1. The use of rhyme in rhythmic poetry
When ancient people wrote rhythmic poetry, they rhymed strictly according to the rhyme book. Until the Qing Dynasty, when writing poems, I often consulted rhyme books such as "The Collection of Poems and Rhymes" and "The Collection of Poems and Rhymes". This shows that the rhythmic poetry of the Qing Dynasty emphasized rhyme, and the rhythmic poetry of the Tang and Song Dynasties strictly used rhyme.
There are 106 rhymes in poetry, including 30 rhymes for the flat tone, 29 rhymes for the ascending tone, 30 rhymes for the falling tone, and 17 rhymes for the entering tone. Rhymed poetry generally uses flat rhymes, so we only talk about flat rhymes in this section.
In rhyme books, flat tone rhyme is divided into upper level tone and lower level tone. There are many characters in Ping tone, so it is divided into two volumes. Roll up with a flat sound, roll down with a flat sound.
Shangping tone 15 rhymes:
One east? Two winters? Three rivers? Four branches? Five grays, six fishes and seven yu? Eighty? Nine good? Ten grays? Eleven true ten Two texts? Thirteen yuan and fourteen colds? Fifteen deletions
Lower Pingsheng 15 rhymes:
One first? Two Xiaos? Three dishes? Four heroes? Five songs? Six ma and seven Yang? Eight Geng? Nine Greens? Ten Steams? Eleven You Twelve Invasions? Thirteen Tan? Fourteen Salts? Fifteen Salts
The words "东" and "东" are just representatives of rhyme They only represent the types of finals. As for the difference in pronunciation between the two rhymes "东" and "东" (and other similar rhymes), we will not go into it now. We only know that their previous pronunciations may be There was a difference, but they were later confused.
The ancients wrote poems strictly in accordance with the rhyme of rhyme books. For example, in the imperial examination, it must be strictly observed, and later it became a custom. It must also be observed when writing rhymed poetry.
In Cao Xueqin's Dream of Red Mansions, there is such a story: Lin Daiyu asked Xiang Ling to write a poem about the lawyer who eulogized the moon, specifying the rhyme to be cold. When Xiangling was thinking hard about this rhyme, Tanchun smiled and said through the window: "Miss Ling, you can take your time." Xiangling replied in a daze: "The word "Xian" was deleted from 15, which is wrong. Rhyme." This story shows that the use of rhyme in modern poetry is also very strict.
There are broad and narrow rhymes:
Those with a large number of words are called wide rhymes, and those with few words are called narrow rhymes. Broad rhymes are such as branch rhymes, true rhymes, first rhymes, yang rhymes, and geng rhymes. Yun, Youyun, etc.
Narrow rhymes include Jiang rhyme, Jia rhyme, Yao rhyme, Qin rhyme, Yan rhyme, Xian rhyme, etc. Narrow rhyme is relatively rare in meter poetry. Some rhymes, such as slight rhyme, deleted rhyme, and intrusive rhyme, may not have many words, but they are more practical, and poets also like to use them.
Now let’s take a few rhymed poems as examples:
Send Off to General Wei (Yidong)
[Tang Dynasty] Chen Zi’ang
The Xiongnu were still not destroyed, so Wei Jiang returned to the army.
I say farewell to the Three Rivers Road, and I want to pursue the hero of the Six Counties.
The Yanshan Mountain stretches across to the north, and the fox plug connects to the clouds.
Don’t let Yan Ran come up, but leave Han generals to do their best.
Happy to see my cousin but say goodbye (Second Winter)
[Tang Dynasty] Li Yi
After ten years of separation, he grew up to be a relative.
Asking for the last name surprised me when I first met, and calling me by name recalled my old appearance.
Don’t come to Canghai, let’s talk about the sunset.
How heavy will the autumn mountains be on Baling Road tomorrow?
Choubiyi (Liuyu)
[Tang Dynasty] Li Shangyin
The ape and bird are hesitant and fearful,
The wind and cloud always protect Chuxu .
The general Tu Ling used his magic pen,
Finally he saw King Jiang passing the chariot.
If you are talented in wind music, you will not be dull.
What if Guan Zhang has no destiny?
When he was in Jinli, he visited the ancestral temple.
Liang’s father chanted it and became more than a little angry.
Zhongnan Mountain (Qiyu)
[Tang Dynasty] Wang Wei
Taiyi is close to the capital of heaven, stretching from mountains to sea corners.
The white clouds look back and merge, and the blue mist comes in to see nothing.
The peaks in the field are changing, and the clouds and sunshine are different.
If you want to stay somewhere, ask the woodcutter across the water.
2. How modern people should use rhyme when writing metrical poems
Since Pingshui rhyme was summarized in the Song Dynasty, it has been the rhyme book used by poets to write old-style poems. In the past, poets also used poetic rhyme to compose lyrics. The imperial examination also used rhyme strictly according to the rhyme book.
With the development of society, some pronunciation has changed, so that the original rhyming words no longer rhyme when read in Mandarin, so later generations created "Chinese New Rhyme" and "Zhonghua Tong". "Rhyme", in poetry creation, it can be said that there are "three tracks" in parallel, and any rhyme can be used.
My personal opinion is that Pingshui Rhyme is a cultural treasure of the predecessors. For creators who love poetry and want to learn metrical poetry well, this is a basic skill that should be mastered. Therefore, beginners should write poems and lyrics strictly according to their level. After they are comfortable and familiar with it, the choice of rhyme to use is a matter of personal preference.