Han and Wei Yuefu

Author: Chen Xiao
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-01-01
Features: The flourishing era of Yuefu was during the Han Dynasty, Wei and Jin periods, and the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Later generations referred to the Yuefu institutions and the music and lyrics created by this agency as "Yuefu." Due to the inability to record at the time, over time, the music faded away, while the lyrics were preserved. These Yuefu poems include both folk songs and imitations by scholars. Compared to scholarly works, folk songs may not be as polished, but they are more robust, clearer, and more vibrant. In this book, we have selected and annotated mainly Han Dynasty Yuefu folk songs and Northern and Southern Dynasties Yuefu folk songs, along with a small number of ancient poems (i.e., poems not set to music) and children's rhymes. Only two poems from the Wei and Jin periods were selected—one from Wu's "Bugle Odes" and one from Jin's "Dance Lyrics"—and three folk songs from the Sui Dynasty. Wang Guowei, Lu Xun, and Hu Shi all held folk songs in high regard, and they are all recognized as masters. It is unlikely they would deliberately mislead us, but whether their admiration for folk songs is justified will only be known after you read this book.