Works of Gold and Jade – Cao Zhi (192-232 CE): The Man and His Poetry by Johannah Cook A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand April 2010 i Dedicated to all the poets of China, past and present. ii Acknowledgements I would like to especially thank the University of Otago, New Zealand for awarding me a University of Otago Postgraduate award which greatly aided me in the completion of this project. I‘d also like to thank the Department of languages and Cultures of Otago University for their ongoing support. To my family, to my mother for teaching me to forge ahead along my own path and to my father, who inspired me to think about the world and people from new perspectives To my supervisor, Dr. Xiaohuan Zhao of the University of Otago, for his devotion to scholarship, encouragement and patience. To Professor An Cheng Xian, of Xi‘an International Studies University, China who dedicated much of his time to me helping me to improve my Chinese reading skill and increasing my understanding of contemporary China. And to his colleague, Professor Zhao Shiping for ensuring my teaching timetable did not conflict with my study obligations. To the International Office at Xi‘an Jiaotong University and to Professor Luo for her perseverance in teaching me classical Chinese poetry. To all my friends in China, particularly Cao Xiaoqing for her endless enthusiasm and emotional support and to Professor Pan Xiaolong and all the staff and postgraduate students at the Centre for Chinese Poetry at Anhui Normal University, China. Appreciation is also extended to the following: Dr. Duncan Campbell, Dr. Haixin Jiang, Dr. Erlet Cater, Ding Taixie, Ma Weijun, Thelma Fisher and Tanikawa Keiko. iii Abstract This thesis is an analysis of the life and poetry of Cao Zhi 曹植. It will seek to prove that Cao Zhi was a transitional poet during a transitional era. It will demonstrate how he revived the poetic traditions of the past, but at the same time, transformed literary traditions so that they embodied a new kind of individualism which revolutionised the Chinese poetic tradition. The seeds of this new poetic movement began during the Jian‘an period 建安 (196-220 CE) and Cao Zhi‘s life and poetry reflect this new individualist movement that would later be embraced by Chinese intellectuals during the Wei-Jin 魏晉 (220-420 CE) dynasties which is often referred to as the ―literary awakening period.‖ This thesis will demonstrate how Cao Zhi remained grounded in Confucian values throughout his life, mainly manifested by his love for, and loyalty to his family. However, it was this same loyalty that would create contradictions within him that were vividly revealed through his poetry. This thesis will not only explore the complex relationship he had with his family members, but also the rich and rewarding friendships he cultivated with his contemporaries and how their praise and encouragement enriched his poetic expression and led to his determination to redefine the traditional parameters of literary competence. This thesis will also explore how Cao Zhi‘s forthright personality led him to become alienated from the court. It will explore how his feelings of despair and rejection contributed to a new kind of awakening of the human spirit through the medium of poetry and this thesis will demonstrate that such a spirit emerges not from those who remain ensconced within the comfortable environment of the court but springs from a rebellious individual like Cao Zhi who forges ahead in an environment of oppression, by holding steadfast to his ideals and distancing himself, on an emotional level, from the petty affairs of the world. This thesis will demonstrate that Cao Zhi forged a new path in poetry, in terms of his original imagery and rich imagination that surpassed that of his contemporaries. Cao Zhi longed to be remembered for his heroic deeds but this thesis will demonstrate that it was during his quiet moments away from the court, that he would produce his finest works which would become his legacy to the world, due to the fact that he revealed his heartfelt compassion for the downtrodden and his quest for freedom and justice for all. This thesis will reveal how the life and works of Cao Zhi embodied the highest ideals of the Jian‘an period which contributed to a new trend of individualism. It will explore how Cao Zhi questioned the past, while at the same time broadening his horizons by encompassing new themes into his poetry which showed his deep reverence for human life and his inherent belief that one individual can make a difference. iv Chronology of Chinese Dynasties Up to the Tang