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History Of Fu Poetry
The History of ''fu'' poetry covers the beginnings of the Chinese literary genre of '' fu''. The term ''fu'' describes literary works that have certain characteristics. English lacks an equivalent term (or form). Sometimes called "rhapsodies", sometimes "rhyme-prose", ''fu'' have qualities of both poetry and prose: both are obligatory. The ''fu'' form is a poetic treatment, wherein a topic (or topics) of interest, such as an exotic object, a profound feeling, or an encyclopedic subject, is described and rhapsodized upon, in exhaustive detail and from various angles. For a piece to be truly considered to be in the ''fu'' genre, it must follow the rules of this form, in terms of structure, meter, and so on. The first known ''fu'' in the fully accepted, modern meaning of the term, dates from the later part of the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046–256 BC), also known as the Warring States period (4th or 5th century BC – 221 BC), since the central regime of the Zhou dynasty had weakened and po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fu (poetry)
''Fu'' (), often translated "rhapsody" or "poetic exposition", is a form of Chinese rhymed prose that was the dominant literary form in China during the Han dynasty (206 BCAD220). ''Fu'' are intermediary pieces between poetry and prose in which a place, object, feeling, or other subject is described and rhapsodized in exhaustive detail and from as many angles as possible. They were not sung like songs, but were recited or chanted. The distinguishing characteristics of ''fu'' include alternating rhyme and prose, varying line lengths, close alliteration, onomatopoeia, loose parallelism, and extensive cataloging of their topics. Classical ''fu'' composers tended to use as wide a vocabulary as possible in their compositions, and therefore ''fu'' often contain rare and archaic Chinese words and characters. The ''fu'' genre came into being around the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC and continued to be regularly used into the Song dynasty (9601279). ''Fu'' were used as grand praises ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Da Zhao
"The Great Summons" or ''"Da Zhao"'' () is one of the poems anthologized in the ancient Chinese poetry collection, the ''Chu ci'', also known as ''The Songs of the South''. "The Great Summons" consists of a single poem without introduction or epilog. Its authorship has been attributed to Qu Yuan and to the otherwise relatively unknown Jing Cuo. (Hawkes, 2011 985 232-233) It is very similar, but shorter, than another of the ''Chu ci'' poems, Zhao Hun, ("Summons of the Soul"). Both poems derive from a shamanic tradition of summoning the soul of the someone who has seemed to die, most likely originally with the intention of having it to re-animate its former body (but in the later literary tradition this was meant more allegorically). The two poems both follow a similar pattern: threats of dangers lurking in all directions to which the soul might wander and then tempting descriptions of magnificent sensual pleasures which would be available as a reward for the souls obedient return. (H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanshu
The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), an Eastern Han court official, with the help of his sister Ban Zhao, continuing the work of their father, Ban Biao. They modelled their work on the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' (), a cross-dynastic general history, but theirs was the first in this annals-biography form to cover a single dynasty. It is the best source, sometimes the only one, for many topics such as literature in this period. The ''Book of Han'' is also called the ''Book of the Former Han'' () to distinguish it from the '' Book of the Later Han'' () which covers the Eastern Han period (25–220 CE), and was composed in the fifth century by Fan Ye (398–445 CE). Contents This history developed from a continuation of Sima Qian's ''Records of the Grand His ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Envoi
