南朝人與北朝人對“清商樂”概念的理解，從一開始就有所不同，這 種差異導致了樂府分類及研究上的許多困難。本文試圖對南朝人關於“清商 樂”的概念進行詳細的梳理，嘗試證明以下幾個主要觀點：（一）南朝（420—589)時，“清商樂”專指一套定型於魏晉的舊樂，其曲目有明確的範圍；（二） 終南朝之世，這一概念並未發生大變化；南朝人不認為吳聲西曲屬於清商樂； (三）《樂府詩集》對相關歌辭的分類是有問題的: 其“相和歌辭”正是南朝人概 念中的“清商樂”歌辭；其“清商曲辭”卻是東晉（317-420)至南朝之新音樂歌 辭，而不是清商樂的歌辭。 This paper studies the concept of uqingshangyuen 清商樂 during the Southern dynasties (Nanchao 南朝 420-589) and argues that: (1) Qingshangyue referred originally to a specific set of songs created during the Wei 魏 (220-265) and Jin 晉(265-420) dynasties; (2) New forms of music such as wusheng 吳聲 and xiqu 西曲 were not considered qingshangyue; (3) The classification in Yuefu shiji 樂府詩集 is misleading: what it calls "xianghe 相和 lyrics" are actually lyrics for the qingshangyue in the Southern dynasties, and what it calls “qingshcing lyrics’，actually denotes new forms of music which emerged and flourished during the Eastern Jin (317-420) and the Southern dynasties.

The Journal of Oriental Studies was founded in 1954. Starting with Volume 38, the Journal is co-published by the School of Chinese, The University of Hong Kong and the Center for Chinese Language and Cultural Studies, Stanford University. The Journal is bilingual, with articles and reviews in both Chinese and English. All articles published in the Journal are refereed. The area of coverage of the Journal includes China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia; the subject matter includes both traditional and contemporary issues in history, geography, fine arts, language, literature, philosophy, law, architecture, archaeology, economics, political science, sociology and anthropology. The School of Chinese is one of the four schools in the Faculty of Arts of The University of Hong Kong. Its unique identity is reflected in its combination of the study of Chinese language, literature, history, culture, philosophy, and translation into one single entity. The School aims at cultivating appreciation of the Chinese culture in its entirety and will move towards fulfilling its mission to disseminate Chinese learning and to promote the cultural interflow between China and the West.