From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chinese Poetry is the most highly regarded literary genre in ancient China. Traditionally, it is divided into shi (詩), ci (詞) and qu (曲). There is also a kind of prose-poem called fu (賦). During the modern period, there also has developed free verse in Western style. All the traditional forms of Chinese poetry are rhymed, but not all rhymed texts in ancient China are classified as poetry - for instance, lines from I Ching are often rhymed, but is not considered poetry. (Compare the Pre-Socratic philosophical works in ancient Greece which are in the form of poetry.)

Contents [hide] 1 Early poetry 2 Classical poetry 3 Later classical poetry 4 Modern poetry 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Early poetry

There could have been a number of important anthologies of early poetry in ancient China, but since the burning of books by Qin Shihuang, the earliest extant anthologies are the Shi Jing and Chu Ci, dating to the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States respectively.

Shi Jing (詩經 "Classic of Poetry") was the first major surviving collection of Chinese poems, collecting both aristocratic poems (Odes) and more rustic poetry, probably derived from folksongs (Songs). They are mostly composed of four-character (四言) lines.

A second, more lyrical and romantic anthology was Chu Ci (楚辭 "Songs of Chu"), made up primarily of poems ascribed to Qu Yuan and his follower Song Yu. These poems are composed of lines of irregular lengths, in the style prevalent in the state of Chu.

 

[edit] Classical poetry

During the Han Dynasty, the Chu Ci-type of lyrics evolved into fu. During the Six Dynasties, fu remained a major poetic genre, and together with shi formed the twin generic pillars of Chinese poetry until shi began to dominate during the Tang dynasty.

From the Han Dynasty onwards, a process similar to the origins of Shi Jing produced the yue fu (樂府 "Music Bureau") poems. Many of them are composed of lines of five-character (五言) or seven-character (七言). These two forms of shi were to dominate Chinese poetry until the modern era. They are divided into the original gushi and jintishi. The latter is a stricter form developed in the early Tang dynasty with rules governing the structure of a poem. The greatest writers of gushi and jintishi are often held to be Li Bai and Du Fu respectively.

Towards the end of the Tang dynasty, the ci lyric became more popular. Ci are literally new lyrics made up to fit to pre-existing tunes. Each of the tunes had music that was often lost, but retained a metre unique to the tune. Thus, each ci written is labelled "To the tune of [Tune Name]" (調寄[詞牌]), fits the metre and rhyme of the tune, and may or may not have been sung. Most closely associated with the Song Dynasty, ci most often expressed feelings of desire, often in an adopted persona, but the greatest exponents of the form (such as Li Houzhu and Su Shi) used it to address a wide range of topics.

As the ci gradually became more literary and artificial after Song times, sanqu (散曲), a freer form, based on new popular songs, developed.

 

[edit] Later classical poetry

After the Song Dynasty, both shi and ci continued to be composed until the end of the imperial period, and to a lesser extent to this day. However, for a number of reasons, these works have always been less highly regarded than those of the Tang dynasty in particular.

Firstly, Chinese literary culture remained in awe of its predecessors: in a self-fulfilling prophecy, writers and readers both expected that new works would not bear comparison with the earlier masters. Secondly, the most common response of these later poets to the tradition which they had inherited was to produce work which was ever more refined and allusive; the resulting poems tend to seem precious or just obscure to modern readers. Thirdly, the increase in population, expansion of literacy, wider dissemination of works through printing and more complete archiving vastly increased the volume of work to consider and made it difficult to identify and properly evaluate those good pieces which were produced. Finally the 1920s saw the rise of vernacular literature, particularly opera and novels, which increasingly became the main means of cultural expression.

 

[edit] Modern poetry

Modern Chinese poems (新詩 "new poetry") usually do not follow any prescribed pattern. Poetry was revolutionized after the May Fourth Movement when writers try to use vernacular styles closer to what was being spoken (baihua) rather than previously prescribed forms. Early 20th-century poets like Xu Zhimo, Guo Moruo and Wen Yiduo sought to break Chinese poetry from past conventions by adopting Western models; for example Xu consciously follows the style of the Romantic poets with end-rhymes.

In the post-revolutionary Communist era, poets like Ai Qing used more liberal running lines and direct diction, which were vastly popular and widely imitated.

