The Song poem ( “ci” ) was a new type of poems , originated with the feast music at the court form the end of the Sui Dynasty to the beginning of the Tang Dynasty . Born out of the poem , it was of a different type . Limited by its tunes , its verses were not uniform but were with long and short staggering lines . With respect to the contents , the scope of its content was narrower than that of the poem . It was mostly concerned with love between men and women and sentiments at separation . Although its scope was enlarged later , yet it was still mostly about the “leisurely life”. So , among the classic lyrics and poems it was considered by the scholars more as pure lyrical literature .
In the Song Dynasty the Song poem ( ci ) reached an unprecedented flourishing level . The Song poem and the Tang poem were prized as “the twin jade objects” in the Chinese literature . Transited from the macrocosm of the Tang poems to the microcosm of the Song poems , from the perspectives of the universe , men , mountains , rivers and the earth to the perspectives of the personal emotions , the Song poems differ from the Tang poems in their basic orientations , reflecting the change in the spirits of the times.
