Selected Poems

Author: Du Guichen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-03-01
Features: By the time Chinese poetry reached the Ming Dynasty, literati poetry had been practiced for over a thousand years. With the brilliant Tang poetry and the equally formidable Song poetry preceding it, it was unlikely for Ming poetry to fully surpass them. At the same time, Yuan Dynasty poetry had already been moving toward the direction of celebrating emotions, and the wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty further endowed it with relatively rich social content. Ming poetry inherited this legacy and was almost ready to shine brightly. However, the feudal autocracy in the early Ming Dynasty stifled its potential for renewed brilliance and forced it to become a servant of imperial power. This was a misfortune for Ming poetry, as well as a misfortune for the history of Chinese poetry. But this misfortune also awakened the awareness of Ming Dynasty poets. From the early Ming to the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the various "revivalist" movements, as well as the later anti-"revivalist" movement represented by the San Yuan and Gong'an School, were all driven by a persistent pursuit of the ideal of "authentic poetry."