"literary Field Study

Excellent Ci,compiled by Zhou Mi,is a complete anthology of poems written in South Song Dynasty.Not having established its fame during Yuan and Ming Dynasty, the anthology spread in a complex way during Qing Dynasty in different versions. The intention of compiling this anthology is to promote the theory of poetry by poets of Jiang Kui's style,including Zhou Mi himself,and to preserve the literature of the late dynasty so as to express the sorrow of its people.In criteria of compilation,the anthology honors comeliness and elegance,delicacy and decency,and pays great attention to tone,rhyme,form and diction.Concerning the emotion that poems convey, the author values "sorrow".The book has a considerable influence upon the later poets,partly because works of many poets not mentioned in other historical works finds way to descend in this book solely.To include only poems of one period of time and to establish a poetry school upon an anthology are two good examples for the later generation.A direct promotion of the writing of The Headstream of Ci,by Zhang Yan,is another great help on the development of the field of ci in Qing Dynasty. Revealing the shared feeling of poets after the southward shift of Song's capital,the anthology also enables the present people to trace the poets' attitude and heart during the special historical period.Comparing it with other simultaneous anthologies of poems,we are able to figure out the general aesthetic opinions on ci and the compilers' respective aesthetic tastes and theoretical opinions,so as to deepen our understanding and study upon this anthology.