Four Seas Poetic Dialogues

Author: Xie Zhen
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-12-01
Features: Wang Fuzhi, styled Ernong, known as Jiangzhai, was from Hengyang. Scholars referred to him as the Master Shanshan. He was a candidate in the Ming Chongzhen period (Rimao year) and served as a Xingren (envoy) during the Yongli era. After the establishment of the new dynasty, he retired from public life and lived in seclusion. He was enshrined in the Confucian Temple. He had the "Jiangzhai Poetry Collection." The Four Seas Mountain Man, with one blind eye, was known as the "Blind Gentleman." Yet, his poetry criticism truly possessed the vision of both heaven and man, surpassing what Yuanzhou's "Art Garden Zhiyan" could achieve. The excellence of his poetry was recognized by all who could see. In the complete collection, there are four volumes of "Straight Sayings of Poets" that were edited and published. It is a pity that he could not obtain a good manuscript to supplement its deficiencies. How could he dare to resent its length and make arbitrary deletions? The mountain man's upright heart and heroic bones were not merely valued for their elegance. His descendants would still rise, yet contemporaries also suppressed and pushed him down. The difficulties of human relationships are truly lamentable. Wang Ruiting praised the poetry of the mountain man, placing him among the seven masters of the Jia and Long periods. His preface also expressed extreme admiration and respect, which is preserved here as a short biography of the mountain man. If Zhao Wang had published his collection, the princes of the fief would have left many inscriptions. However, since few of his writings were transmitted, they are not included here. In the spring of the Qianlong era (Jiameng year), Hu Zeng of Xiushui Shizhai wrote this preface. The former Ming scholar Xie Siming, a close guest of Zhao, once published his complete collection for the world. It has been over two hundred years since then, and the wooden blocks have long been lost, with the works gradually fading into oblivion, which is truly a pity. In my traveling bag, I had a hand-copied "Four Seas Poetry Talks" by my late father, Yiqang. However, it was not a complete edition. Fortunately, Hu Jiuquan, the Huabei Surveillance Commissioner, sought the complete collection and obtained it. The son, Shizhai, deeply researched ancient texts and earnestly explored the profound meanings, finding resonance with the "Poetry Talks" when reading them. Thus, he entrusted Gu Jun.