Han poetry
Han poetryas a style of poetry resulted in significant poems which are still preserved today, and whose origins are associated with theHan dynastyera of China, 206 BC – 220 AD, including theWang Manginterregnum (9–23 AD). The final years at theend of the Han era(known by the nameJian'an,196–220) often receive special handling for purposes of literary analysis because, among other things, the poetry and culture of this period is less than typical of the Han period, and has important characteristics of its own, or it shares literary aspects with the subsequentThree Kingdomsperiod. This poetry reflects one of the poetry world's more important flowerings, as well as being a special period inClassical Chinese poetry,particularly in regard to the development of the quasipoeticfu;[1]the activities of theMusic Bureauin connection with the collection of popular ballads and the resultant development of what would eventually become known as theyuefu,or as the rhapsodic formal style;[2]and, finally,towards the end of the Han dynasty,the development of a new style ofshipoetry,[3]as the later development of theyuehfuinto regular, fixed-line length forms makes it difficult to distinguish in form from theshiform of poetic verse, and at what point specific poems are classified as one or the other is somewhat arbitrary. Another important poetic contribution from the Han era is the compilation of theChucianthology, which contains some of the oldest and most important poetic verses to be preserved from ancient China, as well as the transmission of theShijinganthology.
General background[edit]
The ruling dynastic family of the Han dynasty was theLiufamily, founded byLiu Bang,whose career ranged from being a minor official (sort of like a local sheriff during the rapid disintegration and chaos of the final years of theQin dynasty) to being an outlaw and a rebel hiding out in the hills, to being the King ofChuduring theDivision of Qininto 18 states, or kingdoms. He was posthumously honored as Han High Founder or Han Great Ancestor (Gaozu) Emperor. Despite his folksy background, general lack of literacy, and what were considered generally vulgar ways, Liu Bang had a great regard for literature and learning. His patronage of literature and the arts, as well as his connections with the unique culture of Chu would set a precedent for the rest of the dynasty which he founded, and which managed to keep much of the political power in the hands of the Liu family: often this was implemented by allowing Liu family princes a great deal of autonomy in their local areas, thus encouraging the development of subsidiary royal courts, besides the main imperial court; and, in some cases, this encouraged princely patronage of literature and the arts, with some greater diversity and cross-fertilization of artistic genres and styles. Other important features of the Han era include the location of the capital in Chang'an during Western Han, and its move toLuoyangin Eastern Han, the extension of the Han empire into new regions, and contact with new peoples and cultures, a development which was extended by the further explorations by people such asZhang Qianof theSilk Roadsfame who in the 2nd century BC got as far asBactriaandDayuan(Ferghana,in modern easternUzbekistan), and among other things brought back alfalfa and grapes to China. Also important in the history of the Han dynasty is the method of recording words, such as poems. Brushing characters with ink is archeologically attested to during the Han period, including on silk,hemp paper,andbamboo slips.The bamboo (or wood) slips were tied together carefully with delicate string cords. When these rotted and broke, the individual slips would become mixed up, and the text which was written upon them thus have often become scrambled. Methods such as stamping or marking on clay or engraving on stone were also used; and, though relatively durable required fairly elaborate craftsmanship to produce. Little poetry from the Han dynasty survives as originally recorded or published, instead most of the preserved poems exist as passed on to the future by theSix Dynasties poetryera anthologies.
Poetic background[edit]
An important part of the poetic legacy received by Han dynasty poets was theShijingverse style, typified by its "classic" four-character line verse. The influences of theShijingverses during the Han era were directed towards important aspects of Classical Chinese poetry, such as use of the direct voice of immediate experience which was intended to provide a window into expressing a person's soul.[4]Another important legacy received by the Han poets was that of theChu Cigenre of poetry with innovations in some of its verse forms, such as varied line lengths, a body of material which was expanded by further additions by Han poets, and then published in an edited anthology. Furthermore, there was a received tradition of orally transmitted folk songs and folk ballads. The imperial court of the preceding primitiveQin dynastywas not known for its poetry: the primitive Qin, instead, preferred the primitive activity known as theburning of books and burying of scholars(Chinese: Đốt sách chôn nho; pinyin: fénshū kēngrú) and, in the end, the "fires of Qin" extended to the destruction of its imperial library. There was little or no direct poetic influence from that source. The extension of the Han empire into new areas introduced new and exotic concepts and material objects, which sometimes became the topics of works in thefuprose-poetry literary form. Also, during the Han dynasty, state policies in regard to the philosophical dialog associated withConfuciusfocused a certain amount of public attention and public funding supporting theShijing (Classic of Poetry),which from then on was regarded as one of the few members of the select list of canonical classic works.