Envoi or envoy in poetry is used to describe: * A short stanza at the end of a poem such as a ballad, used either to address an imagined or actual person or to comment on the preceding body of the poem. * A dedicatory poem about sending the book out to readers, a postscript."envoy, n.1". OED Online. September 2019. Oxford University Press. https://www-oed-com.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/view/Entry/63102?redirectedFrom=envoi (accessed October 31, 2019). * Any poem of farewell, including a farewell to life. The word ''envoy'' or ''l'envoy'' comes from the Old French, where it means '[the] sending forth'. Originally it was a stanza at the end of a longer poem, which included a dedication to a patron or individual, similar to a Tornada (Occitan literary term), tornada. More recent examples are dedicatory poems as part of a collection, or an individual poem about farewell or moving on. Envoi is both a type of poem, and is often used as a title. Form The envoi is relatively fluid in form. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xun Kuang
Xunzi (荀子, ''Xúnzǐ'', ; ), born Xun Kuang, was a Chinese philosopher of Confucianism during the late Warring States period. After his predecessors Confucius and Mencius, Xunzi is often ranked as the third great Confucian philosopher of antiquity. By his time, Confucianism had suffered considerable criticism from Taoist and Mohist thinkers, and Xunzi is traditionally regarded as a synthesizer of these traditions with earlier Confucian thought. The result was a thorough and cohesive revision of Confucianism, which was crucial to the philosophy's ability to flourish in the Han dynasty and throughout the later history of East Asia. His works were compiled in the eponymous '' Xunzi'', and survive in excellent condition. Unlike other ancient compilations, his authorship of these texts is generally secure, though it is likely that Western Han dynasty historian Liu Xiang organized them into their present form centuries after Xunzi's death. Born in the state of Zhao, Xunzi studi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hellmut Wilhelm
Hellmut Wilhelm (10 December 1905 – 5 July 1990) was a German Sinologist known for his studies of both Chinese literature and Chinese history. Wilhelm was an expert on the ancient Chinese divination text '' I Ching (Yi jing)'', which he believed to represent the essence of Chinese thought.Knechtges (1992), 6. He also produced one of the most widely used German-Chinese dictionaries of the 20th century. He held teaching positions at Peking University and the University of Washington. Wilhelm's father, Richard Wilhelm, was also a noted Sinologist, and held the first chair of Sinology at the University of Frankfurt. Biography Hellmut Wilhelm was born on 10 December 1905 in the Chinese city of Qingdao, which was then a German enclave due to the Kiautschou Bay concession of 1891. Wilhelm was the third son of the German missionary and sinologist Richard Wilhelm. His early education in China coincided with the Xinhai Revolution, when the Qing dynasty was overthrown and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jia Yi
Jia Yi (; c. 200169 BCE) was a Chinese essayist, poet and politician of the Western Han dynasty, best known as one of the earliest known writers of ''fu'' rhapsody and for his essay "Disquisition Finding Fault with Qin" (''Guò Qín Lùn'' ), which criticises the Qin dynasty and describes Jia's opinions on the reasons for its collapse. Early attracting the attention of a Governor Wu of Hunan for his literary skills, the promotion of Wu around 179 BCE saw Jia Yi appointed scholar of the classics. He was made Grand Master of the Palace one year later. Exiled through the influence of "old-guard officials", he was recalled on a pretext as a consultant on Taoist mysticism, but resistance to institutional reform saw him sent to tutor the Emperor Wen's favored youngest son Liu Yi. He is said to have died of grief following the accidental death of Liu Yi on horseback. Although often recalled modernly for his Disquisitions, his most famous work may actually be his poem ''On the Owl'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xunzi (book)
The ''Xunzi'' () is an ancient Chinese collection of philosophical writings attributed to (Master (zi)) Xun Kuang, a 3rd-century BC philosopher usually associated with the Confucian tradition. The ''Xunzi'' emphasizes education and propriety, and asserts that "human nature is detestable". The text is an important source of early theories of ritual, cosmology, and governance. The ideas within the ''Xunzi'' are thought to have exerted a strong influence on Legalist thinkers, such as Han Fei, and laid the groundwork for much of Han dynasty political ideology. The text criticizes a wide range of other prominent early Chinese thinkers, including Laozi, Zhuangzi, Mozi, and Mencius. Some ''Xunzi'' chapters are especially significant. The "Discussion of Heaven ( ''Tiān lùn'')" rejects the notion that heaven has a moral will. Instead, Xunzi asserts that heaven operates according to constant principles; thus people should focus on the human, social realm rather than attempting to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhao Hun
