Wang Anshi and Song Poetic Culture
A poetic culture consists of a body of shared values and conventions that shape the composition and interpretation of poetry in a given historical period. This book on Wang Anshi (1021–1086) and Song poetic culture—the first of its kind in any Western language—brings into focus a cluster of issues that are central to the understanding of both the poet and his cultural milieu. These issues include the motivations and consequences of poetic contrarianism and the pursuit of novelty, the relationship between anthology compilation and canon formation, the entanglement of poetry with partisan politics, Buddhist orientations in poetic language, and the development of the notion of late style.

Though diverse in nature and scope, the issues all bear the stamp of the period as well as Wang Anshi’s distinct personality. Conceived of largely as a series of case studies, the book’s individual chapters may be read independently of each other, but together they form a varied, if only partial, mosaic of Wang Anshi’s work and its critical reception in the larger context of Song poetic culture.

1139271551
Wang Anshi and Song Poetic Culture
A poetic culture consists of a body of shared values and conventions that shape the composition and interpretation of poetry in a given historical period. This book on Wang Anshi (1021–1086) and Song poetic culture—the first of its kind in any Western language—brings into focus a cluster of issues that are central to the understanding of both the poet and his cultural milieu. These issues include the motivations and consequences of poetic contrarianism and the pursuit of novelty, the relationship between anthology compilation and canon formation, the entanglement of poetry with partisan politics, Buddhist orientations in poetic language, and the development of the notion of late style.

Though diverse in nature and scope, the issues all bear the stamp of the period as well as Wang Anshi’s distinct personality. Conceived of largely as a series of case studies, the book’s individual chapters may be read independently of each other, but together they form a varied, if only partial, mosaic of Wang Anshi’s work and its critical reception in the larger context of Song poetic culture.

65.0 In Stock
Wang Anshi and Song Poetic Culture

Wang Anshi and Song Poetic Culture

by Xiaoshan Yang
Wang Anshi and Song Poetic Culture

Wang Anshi and Song Poetic Culture

by Xiaoshan Yang

Hardcover

$65.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    In stock. Ships in 3-7 days. Typically arrives in 3 weeks.
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

A poetic culture consists of a body of shared values and conventions that shape the composition and interpretation of poetry in a given historical period. This book on Wang Anshi (1021–1086) and Song poetic culture—the first of its kind in any Western language—brings into focus a cluster of issues that are central to the understanding of both the poet and his cultural milieu. These issues include the motivations and consequences of poetic contrarianism and the pursuit of novelty, the relationship between anthology compilation and canon formation, the entanglement of poetry with partisan politics, Buddhist orientations in poetic language, and the development of the notion of late style.

Though diverse in nature and scope, the issues all bear the stamp of the period as well as Wang Anshi’s distinct personality. Conceived of largely as a series of case studies, the book’s individual chapters may be read independently of each other, but together they form a varied, if only partial, mosaic of Wang Anshi’s work and its critical reception in the larger context of Song poetic culture.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780674262904
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Publication date: 11/02/2021
Series: Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series , #129
Pages: 360
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Xiaoshan Yang is Associate Professor of Chinese in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Notre Dame University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Note to the Reader xi

Introduction 1

1 "Song of Brilliant Lady": The Lure and Peril of Contrarianism 11

Genesis 11

The Moral Problematics 18

The Impossible Defense 30

The Matching Poems 35

Contrarian Personality and Contrarian Poetics 51

2 Tradition and Individuality in Tang baijia shixuan 62

The Making of the Anthology 62

The Intentionality Theory 70

The Circumstance Theory 81

The Availability of Tang Masters 85

The Quality of the Selections 93

The Prefatory Claim 99

The Anthological Tradition 102

3 Late Style 124

The Canonization of Du Fu 124

Chronology, Periodization, and Stylistic Evolution 129

The Discursive Rise of Late Style 134

The Counterdiscourse 146

The Repudiation of Juvenility and the Elevation of Lateness 150

Toward the Wang Anshi Style 164

A Cross-Cultural Reflection 184

4 From Cold Mountain to Bell Mountain: An Excursion into Poetic Buddhism 192

A Typology of Hanshan's Poetry 192

From Allusion to Imitation 197

A New Direction 201

Mindscaping Bell Mountain 214

5 "Hard to Trust You": Generic Convention and Partisan Politics 225

Authorship and Meaning 226

The Minister and His Emperor 235

The Abandoned Woman in Chinese Poetry 239

From the Poetry of Politics to the Politics of Poetry 247

Coda: Positioning Wang Anshi in Song Poetic History 273

Epilogue 287

Bibliography 293

Index 329

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews