关键词: 词牌, 曲牌, 词调, 骨牌

Abstract: Calling melody as pai first appeared in the middle of the Ming dynasty, which is a fascinating phenomenon in Chinas cultural history. Paiming was a term particularly used by scholars in the Ming and Qing dynasties, whose original meaning represented the names in card games. As the use of terms in card games and classical melody tended to be similar, the names of cards were adopted as the names of melody during drinking games. Cipai and qupai were derivative words of paiming, which became popular at a later time. The primary cause for this phenomenon was the need for expression. As specific nouns to represent the melody of drama were absent, the term qupai was more readily accepted. The introduction of cipai into the study of ci-poetry resulted from the fact that “the melody of ci-poetry” could also refer to musical mode. The term pai can better express the stylistic characteristics of ci and qu genres.

Key words: cipai; , qupai; , the melody of ci-poetry; , card game