Biography of Li Shangyin (Complete Two Volumes)

Author: Liu Xuekai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-06-01
Features: The book is divided into three parts: the Upper Part, the Lower Part, and the Appendix. The Upper Part primarily narrates the general life experiences of the author, from his birth era, family background, and early life to his experiences after adulthood, such as imperial examinations, official travels, joining the court, and marriage. The Lower Part transforms the objective historical context into a unique literary historical background, reviewing the poetry scene and political arena of the late Tang Dynasty in the early period, and elaborating on Li Shangyin's creative thoughts, personality, and creative stages. Based on this, it classifies and analyzes his works by theme: political poems, historical poems, poems on objects, untitled poems, love poems, and nuns' poems, etc. It also classifies and analyzes them by genre: seven-character regulated verse, seven-character quatrains, other poetic forms, parallel prose, critical essays, fu, and classical prose, etc. It further compares the connection between Li Shangyin and Song Yu in the tradition of classical literary melancholy, as well as the connection between Li Shangyin's poetry and the subsequent Tang and Song lyrical ci poetry. The Appendix introduces the current state of research on Li Shangyin in academia, including an overview of Li Shangyin studies throughout history, an overview of Li Shangyin studies in mainland China in the 20th century, a discussion of the version system of Li Shangyin's poetry collections, divergences and reconciliations, and the phenomenon of Li Shangyin in classical literary studies, etc. "However, during the planning process, it was discovered that for a special subject like Li Shangyin, a purely biographical form could not fully accommodate a systematic critical study of his literary works. This is mainly because his most accomplished works—such as untitled poems, love poems, historical poems, and poems on objects—cannot be dated, making it difficult to combine his life and career in a biography for concentrated and comprehensive discussion. It is necessary to adopt a 'biography-critique' approach that combines horizontal and vertical perspectives to fully reflect his life experiences, ideological character, and literary achievements."