“词哀于元”辨

A Critical Argument on "the Decline of Ci in the Yuan Dynasty

元词历来评价不高，被认为是词体历经唐家兴盛之后的衰落期。“同衰于元”似乎已成定论。本文对此说法提出怀疑，并通过对元代词体发展的具体分析，指出导致词体衰落的诸多因素在南宋业已存在，而元词就其本质而言是南宋词的自然延伸，“词衰于元”之说，元人恐未肯任其咎。文章认为，前人对元词的评判存在着两个基本偏颇，一是在元词的断根问题上有所失误，二是评判标准上的不完善。本文就此提出了“以元归元”的原则及四个标准．以此作为确定易代之际文学的划分依据。

Ci by the Yuan Dynasty poets has long been held low as a decline from the glorious times of the Tang and Song Dynasties. This essay presents a critical argument on this opinion through a careful examination of the development of Ci in history. It holds that the causes of the decline to Ci originated in the Southern Song Dynasty itself. The consequent discrimination of Ci in the Yuan Dynasty is therefore not reasonable. Four criteria are therefore put forward in judging Ci in the Yuan Dynasty.