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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Oregon Scholars' Bank BAI JUYI AND THE NEW YUEFU MOVEMENT by JORDAN ALEXANDER GWYTHER A THESIS Presented to the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts June 2013 THESIS APPROVAL PAGE Student: Jordan Alexander Gwyther Title: Bai Juyi and the New Yuefu Movement This thesis has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures by: Yugen Wang Chairperson Maram Epstein Member Allison Groppe Member and Kimberly Andrews Espy Vice President for Research and Innovation; Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2013 ii © 2013 Jordan Alexander Gwyther iii THESIS ABSTRACT Jordan Alexander Gwyther Master of Arts Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures June 2013 Title: Bai Juyi and the New Yuefu Movement Centering my focus on a detailed translation of the poetry of Bai Juyi's New Yuefu, I will reconstruct the poet’s world on the foundation of political allegory found within his verse. Bai Juyi once said that there are four elements that compose poetry as a whole: Likened to a blossoming fruit tree, the root of poetry is in its emotions, its branches in its wording, its flowers in its rhyme and voice, and lastly its final culmination in the fruits of its meaning. Moreover, I will carefully research Bai Juyi's correspondence with other members of the New Yuefu Movement such as Yuan Zhen. As a whole, the aim of this thesis is to illuminate what I view to be Bai Juyi's own unique brand of poetic theory as well as the sociological philosophy behind its creation. iv CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Jordan Alexander Gwyther GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Central University for Nationalities, Beijing, China DEGREES AWARDED: Master of Arts, East Asian Languages and Literatures, 2013, University of Oregon Bachelor of Arts, East Asian Languages and Literatures, 2005 University of Oregon AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Tang Dynasty Poetry PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Translator, Macau HR, Macau SAR, China 2007-2008 Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon, 2006-2007 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Frank X. Wegmann Scholarship for Chinese Studies, 2004 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to sincerely thank Professor Yugen Wang who helped me turn a nebulous idea into a scholarly thesis. Without his time and unwavering support I would have never been able to finish this project on my own. Next I would like to thank Professor Maram Epstein for her support in helping me enroll in the University of Oregon Graduate Program. Her invaluable input helped greatly to bring this thesis to completion. Lastly, I must thank my mother and father for never giving up on me, even when this project seemed like it was beyond my abilities. vi Dedicated to my Grandmothers Bonnie Smith and Dorothea Gwyther vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 1 II. THE LITERARY THEORY BEHIND THE NEW YUEFU POETRY ................. 14 III. THE TRANSLATIONS OF THE POEMS ........................................................... 39 Poem 1. The Dance of Seven Battle Virtues.......................................................... 40 Poem 2. Model Music............................................................................................ 43 Poem 3. Two King's Descendants.......................................................................... 45 Poem 4. The Boundless Sea .................................................................................. 46 Poem 5. Standing Section Players ......................................................................... 48 Poem 6. The Chime-stone of Huayuan ................................................................. 51 Poem 7. The Grey Haired Maiden of Shangyang ................................................. 53 Poem 8. The Nomad Whirling Dancer .................................................................. 57 Poem 9. The Broken Armed Old Man of Xinfeng................................................. 60 Poem 10. The Grand Pass ...................................................................................... 63 Poem 11. The Court Astronomers ......................................................................... 65 Poem 12. Catching Locusts.................................................................................... 66 Poem 13. The Swelling Spring Waters of Kunming Pool ..................................... 68 Poem 14. Wall Yanzhou ........................................................................................ 70 Poem 15. The People of Daozhou ......................................................................... 73 Poem 16. The Tame Rhinoceros............................................................................ 74 Poem 17. Five Strings Plucked .............................................................................. 77 Poem 18. Barbarians of the South.......................................................................... 79 viii Chapter Page Poem 19. The Musicians of Burma........................................................................ 82 Poem 20. The Bound Captive of Rong .................................................................. 85 Poem 21. Lofty the Li Palace................................................................................. 88 Poem 22. The Hundred Linked-chain Mirror ........................................................ 91 Poem 23. The Limestone ....................................................................................... 93 Poem 24. A Pair of Crimson Pavilions .................................................................. 95 Poem 25. This Actor of Xiliang............................................................................. 97 Poem 26. The Painting of Eight Stallions.............................................................. 100 Poem 27. A Pine at the Bottom of a Gully ............................................................ 103 Poem 28. Peony Fragrance .................................................................................... 105 Poem 29. Crimson Threaded Carpet...................................................................... 108 Poem 30. The Old Man of Duling ......................................................................... 110 Poem 31. Twill Weaved Silk ................................................................................. 112 Poem 32. This Elderly Charcoal Monger .............................................................. 114 Poem 33. A Mother's Farewell with a Son ............................................................ 117 Poem 34. The Path at Yinshan............................................................................... 119 Poem 35. The Fashion of the Times ...................................................................... 121 Poem 36. His Lady Li ............................................................................................ 122 Poem 37. The Concubines of the Mausoleum ....................................................... 125 Poem 38. The Salt Merchant's Wife ...................................................................... 128 Poem 39. Apricot Wood Beams............................................................................. 130 Poem 40. From the Bottom of a Well, to Pull up a Silver Pail.............................. 131 ix Chapter Page Poem 41. The Minister's Ox .................................................................................. 134 Poem 42. The Rabbit Fur Brush ............................................................................ 136 Poem 43. Sui Levy Willows .................................................................................. 138 Poem 44. The Grasses Boundless .......................................................................... 140 Poem 45. The Old Grave Fox ................................................................................ 141 Poem 46. The Black Pond Dragon......................................................................... 143 Poem 47. Heaven Can Be Guessed At................................................................... 145 Poem 48. The Lucky Qin Parrot ............................................................................ 146 Poem 49. Yajiu's Sword......................................................................................... 148 Poem 50. The Poem Collector ............................................................................... 149 IV. CONCLUSION...................................................................................................... 155 REFERENCES CITED................................................................................................ 157 x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Bai Juyi's New Yuefu poems may not be amongst his most famous body of work, but to the author himself these poems are the most precious. Bai Juyi crafted these poems in such a delicate fashion that he expertly used the past to precisely criticize problems in the present. He risked his career and livelihood to make a political point and still managed to remain employed as
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