Yang Xiong (author)
Yang Xiong | ||
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Tâi-lô Iông Hiông | | |
Middle Chinese | ||
Middle Chinese | Yang Ɣiong | |
Old Chinese | ||
Baxter–Sagart (2014) | *lang ɢʷəng |
Yang Xiong (
Life and career
Like a number of the other well-known writers of the Han dynasty, Yang was from
Yang's position required him to praise the virtue and glory of Emperor Cheng of Han and the grandeur of imperial outings, but he was disturbed by the wasteful extravagance of the imperial court.[2] Yang attempted to return the fu genre to a focus of "suasive admonition" (諷; fèng), which he believed was the original purpose of the earliest fu-type writings of Qu Yuan, but his couched admonitions against extravagance went unnoticed and unheeded by Emperor Cheng.
Yang's most famous work is the Fayan, a philosophical work modeled on the Analects, in which Yang criticizes fu writers for focusing on ornate, esoteric language while ignoring more important issues of morality. Yang's other works include the Taixuanjing, a divination text based on the I Ching, "Justification Against Ridicule" (解嘲; Jiě cháo), one of the best known examples of the "fu of frustration" subgenre, and the Fangyan, a dictionary documenting regional vocabulary from throughout China at the time.
Together with Sima Xiangru, Yang was one of the most famous and illustrious figures of the entire Han dynasty. The Book of Han devotes a full two-part chapter to both Yang and Sima, an honor surpassing that of even the most famous generals and ministers.[3]
Philosophy
Yang did not believe human nature was inherently good as
References
Citations
- ^ Knechtges (2014), p. 1837.
- ^ a b Ho (1986): 912.
- ^ Knechtges (1982): 1.
Works cited
- Chen, Keming and Zhang, Shancheng, "Yang Xiong". Encyclopedia of China (Philosophy Edition), 1st ed.
- Ho, Kenneth Pui-Hung (1986). "Yang Hsiung 揚雄". In Nienhauser, William (ed.). The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, Volume 1. Bloomfield: Indiana University Press. pp. 912–913.
- ISBN 978-0939252107.
- ——— (2014). "Yang Xiong 揚雄". In Knechtges, David R.; Chang, Taiping (eds.). Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature, A Reference Guide: Part Three. Leiden: Brill. pp. 1837–46. ISBN 978-90-04-27216-3.
- Zhu, Binjie, "Yang Xiong". Encyclopedia of China (Chinese Literature Edition), 1st ed.
External links
- Yang Xiong, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy biography
- Works by Yang Xiong at Project Gutenberg
- 方言: 13卷 (1873 edition)
- Full text of Yang Xiong's Fa Yan (English and Chinese) - Chinese Text Project
- Yang Xiong, Qin Shi Bu (琴史補; "Appended History of the Guqin") article