Summons of the Soul, Summoning of the Soul, or Zhao Hun (; Pinyin: Zhāo Hún) is one of the poems anthologized in the ancient Chinese poetry collection, the ''Chu Ci''. The "Summons of the Soul" consists of a four-part poem. The first part consists of a few lines with no clear relationship to the rest of the poem. The second part is a prolog in the form of a conversation in heaven, in which God (帝) orders the Ancestor Shaman Wu Yang (巫陽) to go down below to earth and help out in the case of someone whose soul has wandered off. Part three is the actual summoning of the soul, by means of threats and temptations. The fourth part is an epilog (''luan''). (Hawkes, 2011 985 222) The authorship of "Summons of the Soul" has been attributed to Qu Yuan, but Song Yu is more likely. (Hawkes, 2011 985 223) The "Summons of the Soul" is very similar, but longer, than another of the ''Chu ci'' poems, "The Great Summons" (''Da zhao''). Both poems derive from a shamanic tradition of summoning ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wu (shaman)
''Wu'' () is a Chinese term translating to "shaman" or "sorcerer", originally the practitioners of Chinese shamanism or "Wuism" (巫教 ''wū jiào''). Terminology The glyph ancestral to modern is first recorded in bronze script, where it could refer to shamans or sorcerers of either sex. Modern Mandarin ''wu'' (Cantonese ''mouh'') continues a Middle Chinese ''mju'' or ''mjo''. The Old Chinese reconstruction is uncertain, given as *''mywo'' or as *''myag'', the presence of a final velar ''-g'' or ''-ɣ'' in Old Chinese being uncertain. By the late Zhou dynasty (4th to 3rd centuries BCE), ''wu'' referred mostly to female shamans or "sorceresses", while male sorcerers were named ''xi'' "male shaman; sorcerer", first attested in the ''Guoyu'' or '' Discourses of the States'' (4th century BCE). Other sex-differentiated shaman names include ''nanwu'' for "male shaman; sorcerer; wizard"; and ''nüwu'' , ''wunü'' , ''wupo'' , and ''wuyu'' for "female shaman; sorceress; witch". ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Song Yu
Song Yu (; 298–263 BC) was a Chinese poet from the late Warring States period, and is known as the traditional author of a number of poems in the ''Verses of Chu (Chu ci'' 楚辭'')''. Among the ''Verses of Chu'' poems usually attributed to Song Yu are those in the '' Jiu Bian'' section. Also credited to Song Yu, somewhat improbably, are several '' fu'' collected in the 6th century literary anthology '' Wen Xuan''. Biography Biographic information about Song Yu tends to be anecdotal, rather than truly historical, and little reliable information about Song's life exists. Historical accounts agree that Song was from the state of Chu, and was born in the city of Yan (modern Yicheng, Hubei Province), and lived during the reign of King Xiang of Chu (r. 298–263 BC). Works According to the section covering literature and art in the ''Book of Han'', Song wrote 16 works, but only 14 of them have been handed down, such as '' Jiu Bian'' and ''Dengtuzi Haose Fu'' (). However, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan ( – 278 BC) was a Chinese poet and aristocrat in the State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the '' Chu Ci'' anthology (also known as ''The Songs of the South'' or ''Songs of Chu''): a volume of poems attributed to or considered to be inspired by his verse writing. Together with the ''Shi Jing'', the ''Chu Ci'' is one of the two greatest collections of ancient Chinese verse. He is also remembered in connection to the supposed origin of the Dragon Boat Festival. Historical details about Qu Yuan's life are few, and his authorship of many ''Chu Ci'' poems has been questioned at length. However, he is widely accepted to have written "The Lament," a ''Chu Ci'' poem. The first known reference to Qu Yuan appears in a poem written in 174 BC by Jia Yi, an official from Luoyang who was slandered by jealous officials and banished to Changsha by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
