Selected and Commented-on Poems of the Liao, Jin, and Yuan Dynasties

Author: Liu Dake
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-14
Features: This book selects 101 poets and 217 poems from 185 works. It is a comprehensive anthology of poems from different dynasties, divided into three major sections: the Liao Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty, and the Yuan Dynasty. The poems in each section are arranged chronologically by the birth year of the authors. For those whose birth years are unknown, their approximate active years are deduced based on their imperial examination success dates, death years, relevant biographical records, works, and social connections, and are placed in the corresponding period. Special cases are handled flexibly. In terms of dynastic attribution, this book uses the main living period rather than political stance as the standard. For example, Ma Zhi, who played a special role during the conflicts and diplomatic exchanges between the Song, Liao, and Jin dynasties, spent most of his life in the Liao Dynasty, later joined the Song Dynasty, served as an envoy to the Jin Dynasty, and was ultimately killed by the Song people. He is not mentioned in the Liao Shi (History of the Liao Dynasty) but is included in the "Treacherous Officials" section of the Song Shi (History of the Song Dynasty). Most historians criticized his involvement with two dynasties, but some insightful scholars recognized his historical contributions, such as the Qing Dynasty's Zhao Yi and the modern Su Xueling. His two surviving poems were written after the fall of the Liao Dynasty when he served as an envoy to the Jin Dynasty, and they were collected in Quan Liao Wen (Complete Writings of the Liao Dynasty). Most historical anthologists also included them in Liao poetry. These poems vividly reflect the mindset of Han literati during the historical context of multiple dynasties coexisting, succeeding one another, and cultural integration in China. Therefore, this book does not consider him a Song poet and includes his poem "Shangjing" (To the Capital) in the Liao poetry section. For poets with a large number of selected works, their poems are arranged in the order of five-character ancient poems, seven-character ancient poems, five-character regulated poems, seven-character regulated poems, five-character quatrains, and seven-character quatrains.