujiajiao Town after the Ming Dynasty, and conducts a comparative study of the two from the aspects of historical changes, temple patterns, garden layout and the relationship between temples and gardens. By analyzing the diachronic changes of the landscape space and social functions of temples and gardens, it reveals the transformation of the relationship between temples and gardens with social change, and the construction process of the interactive relationship between urban historical public space and cities such as Chenghuang Temple and affiliated Garden.

Buddhist monasteries have played important roles in the development of both the culture of and urban planning in ancient Chinese cities. In this paper, the Buddhist monasteries in the city of Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, during the Song (宋), Yuan (元), Ming (明), and Qing (清) dynasties are collated from historical documents. The characteristics of the spatial distribution of Buddhist monasteries are analyzed by using kernel density estimation (KDE), and the evolution of that spatial distribution is explored by documentary analysis. The results show that Buddhist monasteries are closely surrounded by cultural buildings and warehouses, discretely surrounded by administrative buildings. The spatial distribution evolution of Buddhist monasteries has evolved evenly during the expansion of the Xi’an city area, through the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. This study provides a reference for the preservation of Buddhist monastery spaces in the historical context of Xi’an city area.

The chapter heading for chapter fictions in Ming and Qing Dynasties is an important part of the novel and has distinct characteristics. The main manifestations are as follows: First, the language is concise and clear. Second, the syntactic structure is fixed. Third, it covers the elements of people, things, and verbs. In the process of translating the chapter fictions in Ming and Qing dynasties, translators need to master the characteristics of the chapter fictions in Ming and Qing dynasties, effectively and skillfully use parts of speech conversion, amplification and omission and attach importance to the translation of adverbs in chapter fictions. The translation of chapter fictions in Ming and Qing Dynasties will be more in line with their own characteristics and more accurate through the mastery and use of these translation techniques.

명 태조 주원장(朱元璋)은 정권을 공고히 하고 사상을 통제하기 위해 유가의 도통과 정주이학(程朱理學)을 제창하면서 사서(四書) 오경(五經)을 기반으로 한 과거제도 시스템을 구축했다. 성화(成化) 이후 팔고문의 형식이구체화되면서 팔고취사제(八股取士制)가 실질적으로 시행되었다. 따라서 유학의 경의(經義)는 국가가 정해준 지식의 범주였고, 팔고문은 제도의 문체이자 지식인들의 글쓰기 방식이었다. 이처럼 팔고취사제와 사서오경은 명 청시기 약 500여 년 동안 고대 중국의 취사(取士) 시스템이자 관방 지식의 토대가 되었다. 팔고문은 제도의 문체이자 지식이므로 제도적 문학적 측면에서 ‘제도와 지식인’의 상관성을 연구하는 데 중요한 연구 대상 중의 하나이다. 제도적 측면에서는 팔고취사제를 통한 과거시험의 내용과 팔고문 형식을 살펴보고,문학적 측면에서는 팔고문 창작과 문풍 폐단 및 지식인과 제도의 관계 등에 대한 분석이 필요하다. 본고에서 제도와 지식(인)의 범주에서 ‘제도-지식인-지식’이란 틀로 분석하고자 하는 이유이다. 본고는 제도와 지식(인)이라는 범주에서 ‘제도[과거제도]-지식인[사인]-지식[팔고문]-문풍’의 틀 위에서 명대 과거제도와 팔고취사제, 지식인의 팔고문 창작, 문풍(文風)의 폐단 등을 분석하고자 한다. 주요 내용은 크게 과거제도와 팔고취사제, 팔고문의 특징과 사례, 제도와 문풍의 폐단, 제도와 지식인 상관성 등 네 부분으로 나누어 살펴본다. 이 과정에서 명대 팔고취사제와 지식의 범주, 지식인의 시문(時文) 창작, 폐단과 원인 및 제도와 지식(인)의 상관성에 대한 분석이 이루어질 것이다.In Ming Dynasty, to consolidate political power and control thought, Zhu Yuan Zhang (Taizhu),the Emperor, promoted confucian orthodoxy and Cheng Zhu Li xue (程朱理學), and then workedout Imperial Exam system based on Four Books and Five Classics (四書五經). After the ChengHua (成化) period, the form of Ba Gu Wen (eight-part essays) was embodied and Ba Gu Qu Shi(八股取士制, a system that selects officials according to imperial exam) system was implemented. Accordingly, Confucian classics argumentation (經義) was nationally prescribed as the category ofknowledge for the exam and Ba Gu Wen the writing style, which then became writing style forthe intellectuals. In this way, Ba Gu Qu Shi (八股取士制) and Four Books and Five Classics (四書五經) became the foundation for officials selecting system and officially prescribed knowledge forabout 500 years in Ming and Qing Dynasty in ancient China. Therefore, Ba Gu Wen (八股文) then became official writing style and that of the intellectuals, and study on Ba Gu Wen (八股文) needs study on relationship between system and intellectualsin terms of national system and literature. In the aspect of national system, we should examinethe contents and form of Ba Gu Wen that was adopted for imperial exam (for officials selection)and, in the aspect of literature, we should analyze creation of Ba Gu Wen, negative effects of theliterary spirit, and relationship between the intellectuals and national system. This paper would like to make an analysis on the system of imperial exam, officials selectionsystem according to Ba Gu Wen exam, Ba Gu Wen writing by the intellectuals, negative effectsof such literary spirit, etc. in Ming Dynasty with the frame of ‘national system (imperial examsystem) - intellectuals (members of the literary groups (societies)-knowledge (Ba Gu Wen) -literary spirit’ within the category of national system and knowledge (intellectuals). Main contents should roughly be the system of imperial exam, characteristics and examples ofBa Gu Wen, negative effects of the national system and literary spirit, and relationship betweennational system and intellectuals, which forms four parts. In this process, we should analyze theofficials selection system according to imperial exam, category of knowledge for the exam, BaGu Wen writing by the intellectuals, negative effects and the cause, and relationship between the national system and knowledge (intellectuals).

