Revival of Ci in the Qing Dynasty

After the decline in the Yuan and Ming dynasties, ci began to rise again in the early years of the Qing Dynasty. There were many ci writers and schools that presented masterpieces in different styles. The revival of ci in the Qing Dynasty was not a reproduction of the glory in the Southern Tang Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Song dynasties. Instead, it was redeveloped as a literary genre after decline, and its revival should be regarded as a process of change and innovation as it was carried on. The characteristics of ci in the Qing Dynasty included the expansion and extension of subject matters, changes in composition techniques and skills, elevation of artistic conception, and construction of ci theories.