Six Dynasties poetry

Six Dynasties poetry refers to those types or styles of poetry particularly associated with the

The development of Chinese poetry does not correspond precisely with the conventional dating of Chinese history by dynasty, despite certain correspondences between the political and poetic trends, with the period of actual transition between dynasties is especially problematic. This is indeed the case in discussing the important poets in the late Han and early Six Dynasties period, including the famous general Cao Cao (155–220), who may be reckoned in this period, although actually beginning his career in the Later/Eastern Han era. That is, the final years at the End of the Han dynasty and during which the Cao family was rising, or risen, to prominence were known as the Jian'an era (196–220). The Jian'an was technically a Han dynasty Chinese era name referring approximately to the years 196–220, during the nominal reign of Emperor Xian of Han, during the End of the Han dynasty. The following major period is known as the Three Kingdoms era, due to the three kingdoms which succeeded the Han dynasty, and proceeded to vie with one another for succession to the Han empire. These 3 successor states are Wei (also known as Cao Wei, 220–266), Shu, (also known as Shu Han, 221–263) and Wu (also known as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, 229–280). The jian'an poetry merges with early the early Six Dynasty poetry of the early Three Kingdoms, both in terms of style and in some cases the actual poets, although the plague epidemic of 217–218 killed 4 of the 7 Masters of Jian'an,^[1] and mortality rates were high otherwise, in some cases risk being associated with what someone wrote.

Early Three Kingdoms poetry

The Cao family from 184 to 220 was involved in the chaotic infighting between warlords, across various parts of China. In 220,

The middle part of the Three Kingdoms period, from 220 and 263, was marked by a more politically and militarily stable arrangement between three rival states, Wei, Shu, and Wu. The later part of this period was marked by the collapse of the tripartite situation. First, in 263, there was the conquest of Shu by Wei. In the meantime the Cao family had been steadily losing power to the Sima family and their supporters, in a series of various intrigues and in-fighting. The Sima clan was initially subordinate to the Wei dynasty, but through various intrigues and other means the Sima family and their supporters had continued to gain power at the expense of the Cao family and their supporters. In February 266, Sima Yan (later Emperor Wu) forced emperor Cao Huan of Wei to abdicate the throne to him, ending Wei and starting the Jin dynasty (as Emperor Wu). Political it was a perilous time, especially for Wei loyalists, who viewed the rise of the Sima clan as usurpers. Poetically, it was a time conducive to and encouraging the poetry of reclusion, as various poets sought refuge from the perils of the time, often finding it in settings involving nature, poetry, wine, and occasional friends. This often also explicitly or merely by implication tended towards somewhat of a poetry of protest.

Ruan Ji and the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove

As is traditionally depicted, the group wished to escape the intrigues, corruption and stifling atmosphere of court life during the tail end of the politically fraught

Eastern Jin poetry includes work in the area known as the quasi-poetic literary form of fu. Sometimes fu is considered to be poetry, sometimes it is considered to be prose with poetic qualities. This rapprochement between prose and poetry is typical of late Six Dynasties literature, in general. Eventually, one of the enduring legacies of late Six Dynasties literature during the Tang dynasty at least would prove to be the reaction to the excesses which this sometimes indulged in. That is, until the late Tang, when similarly densely allusive literature again became in vogue. Anyway, in or around the period of the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420), much poetic activity occurred, and this is sometimes referred to as "southern".

The Orchid Pavilion Gathering

The Orchid Pavilion Gathering (353 CE) of 42 literati included Xie An and Sun Chuo at the Orchid Pavilion near Shaoxing, Zhejiang, during the Spring Purification Festival to compose poems and enjoy the wine. The gentlemen had engaged in a drinking contest: wine cups were floated down a small winding creek as the men sat along its banks; whenever a cup stopped, the man closest to the cup was required to empty it and write a poem. In the end, twenty-six of the participants composed thirty-seven poems. The "Preface (Lantingji Xu)" to the poems is particularly famous in regard to the art of calligraphy.

Midnight Songs poetry

Also significant is the

Tao Yuanming,

Xie Lingyun (385–433) was considered a progenitor and major exponent of nature or landscape poetry focusing on the "mountain and streams", as opposed to Tao Yuanming and the "field and garden" type of Chinese landscape poetry. His poetry is allusive and complex, and uses a lot of imagery of hills and nature.