Han dynasty poets[edit]
Some well-known poets from Han times are known; however, many of the poets are anonymous, including the poets behind the Music Bureau collections including theNineteen Old Songs,as is typical of verses from the folk ballad tradition. Important individual Han era authors of poetry includeZhang HengandLiu Xiang.Many of the Han poets who wrote in their own personal voice under their own name or pen-name wrote in thefustyle, in thesao(Chuci) style, or both. In other cases, poems have been attributed to specific Han dynasty persons, or written in perspective of theirpersona,but the real author remains unknown. For example, the cases of the poems attributed toSu WuandConsort Banare not determined. Other Han poets includeSima Xiangru,Ban Gu,andMi Heng.
Sima Xiangru[edit]
Sima Xiangru(179–127 BC, also known as Szu-ma Hsiang-ju) was one of the most important poets of the Han dynastic era, writing in both theChuciand thefustyles.
Su Wu[edit]
Su Wu(140 – 60 BC) was held captive for 19 years, returning to China in 81 BC: 4 poems collected in theWen Xuanare only questionably attributed to him.[5]However, at the time, it was not uncustomary to confuse the persona of a poem with the person of the author. There is a story about Su Wu which became a common allusion in Chinese poetry. According to this story, during the beginning of his captivity in theXiongnu empireSu Wu was treated harshly, to the point it is said of having to eat the lining of his coat for food and to drink snow which he melted for water. Later Su was elevated in status, even it is said given a wife who bore him children. Upon the Han emperor sending an ambassadorial mission toward the territory in which he was being held, the Xiongnu ruler (the chanyu) wished to conceal the presence of Su Wu, presumably in order avoid diplomatic complications; but, Su Wu hearing of this tricked the chanyu by claiming that he had sent a message to the emperor by tying it to the leg of a goose, and accordingly, that since his presence was already known to the Chinese delegation that any attempts at concealing his presence would be viewed as unseemly. This is at least part of the origin of the use of the image of a flying goose as a messenger, carrying tied to its foot (perhaps symbolically) a letter between two people separated so far seasonally north and south that a migrating goose could be conceived as a possible mode of communication.
Ban Jieyu (Lady Pan)[edit]
Ban Jieyu also known asLady Pan(Pan Chieh-Yü) was a concubine toEmperor Cheng of Han(reigned 33–7 BC) and the great-aunt of the poet, historian, and authorBan Gu.A well-known poem in theWen Xuanis attributed to her. Although most unlikely to actually be by her (especially since it is not in her grand-nephew Ban's biography of her),[6]it is certainly written as if it could have been written by her or someone in her position. It is an important early example of thesecluded palace ladygenre of poetry.
Ban Gu[edit]
Ban Guwas a 1st-centuryChinesehistorian and poet best known for his part in compiling the historical compendium theBook of Han.Ban Gu also wrote a number offu,which are anthologized in theWen Xuan.
Chuci[edit]
One of the most important Han era contributions to poetry is the compilation of theChucianthology of poetry, which preserves many poems attributed toQu YuanandSong Yufrom theWarring States period(ended 221 BC), though about half of the poems seem to have been in fact composed during theHan Dynasty.[7]The meaning ofChuciis something like "The Material of Chu", referring to the ancientLand of Chu.The traditional version of theChu Cicontains 17 major sections, anthologized with its current contents byWang Yi,a 2nd-century AD librarian who served underEmperor Shun of Han,who appended his own verses derivative of theChucior "sao"style at the end of the collection, under the title ofNine Longings.The poems and pieces of theChu Cianthology vary in their formal poetic styles, including varying line metrics, varying use of exclamatory particles, the use or not of titles for individual pieces within a section, and the varying presence of theluan(or, envoi). Other Han period poets besides Wang Yi the librarian who are known or thought to be contributors of poems collected in theChuciinclude the poetWang Baoand the scholarLiu Xiang.Liu An,the Prince ofHuainan,and his literary circle were involved with theChucimaterial, but the attribution of authorship of any particular poems is uncertain.
Fu[edit]
One of the major forms of literature during the Han dynasty was thefu(sometimes translated as "rhapsody" ), a kind of eclectic grab bag of prose and verse, not easy to classify in English as being either poetry or prose. In Chinese, thefuis classified aswenrather thanshi,however these terms do not correspond to English categories of prose and verse (one of the differences in the traditional Chinese categorization being thatshiwas sung or chanted, whereas thefuwas not, at least according to theHanshu), the credibility of this being enhanced by the fact that one of the compilers of theHanshu(also known asBook of HanorHistory of the Former Han Dynasty) wasBan Gu,who was himself a practitioner of thefustyle.[8]The Hanfuderived from theChuci,[9]which was traditionally considered to be the work ofQu Yuan,who was a wanderer through the countryside and villages of theKingdom of Chu,after his exile from court. In this context the "Li Sao"is particularly relevant. The Hanfuof the second and first centuries BCE were intimately associated with the courts of the emperor and his princes.[10]In other words, they were refined literary products, ornate, polished, and with an elite vocabulary; and, often the subject matter includes topics such as life in the palaces of the Han capital cities. The development of thefuform of literature during the Han dynasty shows a movement toward later more personal poetry and the poems of reclusion, typical for example, ofTao Yuanming,theSix Dynasties poet.[11]The famous Han dynasty astronomer, mathematician, inventor, geographer, cartographer, artist, poet, statesman, and literary scholarZhang Heng(78–139 CE) wrote afuabout his own, personal experience (real or imagined) of getting out of the city and its politics and getting back to the country and nature.[12]Thefuform continued to be popular in the centuries following the demise of the Han imperial power.
