Wondrous Flower in the Garden of Words: Huajian Collection

Author: Wang Dingzhang, The Flower-Viewed Collection
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-09-01
Features: The natural scenery of Bashan and Shu is enchanting, and the history and culture are brilliant. As one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization, the ancient land of Bashu has, through thousands of years of wind and rain and the hardships of generations of Bashu people, formed a mysterious, profound, and diverse Bashu culture, which has become an important part of Chinese culture. This is an extremely valuable cultural treasure trove not only for Sichuan but also for China. The focus of this book, of course, is The Flower-Viewed Collection. The Flower-Viewed Collection includes 500 poems by 18 poets from the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods. It was compiled by Zhao Chongzuo, who served in Later Shu, and was prefaces by Ouyang Jiong, a native of Chengdu (Shuangliu), Sichuan. Among the poets included in the collection, in addition to Wen Tingyun, Huangfu Song, and He Ning, the rest were officials who served in Shu. Therefore, it is entirely reasonable to regard this book as a literary achievement of Former Shu and Later Shu. The study of The Flower-Viewed Collection naturally focuses on the Huajian school poets and their works, but it is not entirely limited to The Flower-Viewed Collection. This book primarily follows two threads. One is to explore the subject consciousness and the expression of life awareness of the poets in The Flower-Viewed Collection, uncovering their humanistic spirit and cultural significance. The other is to promote and appreciate the Huajian poets and their works. Thus, it provides an objective evaluation and reasonable interpretation of the literary value and humanistic spirit of The Flower-Viewed Collection.