The dreamland rhyme is also known as the sound of dreamland. It is not only the earliest rhyme of Taoist scriptures but also the most representative Taoist music tunes. As we all know, Taoism was very popular in Tang and Song Dynasty, so a large number of dreamland Ci were written in those days. The dreamland rhyme used to be an applied style of poem, which were sung in religious rites, but its contents became rich and full of cultural and literary meanings in the Tang and Song Dynasties through scholars' literary creations. There are many achievements of dreamland rhyme study now. Most of these achievements only pay attention to the rhetoric of dreamland rhyme. This is not enough. In our opinion, we should choose more perspectives to observe the dreamland rhyme. For example, it is necessary to observe the dreamland rhyme in the Tang and Song Dynasties from the perspective of Ci-poetry. The dreamland rhyme has a close relationship with Qingshang music in the Han and Wei Dynasties, especially the songs of southern sacrifice. It also has a homologous and intercommunicating relationship with Buddhist chants. Therefore, we can establish a connection between the dreamland rhyme and music of Ci in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and the medium of this connection is the Qingshang music in the Han and Wei Dynasties. Firstly, we should pay attention to the legend of Yushan goddess. This legend has relationships with both Buddhist chants and the songs of southern sacrifice, which are the origin of the dreamland rhyme, at the same time. This phenomenon shows there may be a blending between Buddhist chants and the songs of southern sacrifice. Secondly, we found both Kou Qianzhi and Lu Xiujing's reform of the Taoism music had relationships with Qingshang music in the south of China. According to the history books of Taoism, Kou Qianzhi changed the reciting in Taoist rituals to singing with incidental music in the North Wei Dynasty. Some elements in these tunes were learned from Qingshang music. Lu Xiujing was a reformer of Taoism, too. He created the earliest dreamland rhyme noted in Taoist history. Lu Xiujing was born and grew up in the south of the Yangtse River, so his music cognition may have a relationship with southern Qingshang music system. Thirdly, sounds and emotions of dreamland rhyme are similar with Buddhist chants. The dreamland rhyme was incorporated into the music of Yan in the Tang and Song Dynasties. It soon became very popular. There were two kinds of music in the Tang and Song Dynasty: the ceremonial music and the folk music. The ceremonial music was played by chamberlain for ceremonials while the folk music was played by Jiao Fang. As a kind of religious music, the dreamland rhyme can also be divided into two types: some of the dreamland rhymes were written by Taoist monks. The dreamland rhyme written by Taoist monks followed the traditional styles. Sometimes Taoist monks made adjustments when it was necessary, but they never changed these styles too much. The dreamland rhyme written by other people changed its phonology, accents and performance forms. It gradually incorporated into the music of Yan and finally became a part of music of Ci. Dreamland Ci is the word form of the dreamland rhyme. It co-developed with regular verse and miscellaneous verse in the Tang and Song Dynasties. The forms of dreamland Ci in the Taoist religious rites are regular verses while the forms of dreamland Ci in music of Yan are regular verses and miscellaneous verses. The dreamland Ci was transformed from regular verse to miscellaneous verse. This transformation has important meanings in the study of the transformation of Musical Poems and Ci. Many tunes of Ci in the Tang and Song Dynasties have some connections with the dreamland rhyme and the dreamland Ci, such as Daolianzi, Buxuziling, Yijiangnan, Xijiangyue and so on. The Qingshang music in the Han and Wei Dynasties disappeared, and the Ci music in the Tang and Song Dynasties also lost its inheritance today. But Taoist music still exists. Lots of Taoist rites will sing dreamland Ci nowadays. It's important and necessary to analysis the dreamland rhyme from the perspective of Ci-poetry. We can try to solve some questions about music of Ci in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Such a new way to analysis the dreamland rhyme in the Tang and Song Dynasties will help us find new literatures.
陶然 周密. 唐宋步虚韵的词学观照[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2017, 3(2): 20-29.
Tao Ran Zhou Mi. The Observation of Dreamland Rhyme in the Tang and Song Dynasties from the Perspective of Ci-poetry. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2017, 3(2): 20-29.