Abstract The Ci Poetry of the Qing Dynasty has always displayed regional and familial characteristics. By conducting data analysis and visualizing the birthplace of Ci poets in the “Shunzhi-Kangxi” volume and “Yongzheng-Qianlong” volume of TheCompleteCi Poetry of the Qing, along with comparative data from the “Jiajing-Daoguang” volume, the geographical distribution patterns of the Early Qing Dynasty Ci poets can be examined.From its inception, Ci Poetry has exhibited a stronger “southerness” compared with poetry and prose. From the Song to the Qing Dynasties, the proportion of Ci poets from the North and South gradually diverged. Through provincial distribution maps, a clear pattern emerges with the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions at the center, diminishing towards the surrounding provinces. This demonstrates the prominent position of Jiangsu and Zhejiang in Ci poetic theory. The progress in other regions was mainly related to the economic development, but factors such as education, printing industry, and regional Ci poetic theory traditions also played crucial roles.Through county and city distribution maps, it is evident that the core areas were Southern Jiangsu and Western Zhejiang. Overall, urban clusters in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River created a block-like distribution belt. This also establishes a regional literary sub-center, concentrated in major cities, with a clear trend towards aggregation. By the end of the Kangxi Period, the Ci poetic scene began to decline, coinciding with the passing of many Ming loyalists during the Shunzhi-Kangxi Era, the intensification of literary inquisitions, and the compilation of works such as the Qinding Cipu and the Lidai Shiyu.During the Yongzheng-Qianlong Period, the Ci poetic scene largely maintained the structure of the Shunzhi-Kangxi Era, with the number of Ci poets decreasing by about half. The proportion of Ci poets from Jiangsu and Zhejiang declined, while the disparities among other provinces also narrowed compared to the Shunzhi-Kangxi Era. In regions such as the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the area around Taihu Lake, Fujian, and the Pearl River Basin in Guangdong, diverse Ci poetic expressions flourished, leading to a slight increase in the proportion of Ci poets from remote areas. By comparing data from the “Jiajing-Daoguang” volume, it becomes apparent that in the early Qing Dynasty, Ci poets were highly concentrated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, relied on water transportation, and were significantly influenced by political factors. Through geographical visualization of distribution, the study examines the impact of factors such as economy, education, politics, and transportation on the regional distribution of Ci poets, providing a comprehensive research perspective for the study of Qing Dynasty Ci Poetry.This study also includes some new discoveries in individual cases, such as the silence of the Hubei Ci poetic scene during the Yongzheng-Qianlong Era. Due to military conflicts and natural disasters in the early Qing Dynasty, a large number of people in the Hubei region perished or migrated, leading to abandoned lands and a fractured society. Through the governance of the Kangxi and Yongzheng reigns, there was a gradual recovery in the economic and social aspects. Consequently, the later period witnessed an expansion in the community of Ci poets from Hubei.The Complete Ci Poetry of the Qing offers a comprehensive perspective on the geographical distribution of Ci poets based on different imperial reigns during the Qing Dynasty, serving as an exemplary text for conducting a holistic and dynamic study of the Ci Poetry landscape. Through multidimensional quantitative methods, it can unearth latent data discourse, effectively extracting the relationship between the literati and the geographical elements. By integrating CHGIS and QGIS, new materials and questions can be explored, and steps such as data analysis, pattern description, relationship discernment, and significance interpretation are intricately interwoven and mutually supportive, leading to new conclusions that are difficult to discern solely through traditional research methods. This demonstrates the new opportunities that digital humanities bring to the traditional literary research paradigm.
Fu Hongxiao,Xu Yongming. Visual Analysis of the Geographical Distribution of Ci Poets from the Early Qing Dynasty to the Jiaqing-Daoguang Period[J]. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2024, 54(11): 75-86.
2024, Vol. 54 