In the contemporary poetic scene, the most important and influential poets are in the group known as Misty Poets, who use oblique allusions and hermetic references. The most important Misty Poets include Bei Dao, Gu Cheng, Duo Duo, and Yang Lian, all of whom were exiled after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

 

[edit] See also

• Chinese art
• 300 Tang poems
• List of Chinese language poets
• Chinese literature
• Chinese classic texts
• List of national poetries
• Shigin

 

[edit] References

• Stephen Owen (1996). An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911.
• J. Gill Holland (1986). Keep an Eye on South Mountain: Translations of Chinese Poetry.
• James J.Y. Liu (1966). The Art of Chinese Poetry.
• Wai-lim Yip (1997). Chinese Poetry: An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres .

 

[edit] External links

• "A T'ang Canon" by Gilbert Wesley Purdy. A book review/essay which includes considerable information on Classical and T'ang poetry.
• Chinese Poems (a selection).
• Great Chinese Poets (a selection).
• The 300 Tang poems in Chinese with English translation.
• The Shi Jing, or Book of Odes in Chinese with English translation.
• Chinese Poets (selected poems by Li Bai and Du Fu).
• Chinese Regulated Poetry How to read a Chinese regulated verse (with pinyin transliteration, tonal patterns, and English translation).

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a Chinese name; the family name is 蘇 (Su).

Su Shi

Statue of Su Dongpo near the West Lake in Hangzhou
Born:	1037
Died:	1101
Occupation:	Poet, Essayist, Painter, Artist, Calligrapher, Statesman
Influences:	Li Bai, Du Fu

Su Shi (Simplified Chinese: 苏轼; Traditional Chinese: 蘇軾; Pinyin: Sū Shì, 1037–1101) was a writer, poet, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty, and one of the major poets of the Song era. His courtesy name was Zizhan (子瞻) and his pseudonym was Dongpo Jushi (東坡居士 “Resident of Dongpo”), and he is often referred to as Su Dongpo (蘇東坡). Besides his renowned poetry, his other existent writings are of great value in the understanding of 11th century Chinese travel literature as well as details of the 11th century Chinese iron industry.

Contents [hide] 1 Life 2 Work 2.1 Poetry 2.2 Travel record literature 2.3 A memorial concerning the iron industry 2.4 Technical issues of hydraulic engineering 3 Trivia 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links

 

[edit] Life

Su Shi was born in Meishan, near Mount Emei in what is now Sichuan province. His brother Su Zhe (蘇轍) and his father Su Xun (蘇洵) were both famous literati. Su's early education was conducted under a Taoist priest at a local village school. Later in his childhood, he studied under his mother, herself a highly educated woman. Su married at age 17. In 1057, when Su was 19, he and his brother passed the municipal (highest-level) civil service examinations to attain the degree of Jinshi, a prerequisite for high government office at that time. His accomplishments at such a young age attracted the attention of Ouyang Xiu, who became Su's patron thereafter. Beginning in 1060 and throughout the following twenty years, Su held a variety of government positions throughout China; most notably in Hangzhou, where he was responsible for constructing a pedestrian causeway across the West Lake that still bears his name: sudi (蘇堤). He had served as a magistrate in Mizhou, which is located in modern day Zhucheng County of Shandong province. Later, when he was governor of Xuzhou, he once wrote a memorial to the throne in 1078 complaining about the troubling economic conditions and potential for armed rebellion in Liguo Industrial Prefecture, where a large part of the Chinese iron industry was located.^[1][2]

Su Shi was often at odds with a political faction headed by Wang Anshi. Su Shi once wrote a poem criticizing Wang Anshi's reforms, especially the government monopoly imposed on the salt industry.^[3] The dominance of Wang Anshi's faction of the New Policies Group at court allowed Wang greater ability to have Su Shi exiled for political crimes. Wang claimed that Su was criticizing the emperor, when in fact Su Shi's poetry was aimed at criticizing Wang's reforms.^[3] Su Shi's first remote trip of exile (1080–1086) was to Huangzhou (now in Zhejiang province). This post carried a nominal title, but no stipend, leaving Su in poverty. During this period, he began Buddhist meditation. With help from a friend, Su built a small residence on a parcel of land in 1081. In 1086, Su and all other banished statesmen were recalled to the capital due to the ascension of a new government.^[4] However, Su was banished a second time (1094–1100) to Huizhou (now in Guangdong province) and Hainan island. In 1098 the Dongpo Academy in Hainan was built on the site of his residence that was established while in exile. In Huangzhou, Su Shi lived at a farm called Dongpo ('Eastern Slope'), from which he took his literary pseudonym.