Oral tradition folk ballads[edit]
An important aspect of Han poetry involves the influence of the folk ballad tradition, which can be seen in the poetry collectionsNineteen Old Poemsand theyuefuof theMusic Bureau.
Nineteen Old Poems of Han[edit]
One of the stylistically most important developments of Han poetry can be found in theNineteen Old Poemscollection. Although extant versions exist only in later collections, particularly theWen Xuanliterary compendium, the 19 poems themselves appear to be from the Han period. They are influential both toward thegushi( "old style" ) poetic form, but also for their "tone of brooding melancholy....Anonymous voices speaking to us from a shadowy past, they sound a note of sadness that is to dominate the poetry of the centuries that follow."[13]Many versions of these 19 poems thus continued to be reinvented in post-Han times, including a major revival inTang poetrytimes. AsNineteen Old Poemsliterally means "19gushi,poetry written in inspiration by this style were referred to as being in thegushistyle, or simply labeledgushi(also transcribed asku-shi,in English).
Music Bureau (Yuefu)[edit]
Another important aspect of Han poetry involved the institution known as theMusic Bureau,or, in Chinese,Yuefu(or,Yüeh-fu). This is contrast with the "literaryyuefu",which are written in the general style of Music Bureau's collection ofyuefu,or derived from particular pieces thereof. The Music Bureau was a Chinese governmental institution existing to historical and archeological evidence at various times during the history of China, including an incarnation during theQin dynasty.The Han dynasty largely adopted the Qin institutions for their own organizational model, and in particularHan Wudiis associated with a revival or an elevation in the status of the Music Bureau, which he relied upon for the elaborately spectacular ceremonial performances conducted under his regime. The traditional functions of the Music Bureau included collecting music and poetry lyrics from around the empire, and conducting and choreographing their performance for the emperor and his court. Poetry verses published by the Music Bureau are known as "Music Bureau" pieces, later works modeled on the style of the Music Bureau pieces are known as "Music Bureau style" pieces (yuefu); and, some of these "literaryyuefu"and" newyuefu"poems were written by some of the best of the subsequent poets. The Han era Music Bureau (yuefu) pieces were collected and transmitted to future times in such (mostly Six Dynasties era) anthologies as theWen Xuanand theNew Songs from the Jade Terrace.
Jian'an poetry and the future ofYuefu[edit]
The final regnal era of Han was calledJian'an.At this period the political structure of Han was breaking down, while new developments in poetry were arising. ThisJian'anyuefupoetry style continued on into theThree KingdomsandSix Dynastiesera, as did the lives of some of the authors of poetry such asCao Cao,who was born during the Han dynasty but survived it. The Han Music Bureau style which developed out of the models of the Music Bureau poetry was a particularly important feature ofJian'an poetryand the subsequentSix Dynasties poetry:the evolutionary trajectory of this poetry was towards the regular, fixed-length line verse which reached such acclaim in its Tang realization. Poetry preserved from the Han dynastic era not only exists as a monument to the achievement and skill of the poets of that time, but also serves as a link in a poetic legacy that was explicitly valued during the Tang dynastic era (during which the poems developed in the tradition of this style were known to critics as ( "new yuefu" ), and continued to be valued in subsequentClassical Chinese poetry,and on to the poetry of today; which is in turn, another link in a long chain of development in the field of poetry, to which the poets known and anonymous made their unique contributions.
See also[edit]
- Ban Gu
- Chu Ci
- Classical Chinese poetry
- Classic of Poetry
- Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute
- Emperor Wu of Han
- Fu (poetry)
- Guo Maoqian
- Gushi (poetry)
- Jian'an poetry
- Kanshi (poetry)
- Music Bureau
- Return to the Field
- Sima Xiangru
- Society and culture of the Han Dynasty
- Tang poetry
- Zhang Heng
Notes and references[edit]
- Birrell, Anne (1988).Popular Songs and Ballads of Han China.(London: Unwin Hyman).ISBN0-04-440037-3
- Davis, A. R. (Albert Richard), Editor and Introduction,(1970),The Penguin Book of Chinese Verse.(Baltimore: Penguin Books).
- Hawkes, David,translation, introduction, and notes (2011 [1985]). Qu Yuanet al.,The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets.London: Penguin Books.ISBN978-0-14-044375-2
- Hinton, David(2008).Classical Chinese Poetry: An Anthology.New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.ISBN0-374-10536-7/ISBN978-0-374-10536-5.
- Watson, Burton(1971).CHINESE LYRICISM: Shih Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century.(New York: Columbia University Press).ISBN0-231-03464-4
