Original poem: A Glimpse of Poetry - Conversations on Poetry

Author: Ye Xie Hu Songlin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1979-09-01
Features: In the history of ancient China's development, the slogan of "reviving the past" sometimes contained progressive elements and at other times was entirely reactionary. For example, figures like Han Yu and Ouyang Xiu advocated for classical prose, ostensibly under the banner of "reviving the past," but in reality, they opposed the prevailing formalistic literary style of the time and sought to innovate in literary forms, thus introducing certain progressive elements. (While elaborating on the relationship between "literature" and "the Way," they naturally spread many remnants of feudalism.) In contrast to this is the "reviving the past" of those who argued that "the present is inferior to the past." As Ge Hong criticized, these proponents tirelessly claimed that "the mountains of today are not as high as those of the past," and they followed suit by advocating "reviving the past," dragging history's tail backward. This, of course, was entirely reactionary. The original poems by Ye Xie (1627-1703) of the Qing Dynasty is a work of poetic theory and criticism that explores the essence of poetic creation, primarily aimed at opposing the reactionary trend of "reviving the past." Yan Yu, styled Yiqing and known as the, was a native of Shaowu (now part of Fujian) who never held official office in his lifetime. While he did not achieve outstanding success in poetic creation, his Canglang Shihua (The Canglang Talks on Poetry) is an extremely important work of poetic theory. The book is divided into five sections: On Poetry, On Poetic Forms, On Poetic Methods, On Poetic Criticism, and On Examinations, with the Canglang as its core. Yan Yu's theory of poetry is grounded in its fundamental nature of "singing one's emotions," and the Fujian Literary Biographies also summarizes his poetic theory with the phrase "eliminating praise and criticism, embracing one's own spirit." The entire work completely avoids discussing the relationship between poetry and Confucianism or Daoism, as well as its functions in politics and education, instead emphasizing the artistic quality of poetry and the emotional impact it has on people's hearts. This stands in stark opposition to the literary views of Confucian scholars and is highly noteworthy.