Although political bickering and opposition usually split ministers of court into rivaling groups, there were moments of non-partisanship and cooperation from both sides. For example, although the prominent scientist and statesman Shen Kuo (1031-1095) was one of Wang Anshi's most trusted associates and political allies, Shen nonetheless befriended Su Shi and even collaborated with him in compiling the pharmaceutical treatise of the Liang Fang (良方; Good medicinal formulas).^[5][6][7][8]

Su Shi had several children, the eldest being Su Mai (苏迈), who would also become a government official by 1084.^[9] After Su Shi's wife had died, he wrote this poem in her memory, entitled Jiang zhenzi (江城子):

Ten years living and dead have drawn apart   I do nothing to remember   But I can not forget   Your lonely grave a thousand miles away ...   Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow --   Even if we met, how would you know me   My face full of dust   My hair like snow?   In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home   You by the window   Doing your hair   I look at you and can not speak   Your face is streaked by endless tears   Year after year must they break my heart   These moonlit nights?   That low pine grave?

Su Shi[10][11]

After a long period of political exile, Su received a pardon in 1100 and was posted to Chengdu. However, he died in Changzhou, Jiangsu province on route to his new assignment in the year 1101. Su Shi was 64 years old.^[4]

 

[edit] Work

 

[edit] Poetry

Su Dongpo excelled in the shi, ci and fu forms of poetry, as well as prose, calligraphy and painting. Some of his notable poems include the First and Second Chibifu (赤壁賦 The Red Cliffs, written during his first exile), Nian Nu Jiao: Chibi Huai Gu (念奴嬌.赤壁懷古 Remembering Chibi, to the tune of Nian Nu Jiao) and Shui diao ge tou (水調歌頭 Remembering Su Che on the Mid-Autumn Festival, 中秋節). The two former poems were inspired by the 3rd century naval battle of the Three Kingdoms era, the Battle of Chibi in the year 208. The bulk of his poems (around 2400) are in the shi style, but his poetic fame rests largely on his 350 ci style poems. Su Shi also founded the haofang school, which cultivated an attitude of heroic abandon. In both his written works and his visual art, he combined spontaneity, objectivity and vivid descriptions of natural phenomena. Su Shi wrote essays as well, many of which are on politics and governance, including his Liuhoulun (留侯論). His popular politically charged poetry was often the reason of Wang Anshi's wrath towards him, including this poem criticizing Wang Anshi's stiff reforms of the salt monopoly that made salt increasingly rare to find:

	An old man of seventy, sickle at his waist, Feels guilty the spring mountain bamboo and bracken are sweet. It's not that the music of Shao has made him lose his sense of taste. It's just that he's eaten his food for three months without salt.
Su Shi[3]

 

[edit] Travel record literature

Su Shi also wrote of his travel experiences in 'daytrip essays',^[12] which belonged in part to the popular Song era literary category of 'travel record literature' (youji wenxue) that employed the use of narrative, diary, and prose styles of writing.^[13] Although other works in Chinese travel literature contained a wealth of cultural, geographical, topographical, and technical information, the central purpose of the daytrip essay was to use a setting and event in order to convey a philosophical or moral argument, which often employed persuasive writing.^[12] For example, Su Shi's daytrip essay known as Record of Stone Bell Mountain, where he judges and then personally discovers whether or not ancient texts on 'stone bells' were factually accurate:

“

The Waterway Classic says: "At the mouth of a Pengli [Lake] there is a Stone Bell Mountain." Li Daoyuan (d. 527) held that "below it, near a deep pool, faint breezes drum up waves, and water and rocks striking one another toll like huge bells." Others have often doubted this claim. Today, if one takes a bell or a lithophone and places it into the water, even if there is great wind and waves, you cannot make it ring. How much the less, then, for [common] rocks? It was not until the time of Li Bo [9th century, not the famous Li Bo, or Li Bai] of the Tang that someone searched for a surviving trace of this phenomenon. Upon finding a pair of rocks on the bank of a pool, he knocked them together and listened. Their southern tone was mellow and muted; their northern timber was clear and shrill. When the clang ceased, its resonance mounted; the remnant notes then gradually came to rest. Li Bo then held that he had found the 'stone bells'. However, I am especially doubtful of this statement. The clanking sound made by rocks is the same everywhere. And yet, this place alone is named after a bell. Why, indeed, is that?[14]

”