Fu and other East Jin poetry

Other important Eastern Jin poets include the 2 heroes of Taikang Lu Ji (Shiheng) (261–303) and Pan Yue (247–300), Liu Kun (劉琨), and Guo Pu (276–324), also Yan Yanzhi (顏延之, 384–456, so more often considered as Liu Song dynasty poet). Lu Ji is represented by his Wen fu. Pan Yue also wrote in the fu form, and is remembered for his 3 poems to his dead wife. Guo Pu was a prolific author whose works include prose, poetry, and fu.

Sixteen Kingdoms poetry

The

Northern and Southern dynasties poets

The

The "Three Giants of Yuanjia" include Yan Yanzhi.

Yongming

The Yongming (Yung-ming) period was from 483 to 493.

Wang Jung (468–494) was one of the most important of the Yongming poets. He became quite involved in political affairs. Eventually this involvement resulted in his early death.[17]

Fan Yun (451–503) was another of the Yongming poets.

Su Xiaoxiao (蘇小小, died c. 501), also known as Su Xiao, or "Little Su", was a famous Gējì and poet from Qiantang city (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China) in the Southern Qi dynasty (479–502).

Liang dynasty and the jade terrace

The Liang dynasty (502–557), also known as the Southern Liang dynasty, was the third of the Southern dynasties. Founded by the Xiao family, its first emperor was Liang Wu Di. In 531, his son Xiao Gang (later Emperor Jianwen of Liang) became Crown Prince, in which position Xiao Gang both practiced poetry and became a patron of poets. Of this poetic activity, especially important is the anthology New Songs from the Jade Terrace, compiled by Xu Ling (507–83), under the patronage of Crown Prince Xiao Gang (Later known as Emperor Jianwen).^[18] The "Jade Terrace" is at least in part a reference to the luxurious palace apartments to which upper-class women were often relegated, one of the main conventional images being that of a beautiful concubine languishing away in lonely confinement, bereft of love. The New Songs from the Jade Terrace has been popularly translated into English. The collection contains over 600 pieces focused on the ideals of feminine beauty, and some of the poems are matter-of-factly homoerotic, describing the beloved young man involved in much the same terms as the female beloved is in other pieces. In other cases, a "hint of fetishism" is shown in poetic verses describing the objects associated with the men or women described in the poems; that is, their bedrooms and feast halls, the musical instruments, lamps or mirror-stands which they handle, or the fine stationary upon which they write their love notes.^[19]

Influence

The Six Dynasties period ended when China was reunified by the Sui dynasty. In terms of poetic development, both the Sui dynasty (589–618) early Tang poetry were both heavily indebted to the Six Dynasty poetry. Various influences of Six Dynasties poetry include both those in terms of formalistic style and in terms of content, such as historical references. Some of the importance of the Six Dynasty era to poetry includes poetry theory and aesthetic understanding. One example is Liu Xie's The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons.

See also

• Classical Chinese poetry
• Classical Chinese poetry genres
• Fu (poetry)
• Han poetry
• History of the Jin dynasty (266–420)
• Jian'an poetry
• Lantingji Xu in reference to the Orchid Pavilion gathering
• Love and the Turning Year
• Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove
• Han–Xiongnu War
• Tang poetry
• Timeline of Chinese history

Notes and references

• Chang, H. C. (1977). Chinese Literature 2: Nature Poetry. (New York: Columbia University Press).
  ISBN 0-231-04288-4
  .
• Davis, A. R. (Albert Richard), Editor and Introduction, The Penguin Book of Chinese Verse. (Baltimore: Penguin Books) (1970).
• Frankel, Hans H. (1978). The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press)
  ISBN 0-300-02242-5
  .
• Hinton, David (2008). Classical Chinese Poetry: An Anthology. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
  ISBN 978-0-374-10536-5
  .
• Yip, Wai-lim (1997). Chinese Poetry: An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres . Durham and London: Duke University Press.
  ISBN 0-8223-1946-2
  .
• Watson, Burton (1971). CHINESE LYRICISM: Shih Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century. New York: Columbia University Press.
  ISBN 0-231-03464-4
  .

External links

• Lan Ting Xu (bilingual text of Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion with hypertext dictionary access)