Welcome to Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art,

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art ›› 2017, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (4): 78-88.

• Issue in Focus: Studies of Ancient Chinese Music and Poetry • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Musicality of the Chuci Style Revisited: the Establishment of the Music Symbol "Xi"

Dai Weihua   

  1. the college of Literature, South China Normal University (Guangzhou 510631, China)
  • Online:2017-09-25 Published:2017-11-26
  • About author:Dai Weihua, Ph.D., is a Professor in the college of Literature, South China Normal University (Guangzhou 510631, China). His research interests cover Chinese poetics, Tang and song literature.

Abstract: "Xi" is the symbolic symbol of the musicality of Chuci. The construction of the "standard" for the musicality of the Chuci style is based on the translation of "the songs of Yue" and "the songs of Chu" and also on the relationship between the "song" and "words" in Yufu. 兮(xi), as a function word in text, is a vocal representation of musicality. Among all the writings belong to chuci, those containing xi means that there's attempt to capture the vocal musicality of the songs, while those that do not have xi are simply purely textual transcription. The difference between "hun hu gui lai" (Thy soul, return!) and "hun xi gui lai" (Thy soul, ah, return!) is mainly musical rather than textual. The special musical structure of Zhaohun (Sprit Evocation) lies in the fact that the 兮(xi) and 些(xie) can help distinguish different roles, indicating that it also serve ceremonial functions. "些" may be a misspelling of "止止" or "".

Key words: 兮(xi), 些(xie), vocal representation, function word, Dazhao; Zhaohun