“

On Dingchou day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Prime Abundance period (July 14, 1084), I was traveling by boat from Qi'an (Huanggang, Hubei) to Linru (Linru, Henan). My oldest son [Su] Mai was just about to leave for Dexing in Rao to take up the post of Pacificator. Since I accompanied him as far as Hukou (modern Hukou, Jiangxi), I was able to observe the so-called stone bells. A monk from a [nearby] monastery dispatched an apprentice carrying an axe to select one or two among the scattered rocks and knock them [with an axe], upon which they made a 'gong-gong'-like sound. I laughed just as I had done before and still did not believe the legend.[9]

”

“

That evening, the moon was bright. Alone with Mai I rode a little boat to the base of a steep precipice. The huge rocks on our flank stood 1000 feet high (304 m). They looked like fierce beasts and weird goblins, lurking in a ghastly manner and getting ready to attack us. When the roosting falcons on the mountain heard our voices they too flew off in fright, cawing and crying in the cloudy empyrean. Further, there was something [that sounded] like an old man coughing and laughing in a mountain ravine. Someone said: "That is a white stork." I was shaking with fear and about to turn back, when a loud noise rang out from the surface of the water that gonged and bonged like bells and drums unceasing in their clamor. The boatmen became greatly alarmed. I carefully investigated it, only to discover that everywhere below the mountain there are rocky caves and fissures, who knows how deep. Gentle waves were pouring into them, and their shaking and seething, and chopping and knocking were making this gonging and bonging. When our boat on its return reached a point between the two mountains and we were about to enter the mouth of the inlet, [I saw that] there was a huge rock in the middle of the channel which could seat a hundred people. It was hollow in the center with numerous apertures, which, as they swallowed and spat with the wind and water, made a bumping and thumping and clashing and bashing that echoed with the earlier gonging and bonging. It seemed as if music was being played here. Thereupon, I laughed and said to Mai: "Do you recognize it? The gonging and bonging is the Wuyi bell of King Jing of Zhou; the bumping and thumping and clashing and bashing are the song-bells of Wei Zhuangzi [a.k.a. Wei Jiang; 6th century BC military advisor]. The ancients [i.e. Li Daoyuan and Li Bo] have not cheated us![15]

”

“

Is it acceptable for someone who has not personally seen or heard something to have decided views on whether it exists or not? Li Daoyuan probably saw and heard the same things as I did, yet he decided not to describe them in detail. Gentlemen-officials have always been unwilling to take a small boat and moor it beneath the steep precipice at night. Thus, none were able to find out [about the bells]. And, although the fishermen and boatmen knew about them, they were unable to describe them [in writing]. This is why it has not been transmitted through the generations. As it turns out, imbeciles sought the answer by taking axes and beating and striking rocks. Then they held that they had found out the truth of the matter. Because of this I have made a record of these events, for the most part to sigh over Li Daoyuan's superficiality, and to laugh at Li Bo's stupidity![16]

”

 

[edit] A memorial concerning the iron industry

Main article: Economy of the Song Dynasty

While acting as Governor of Xuzhou, Su Shi once wrote a memorial to the imperial court in 1078 AD about problems faced in the Liguo Industrial Prefecture, which was under his watch and administration. In an interesting and revealing passage about the Chinese iron industry during the latter half of the 11th century, Su Shi wrote about the enormous size of the workforce employed in the iron industry, competing provinces that had rival iron manufacturers seeking favor from the central government, as well as the danger or rising local strongmen who had the capability of raiding the industry and threatening the government with effectively armed rebellion. It also becomes clear in reading the text that prefectural government officials in Su's time often had to negotiate with the central government in order to meet the demands of local conditions:

“

After being transferred to the governorship of Xuzhou I have inspected the topography of [the region's] mountains and rivers, investigated what is esteemed by its customs, and studied it in written records. After all this I have realized that Xuzhou is a strategic point between North and South, on which the security of the circuits East of the capital depends...[The region is protected on three sides by rugged mountains. Four historical examples show the strategic importance of the prefecture, especially its administrative seat, the walled city of Pengcheng.] About 70 li northeast of the prefecture city is Liguo Industrial Prefecture. From ancient times it has been the gathering place of Iron Offices [tieguan] and merchants, and its people are prosperous. There are 36 smelters, each run by a wealthy and influential family with great myriads of cash in its coffers. They are a constant target for bandits, but the military guard is weak, and it is child's play [to rob them].[1]

”

