Thanks for reading it very much. Ci is a special kind of ancient Chinese poem for singing as lyrics, mainly popular in Song Dynasty. As usual, it includes two parts like this Yangzhouman. And sometimes it can only also have one part. Its another name is "Long Short Sentence" which means that it is made up of the short and long lines in rhyme, but not like the traditional ancient Chinese poem whose word numbers on each line are the same. Just click here to read the explanation about Ci in details from Wikipedia.
I know it is rather difficult to understand this Ci since it comprised a lot of allusions about another poet Du Mu from Tang Dynasty. I still remember when I learned this Ci from our high school textbook, I didn't relish reading it at all. However, decades passed, now I suddenly fall in love with it, especially after I heard that great recitation.
Just open your mind eyes: The bridge, the water under it and the moon above it are all quietless, indifferent and even chilly, only the gorgeous red peonies besides the bridge bloom warmly! The author couldn't help asking: For whom would those peonies be flowering yearly when apparently they had not any admirer around them？Just like me, even if having not any reader, I still grow my red peonies lonely and stubbornly... I wish western people/foreigners could love ancient Chinese poems as much as I do. Only God knows how I am enchanted and intoxicated by the passionate recitation from this video:https://v.douyin.com/MkbQo1H/
which is indeed too beautiful!
All in all, I cherish every English reader/viewer of my Hive blogs more than they imagine! Thank you for your reading again!
P.S.:
What is Ci/词 in China？
Ci, Wade-Giles romanization tz’u, in Chinese poetry, song form characterized by lines of unequal length with prescribed rhyme schemes and tonal patterns, each bearing the name of a musical air. The varying line lengths are comparable to the natural rhythm of speech and therefore are easily understood when sung. First sung by ordinary people, they were popularized by professional women singers and attracted the attention of poets during the Tang dynasty (618–907). It was not, however, until the transitional period of the Five Dynasties (907–960), a time of division and strife, that ci became a major vehicle for lyrical expression. Of ci poets in this period, the greatest was Li Yu, last monarch of the Nan Tang (Southern Tang) dynasty. The ci served as the predominant form for verse of the Song dynasty (960–1279).
source