Li Qingzhao's On Ci puts forward very strict requirements on the rhythm of Ci: "Gai Shi is divided into flat edges, while Ci is divided into five tones, five tones and six rhythms, and it is clear, turbid, light and heavy." Some intonations both rhyme and rhyme. Some of these noises require special entrances, exits or entrances. It also stipulates the sentence length of each tone and the level of words in the sentence. In traditional poetry, metrical poetry is the most stringent, and the number of words, levels and antithesis are all stipulated according to the principles of rhetoric, aesthetics and phonology. Therefore, Fang Hui's "Ying Lv Kui Sui" in Yuan Dynasty said: "The essence of literature is poetry, and the essence of poetry is law." Lyric lyrics, each word should be filled in according to the score of the beat, which is stricter than metrical poetry in terms of phonetic harmony, making the language tone of the words particularly beautiful. However, the reason why the ci style is used by the majority of poets is that there is considerable freedom of use besides the rules. The liberators of words are far more than poems.
First of all, there are a large number of harmonic forms with different rhythm sentences, and the author can choose the tone of words that meet the needs of creation in a very wide range. According to the Records of Ci Pu compiled by Kangxi in Qing Dynasty, there are 826 tones and 2306 styles, many of which have not been collected. There are many changes in the length, sentence patterns and sounds of various words and tones, which are suitable for expressing and depicting various emotional images, whether they are happy or sad, rigid or soft, or a mixture of sadness and joy, and there are corresponding words and tones that can be used as a window to vent.
Furthermore, there is no limit to the change and creation of timbre and style. Authors who know the melody can create their own tones and variations. Kangxi's Preface of Words said: "Only when the words are chosen with a fixed tone, the number of words is fixed, the sentence length is fixed, and the sound and rhyme are even, there is no difference, and harmony can be achieved." However, if we look at the sentence patterns, levels, rhymes and homophones contained in Ci Fu, we can see that the ancients had considerable freedom when filling in. The rhyme of words is often wider than that of poems, and sometimes even four tones can pass or pass, and there are dialects. For example, the intonation of "Man Jiang Hong" is generally sung in rhyme to express the feeling of magnanimity, while Yue Fei's "Man Jiang Hong" (rushing to the crown with anger) expresses intense feelings, which makes people generous, sad and angry, and sings with rhyme. However, the goddess on the lake in Jiang Kui's "The Red River" (when the virtuous mother comes) has changed her rhyme, and her voice and feelings have become relaxed, full of chic and fun. The preface of Jiang Kui's "Long Pavilion Complains Slow" says: "I like to have fun by myself, and I have long and short sentences at first, and then I coordinate with the law, so there are many differences before and after." There is a sentence in this word, such as: "There are many scholars, who can plant a pavilion tree?" If trees have feelings, they won't be so green! ""at dusk, looking at the high city, I saw countless mountains. Long Wei also went. How could he forget that Yuhuan paid extra? "Scenery lyrical, comfortable, muddy as prose. However, due to the author's deep understanding of the melody, although he freely uses long and short sentences, he naturally conforms to the rhythm and adapts to the singer's timbre. " Do whatever you want without overstepping the rules "is the product of a high degree of unity between freedom and law."
There is a development process between the metrical width and the metrical strictness of words. It was relatively loose from the Tang Dynasty to the early Northern Song Dynasty, but it became more and more strict from the late Northern Song Dynasty to the Southern Song Dynasty. Different writers in different periods have different requirements for the rules of audition. If someone thinks Su Shi's ci is out of tune, someone will defend it. Lu You's Notes on the Old Learning Temple says: Dongpo can't be sung in the world, so Yuefu is not harmonious. Chao Tao said, "At the beginning of Shao Shengchu, there was a cloud in the poem after the inscription of Dongpo's Tanabata Ci:' At the end of the Song Dynasty, Dongpo was on the other side of Dongpo, and Dongpo drunk and sang Yangguanqu'. Then you can't sing, but you are bold and don't like to cut and adjust your ears. " "After Dongpo's Tanabata Poem" says: "At the end of the song, people are scattered, and the wind and rain are pressing." It can also be seen from other records that Su Shi's representative works, such as Mink Head (when is the bright moon) and Nian Nujiao (no return to the river), are also sung or appreciated by "good people", which shows that the two are still harmonious, but in some places they have broken through the bondage of melody. Generally speaking, if you don't follow the rhythm, you may lose the charm of words. If you obey the law too strictly, it will become a shackle. It is important to use rhythm to serve feelings. For example, before Li Qingzhao, the author paid more attention to phonology, while Li Qingzhao chose phonology and used words with many teeth and many tongues to create a special artistic effect of blending scenes. It can be seen that her strict argument for lyrics is freely used to break through stereotypes and create, rather than tying herself up. Many wonderful words in the Song Dynasty, though scattered in length and rolling freely, are similar to spoken language and prose, but they are full of charm and rhythm when recited. This mystery is worth appreciating. Some examples are not necessarily desirable. For example, according to Zhang Yan's Etymology, his father Zhang Shu wrote "Flowers bloom in spring": "The window is deep". The pronunciation of the word' deep' is inconsistent, so change the word' deep'; If you don't agree, change it to' Ming', which is the beginning of the song. These three words are all flat, and Hu Weiwei is like this? Gaiwuyin has lips, teeth, throat, tongue and nose, so it can be divided into light, clear and heavy, so the word Pingsheng can go up and down. "The scenes of" deep ","deep "and" bright "are so different that they have changed. Even if it is completely adapted to singing and strictly abides by the law, it is not a literary creation attitude worth emulating.