The poetry of Chang Chi (ca. 766-830) Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Wang, Wan-Hsiang, 1960- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 07/10/2021 14:30:06 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/290645 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI fihns the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter &ce, i»Me others may be from ai^ type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. 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Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 Noith Zeeb Road, Ann Aibor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 THE POETRY OF CHANG CHI (ca. 766-830) by Wan-hsiang WcUig Copyright © Wan-hsiang Wang 1996 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF EAST ASIAN STUDIES In Pcirtial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 19 9 6 UMX Number: 9720564 Copyright 1996 by Wsm.g, Wan-hsiang All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9720564 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ® GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Wan-hsiang Wang entitled The Poetry of Chang Chi (ca. 766-830) and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy C• /*?/96 Dr. Ronald C. Miao Date ^ Y ^ j Dr. Marie Chan Date r. Jing-sheng T Date B" A/cry- Willard Date Date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. Dissertation Director Date Dr. Ronald C. Miao 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Librcury. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate ac]cnowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply grateful to Professors Ronald C. Miao and Marie Chan, who supervised the dissertation. I would also like to express ny gratitude to Professors Thomas willard, Jing-sheng Tao, and Chia-lin Pao-Tao for their advice and encouragement at various stages of ny study. My parents and my brothers have never failed to provide moral support and financial aid from Taiwan. Without them, I could not have gone so far. To my family I dedicate this dissertation. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE ABSTRACT 6 1. CHANG CHI'S LIFE AND WORKS 8 1.1 Introduction 8 1.2 Chang Chi's Life 12 1.3 The Editions of Chang Chi's Poetry Collection 44 2. MAJOR THEMATIC CONCERNS: I 52 2.1 Introduction 52 2.2 Political Criticism 62 2.3 Poems of Social Significance 81 2.4 The Revelation of the Evils of war 105 3. MAJOR THEMATIC CONCERNS: II 117 3.1 Satires of Taoist Religion 117 3.2 Carpe Diem 135 3.3 Fables and Allegories 141 4. FRONTIER POETRY 155 4.1 Frontier Poetiry in Pre-T'ang Times 155 4.2 Chang Chi's Poems on Frontier Life 169 5. THE IMAGES OF WOMEN 202 5.1 Introduction 202 5.2 The Boudoir Plaint Poetry 206 5.3 The Palace Plaint Poetry 223 5.4 Others 240 6. CONCLUSION: The Critical Reception of Chang Chi's Poetry 259 REFERENCES 268 6 ABSTRACT The mid-T'ang literary arena is dominated by two influential figures; Han Yii and Po Chii-i and by the schools that formed around their poetry. These two prominent schools have developed very different poetic styles. Chang Chi is a major poet of the time who associates with both groups, yet he manages to retain his own uniqueness. Chang's poetic works include many yiieh-fu titles with realistic themes, which display his profound thoughts and his elegant, crystalline style. He is particularly good at expressing intimate human concerns. By employing a simple yet refined poetic language, he has made clear and objective sketches of the hardships of common people's lives in the early ninth century. He has also left lucid and beautiful poems written in the "recent style," in which natural phenomena are strongly correlated with human feelings. My approach to Chang Chi's poetry is both historical and thematic. In studying the topoi of Chang's poetry, I first investigate the source and history of each theme and then compare Chang's works with his predecessors'. Chapter 1 provides a biographical study of Chang Chi's life, using available biographical and literary sources. In addition, I discuss the editions of Chang Chi's poetry collection. Chapter 2 deals with some of Chang Chi's major thematic concerns as reflected mainly in his yiieh-fu poetry, such as / social injustice brought on by incessant wars and repressive taxation. Chapter 3 analyzes Chsmg Chi's satires on Taoist religion, cind poems on the carpe diem theme, as well as allegories and fables. Chapter 4 examines Chang's "frontier poetry" by tracing the origins of the "expedition and guard" theme. Chapter 5 explores the images of women in Chang's verse within the so-called "palace plaint" and "boudoir plaint" traditions. Finally, Chapter 6 offers a review of the critical reception of Chang's poetry throughout Chinese history, together with my own evaluation. 8 Chapter 1 Chang Chi's Life and Works I. Introduction During the yiian-ho (806-820) peroid of T'ang dynasty, there were two prominent schools of poetry with different poetic styles. One was that of Han Yii (768- 824) and Meng Chiao (751-814), which was noted for its eccentricity of ideas and phraseology. The other one was that of Yiian Chen (779-831) and Po Chii-i 6®^ (772-846), which was known for its simple diction. ^ Chang Chi (ca. 766-830) was a major poet of the time who associated with both schools, yet retained his own uniqueness in his poetic compositions. Chang's poetic works included many yueh-fu titles with realistic themes, which displayed his profound thoughts and his crystalline and elegant style. In particular, he was versed in expressing intimate human concerns. By employing a simple yet refined poetic language, he created clear and objective sketches of the hardships of common people's lives in mid-T'ang society. Besides this, he also left many lucid and beautiful recent style poems in 1 For a detailed study of these two poetic schools, see Hsu Tsung T'ano-shih t'i-p'ai lun (A Study of T'ang Poetic Styles and Schools) (Taipei: Wen-chin ch'u-pan-she, 1994), 486-589. 9 which natural phenomena are strongly correlated with human emotions. Chang Chi enjoyed a wide reputation in his own lifetime, and he was frequently linked with Wang Chien (766-830), as two of the leading yiieh-fu poets in the mid- T'ang era. For such an outstanddLng poet, however, biographical writings about Chang Chi within the two T'ang histories were far too negligent, and no historian attempted to verify historical evidences relating Chang's life and works. Thus, one can find little reliable information regarding Chang Chi in most general histories of Chinese literature.2 in the meantime, most Chinese scholars have been attracted to the lives and works of Han Yii and Po Chu-i because of their prominent political careers rather than their poetic achievements. Compared with the critical receptions of Han and Po's works, the study of Chang Chi's poetry in modern China and Japan is still far behind what is needed. The only available monograph in the Chinese language about Chang's life and 2 For example, Lu K'an-ju and Feng Yiian-chun Chung-kuo shih-shih (A History of Chinese Poetry) vol.