Guci
music genre
In Chinese culture, Guci (simplified Chinese: 鼓词; traditional Chinese: 鼓詞; pinyin: Gǔcí; lit. 'drum lyrics') are the prosimetric lyrics of dagu, one musical entertainment form in the shuochang or "speak and sing" genre. The performers narrate a story based on the lyrics, usually accompanied by singing, while beating a drum. Other accompanying musical instruments are sanxian, sihu, pipa and yangqin. The art form was very popular during the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, and therefore extant guci are very important in studying Chinese fiction from those period.
The public source identifies “Guci” as music genre. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Guci, music and genre.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Guci”, the useful work is to connect “music genre” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 5, 2020. The linked authority identifier is Q11180043. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Guci”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Guci primary sources, Guci archive and Guci research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Guci”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Guci” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.