Dynasty Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors 三皇五帝 (Before 2070 BCE) Xia 夏 (2070-1600 BCE) Shang 商 (1600-1046 BCE) Western Zhou 西周 (1046-771 BCE) Eastern Zhou 東周 (770-256 BCE) which is traditionally divided up into: Spring and Autumn 春秋 (722-476 BCE) Warring States 戰國 (475-221 BCE) Qin 秦 (221-206 BCE) Western Han 西漢 (206BCE -9 CE) Xin 新 (9-23 CE) Eastern Han 東漢 (25-220 CE) Three Kingdoms 三國 (220-265 CE) Western Jin 西晉 (265-317 CE) Eastern Jin 東晉 (317-420 CE) Northern and Southern 南北朝 (420-589 CE) Sui 隋 (581-618 CE) Tang 唐 (618-907 CE) v CONTENTS Acknowledgements iii Abstract iv Chronology v Chapter One: Introduction 1 Chapter Two: The Period of Disunion 2.1. The Wei-Jin (220-420 CE) Style 15 2.2. The Jian‘an (196-220 CE) Period 22 2.3. Cao Zhi and the Spirit of Jian‘an 26 Chapter Three: External and Internal Voices 3.1. Shattered Dreams 35 3.2. Playing With Words 43 3.3. The Lustre of Jade 50 Chapter Four: Distinctive Features of His Poetic Art 4.1. A Phoenix Amongst Birds 59 4.2. Gleaming With Brilliance 65 4.3. Plucking the Lute Strings 70 Conclusion 76 Bibliography 79 Appendix 85 vi 1. Introduction The integral role that Cao Zhi 曹植 (192-232 CE) has played, with regard to the development of Chinese lyric poetry is undisputed. However, the extent to which Cao Zhi‘s political ambitions spoke through his poetry has been hotly debated by scholars in recent years. There has been much research done on the poetic trends of the Jian‘an 建安 (196-220 CE) period but not a lot of in depth research on the individual poets of the era. Cao Zhi was deeply influenced by his friends and family and it is the influences of those around him, along with his highly individualistic personality, that speak boldly through his works and contribute to his highly original and thought-provoking lyric poetry. Cao Zhi wrote poetry at a time of momentous upheaval for China. This era would also prove to be a momentous age for Chinese poetry and it was Cao Zhi that spearheaded this new trend of individualist expression which steered Chinese lyric poetry along a whole new course. All scholars agree that Cao Zhi played a key role in the development of lyric poetry in China. In the Wenxuan 文選 (Selections of Refined Literature), Xiao Tong 蕭統 (501-531 CE) collects more poetry by Cao Zhi than any other poet of his time.1 Liu Xie 刘勰 (465 CE-552 CE) proclaims Cao Zhi to be ―the outstanding talent of them all.‖2 Cutter and Connery assert that no poet is more worthy of study than Cao Zhi3 who is considered the representative poet of the Jian‘an period in that he combines the outstanding features of all his contemporaries.4 However, according to Frankel, the image of Cao Zhi, the man, is ―historically inaccurate in many details‖5 and there has been a general reluctance to discuss the personality of the poet in relation to his work.6 However, there is general agreement that traces of Cao Zhi‘s life were expressed in his poetry and reveal his particular moods at certain times in his life.7 Dunn writes a relatively brief account of how the events in Cao Zhi‘s life speak through his poetry.8 However, since most of Cao Zhi‘s work cannot be accurately dated, there was a general desire among scholars to see poetry as a work of art and not as ―a factual record of happenings and experiences.‖9 However, as Erlich relates, lyrical testimony becomes evidence when it is corroborated by other auxiliary testimonies and when the 1 Zong-qi Cai, The Matrix of Lyric Transformation: Poetic Modes and Self-Presentation in Early Chinese Pentasyllabic Poetry (Ann Arbor: Centre for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan 1996), 95. 2 Liu Xie, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, trans. and annot. Vincent Yu-chung Shih (Hong Kong, Chinese University Press, 1983): 399. 3 Robert Joe Cutter, ―Cao Zhi (192-232) and His Poetry‖ (PhD diss., Princeton University, 1991 [PhD diss., 1983], Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Dissertation Services), 1; Christopher Leigh Connery, ―Jian'an Poetic Discourse‖ (PhD diss., Princeton University, 1991), 160. 4 Connery, ―Jian‘an Poetic Discourse,‖ 171. 5 Hans H Frankel,―Fifteen Poems by Cao Zhi: An Attempt at a New Approach,‖ Journal of the American Oriental Society 84, no. 1 (1964): 1. 6 Rebecca Mok Wing-Yin does not discuss any aspect of Cao Zhi‘s personality in her thesis, ―Cao Zhi‘s Poems: A Critical Study‖ (PhD diss., University of Hong Kong, 1972). 7 Yin Yixiang 殷義祥, ―Preface,‖ to San Cao Shi Xuanyi 三曹詩選譯 (Chengdu: Bashu Shushe, 1990), 12. 8 Hugh Dunn, Cao Zhi: The Life of a Princely Chinese Poet (Beijing: New World Press, 1983).