“

I have pondered this far into the night, filled with anxiety. I have had more than ten of the most powerful bandits put to death, [but still] when they enter the market in broad daylight the guards abandon their posts and flee. This region produces fine iron, and the people are all excellent smiths. If some of the smelting households' money is distributed to call up [the local] hoodlums, then a mob could quickly be gathered, and weapons for several thousand men could be supplied in no time. If such a mob were to follow the river and come south, it would arrive [in Pengcheng] in a matter of hours, and Xuzhou would be defenseless. Should the misfortune arise that the bandits had exceptional ability, ...and they fulfilled their ambition by taking Xuzhou, then the fate of the region East of the Capital would be in doubt.[1]

”

“

Recently the Fiscal Commission of Hebei proposed that iron from Liguo Industrial Prefecture should not be permitted to enter Hebei, and the Court approved...The Empire is one family, and the two smelting [regions] of the northeast both benefit the State; is it not narrow to take from the one to give to the other? Since the time that iron stopped going north the smelting households have been in danger of bankruptcy, and many have come to me to complain. I propose therefore to call on the smelting households to be the defense of Liguo Industrial Prefecture. There are 36 smelters, and each has several hundred persons who gather ore and chop [wood for] charcoal. They are for the most part poverty-stricken runaways, strong and fierce. I propose to require the smelting households to select and appoint ten men of ability and discipline from each smelter and register their names with the officials. These will be trained in the use of knives and spears. Each month the two offices will assemble them at the administrative headquarters of Liguo Industrial Prefecture for inspection and drill. They will be excused from corvée duty, but any offenses will be treated under the law pertaining to 'malfeasance in official service'.[17]

”

“

The smelting households have long been threatened by bandits. All the people know this, and they will be delighted to have each smelter send ten men for self-defense. If the officials also remove the recent prohibition, and again allow the iron to go north, then the smelting households will be satisfied and obedient. Treacherous elements will be terrified and will not dare to make plots.[18]

”

 

[edit] Technical issues of hydraulic engineering

Main article: Technology of the Song Dynasty

During the ancient Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD) of China, the sluice gate and canal lock of the flash lock had been known.^[19] By the 10th century the latter design was improved upon in China with the invention of the canal pound lock, allowing different adjusted levels of water along separated and gated segments of a canal.^[20] This innovation allowed for larger transport barges to pass safely without danger of wrecking upon the embankments, and was an innovation praised by those such as Shen Kuo (1031-1095).^[21] Shen also wrote in his Dream Pool Essays of the year 1088 that if properly used, sluice gates positioned along irrigation canals were most effective in depositing silt for fertilization.^[22] Writing earlier in his Dongpo Zhilin of 1060, Su Shi came to a different conclusion, writing that the Chinese of a few centuries past had perfected this method and noted that it was ineffective in use by his own time. He wrote:

“

Several years ago the government built sluice gates for the silt fertilization method, though many people disagreed with the plan. In spite of all opposition it was carried through, yet it had little success. When the torrents on Fan Shan were abundant, the gates were kept closed, and this caused damage (by flooding) of fields, tombs, and houses. When the torrents subsided in the late autumn the sluices were opened, and thus the fields were irrigated with silt-bearing water, but the deposit was not as thick as what the peasants call 'steamed cake silt' (so they were not satisfied). Finally the government got tired of it and stopped. In this connection I remember reading the Jiayipan of Bai Juyi (the poet) in which he says that he once had a position as Traffic Commissioner. As the Bian River was getting so shallow that it hindered the passage of boats he suggested that the sluice gates along the river and canal should be closed, but the Military Governor pointed out that the river was bordered on both sides by fields which supplied army grain, and if these were denied irrigation (water and silt) because of the closing of the sluice gates, it would lead to shortages in army grain supplies. From this I learnt that in the Tang period there were government fields and sluice gates on both sides of the river, and that irrigation was carried on (continuously) even when the water was high. If this could be done (successfully) in old times, why can it not be done now? I should like to enquire further about the matter from experts.[23]

”

Although Su Shi made no note of it in his writing, the root of this problem was merely the needs of agriculture and transportation conflicting with one another.^[23]

 

[edit] Trivia

It is said that once during his free time, Su Dongpo decided to make stewed pork out of boredom. Then an old friend visited him in the middle of the cooking and challenged him to a game of Chinese chess. Su had totally forgotten of the stew during the game until a very fragrant smell came out from his kitchen and he was reminded of it. Thus Dongpo's Pork (東坡肉), a famous dish in Chinese cuisine, was created by accident.

 

[edit] See also

• Chinese literature
• Chinese poetry
• Culture of the Song Dynasty
• History of the Song Dynasty
• Technology of the Song Dynasty
• Shen Kuo

 

[edit] Notes

 

[edit] References

 

[edit] External links

• Poems by Su Shi