A Critical Argument on "the Decline of Ci in the Yuan Dynasty
''词哀于元''辨

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.