The study of ancient settlements in the traditional waterside towns of Jiangnan is an important part of scientific research on architectural heritage. This study examines ancient settlements in the Nanxi River Basin during various historical periods, such as the Neolithic Age, Eastern Han Dynasty, Tang-Five Dynasty, Song-Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, and Qing Dynasty. It investigates their temporal and spatial evolution and the factors that influence their distribution, with a particular focus on the role of intangible cultural heritage. This study focuses on the relationship between the spatial evolution of traditional waterside settlements in the Nanxi River Basin and the distribution of intangible heritage and analyzes the driving factors of their development. How settlements changed over time and space was examined with geographic information systems (GIS) software and by using kernel density, elliptical variance, and spatial autocorrelation methods on 204 ancient settlement points. This study also employs buffer and data overlay methods to analyze the factors that affect settlement distribution by elevation, slope, water system distance, and distance to intangible cultural heritage points. The study reveals the following. (1) During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, clans, culture, and the economy drove the expansion of early settlements, which relied on water systems and flat terrain, to form a multicenter distribution. (2) The settlement distribution in the Nanxi River Basin has undergone a transformation from single-point distribution to multipoint aggregation and divergence during the evolution from the Neolithic Age to the Qing Dynasty. The overall center of gravity of the settlements shifts from south to north and east, and the overall distribution of the settlements is in a state of aggregation. (3) The spatial and temporal evolution of settlements is jointly influenced by the natural environment and cultural factors. The natural environment determines the spatial distribution of early settlements, while cultural factors promote the evolution and development of the settlement space. This study further clarifies the key role of intangible cultural heritage in the formation and development of settlements and provides a reference framework for future heritage protection policies.

Throughout the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the relative longevity of each dynasty, coupled with the change of dynasties, basically did not fall into a long period of turmoil, which ensured that Confucian indoctrination thought entered a period of successive development and gradual improvement. During this period, the Confucian ideology of indoctrination eventually developed into a complete system of thought and practice that was compatible with the political and social development of the country and had a significant impact on the moral development and cultivation of human beings. This article focuses on Confucian indoctrination during this period, aiming to sort out the theoretical and practical development of Confucian indoctrination during this period, to help gain a more comprehensive insight into the evolutionary trajectory of Chinese outstanding traditional culture.

When examining songs in Chinese literature, we can distinguish among literary, musical, and communal aspects of their circulation. Sanqu songs became popular in the form of musical texts in the Yuan and Ming dynasties, but the ci song lyrics, by the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) if not earlier, had already become a form of communal text in a broad sense. While relying on musical and literary aspects in the early stages of circulation, such ci song lyrics also became increasingly meaningful as social artifacts characterized by diverse forms of usage and participation, and they have been widely appreciated as a “literary-cultural phenomenon” unrelated to music per se. Standard histories of Chinese literature typically interpret the interaction between Song dynasty ci song lyrics and Yuan dynasty sanqu songs and song-drama as a natural evolution of literary forms. To be sure, these histories address the vitality of the musicality and popular nature of such songs while also paying attention to the artistic styles, inherent characters, and originality of sanqu song composition (tige xingfen 體格性分). From such an analysis, however, we know very little about the textual forms and mechanisms of transmission of Yuan-Ming sanqu songs beyond the realm of music and songwriters. In this regard, this article explores whether it was possible for the ci song lyrics, as a literary genre of greater maturity and higher status, albeit divorced from music, to transfer its literary experience to sanqu songs. Such a line of inquiry is also relevant to the study of the survival of various forms of Chinese musical literature beyond their original environments. It also helps us think about the complex relationships between the musical and communal functions of ci song lyrics and sanqu songs.