Bi Huiyi's Critique - A Series of Critiques on Chinese Thinkers Appendix: Yuan Zhen's Critique

Author: Qian Changqing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: In the Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi was the greatest poet after Li Bai and Du Fu. The literary heritage he left is unparalleled among Tang poets. His thoughts blend Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, and his writings contain abundant materials for the history of thought. Adhering to the principle of combining criticism and biography, this book discusses several issues related to Bai Juyi's unique family background in Chapter 1. Chapters 2 to 5 almost chronologically outline the twists and turns of Bai's long life. The text frequently quotes his poems from different periods to reveal the richness of the poet's inner world and thereby trace the trajectory of his ideological transformations. Chapters 6 and 7 respectively evaluate his early radical popularism and his later moderate middle path philosophy, which are the key points of the book. Chapters 8 and 9 respectively discuss his realistic literary theories and creative achievements. Chapter 10 summarizes Bai Juyi's position and influence in literary history. Yuan Zhen was Bai Juyi's unwavering close friend. Their poetic styles were similar, and their talents were roughly equal, earning them the historical reputation of "Yuan Bai." Therefore, a brief biography of Yuan Zhen is appended after Bai's biography.