Selected and Commented-on Lyrics of Liao, Jin, Yuan Dynasties -- A Series of Classical Literature Commentaries by Renowned Scholars

Author: Liu Dake
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Publishing Date: 2004-07-01
Features: This book selects 101 poets and 185 works totaling 217 poems. 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 rankings, death years, relevant biographical records, works, and social connections, and are placed in the corresponding period. Special cases are handled flexibly and adaptively. In terms of dynastic affiliation, this book uses the primary living period rather than political stance as the standard. For example, Ma Zhi, who played a special role during the conflicts and diplomatic exchanges among the Song, Liao, and Jin dynasties, spent most of his life in the Liao Dynasty, later joined the Song Dynasty, served as a Song envoy to the Jin Dynasty, and was ultimately killed by the Song people. He has no entry in the Liao Shi (History of the Liao Dynasty) but is listed in the "Treacherous Officials" section of the Song Shi (History of the Song Dynasty). Most historians criticized his involvement in 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 while serving as a Song envoy to the Jin Dynasty and were included in the Complete Writings of the Liao Dynasty (Quan Liao Wen). Most historical anthologists also compiled them into 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 "To the Capital" (Shang Jing) in the Liao poetry section. For poets with a larger 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.