"Green Jade Table?"
At the mention of this *cipai* name, the crowd couldn't help but recall the corresponding formal requirements. A *cipai* name acts much like the melody of a song. In this era, lyrics were still composed to be sung alongside musical scores, meaning they had to adhere to specific rhythms and tonal patterns. No matter how one filled in the words, the result had to conform to strict tonal constraints, with explicit rules governing the exact number of characters required for each phrase.
Throughout history, nearly all masters of poetry had composed their new verses according to the formats of established *cipai*, thereby imbuing these titles with unique souls. However, once a masterpiece had been set as a standard, successors became far more cautious; no one wanted their new lyrics to appear flimsy or amateurish.
Chapter 28