Research Express@NCKU - Articles Digest

Research Express@NCKU Volume 6 Issue 7 - November 21, 2008 [ http://research.ncku.edu.tw/re/articles/e/20081121/3.html ] From Poems Inspired by Books to “Bi Xing” Metaphor： An Analysis of ’s Du Shi KaoPing Chang

Department of , College of Liberal Arts, National Cheng Kung University [email protected]

JOURNAL OF CHINESE STUDIES（2007）,no. 47：283-312

Problem Consciousness:

In his Science and Civilisation in China, Joseph Needham points out the close relationship between the invention of printing press and the dramatic development and evolution of the Sung Dynasty. As a medium for spreading knowledge, books in the Sung Dynasty undergo a profound change—from manual copies to printed copies. Such change also reshapes the reading habit, reception, response, and feedback of the public. The people of Sung show proclivities toward reading—how and what to read, as exemplified in The Complete Poems of the , with some 1670 poems.

Du shu shi are poems written after reading literary works—whether books or poems. However, du shi shi are restricted to poems written after reading poems. Its writing techniques include: first, personal reflection of the poem read, and second, criticism on both the poet and his/her poem(s). As such, du shi shi may disclose the poet’s own personality and poetic style, shedding light on the hidden aspect of the ancient poets.

Lu You and both his father and son are all renowned book-collectors. Lu You, in his old age, immerses himself in his “city of books” and spends most of his time reading and writing . However, do the circulation of books and the then prevalent writing style of du shi shi have any effect on Lu? This question raises other concerns as well, such as readership, reader’s reception and feedback, how poems are inspired by reading books? Is there a demarcation between the poetry of the Tang and Sung Dynasty? Or are they the same? These are all topics worth discussing with regard to poetry in the Southern Sung Dynasty.

With the emergence of the printing press, I believe that such a change must have impact on fields like the reading habit and reception of the public, the writing technique, literary criticism, literary genre, and aesthetic taste. As “the cradle of revolution” and “the mother of civilization”, the printing technique in what way reconstructs the Sung Dynasty literarily, academically, and culturally. Does the famous poet Lu You affected by such a trend? If so, how? Is there any difference between his du shu shi and that of the ? These are the themes in which the paper wants to delve into.

Literature Review

There are total four critical essays on Lu You’s du shi shi. First of all, “The Examination and Explanation of Lu You’s Du Shi Shi” by professor Huang Qi-Fang;

1 of 4 Research Express@NCKU - Articles Digest second, “The Literary Implications in Lu You’s ‘Du Shu’ Poems” by Mo Li-Feng, a scholar in Mainland China; the remaining two essays are my reviews on “Reader’s Reception of Du Shi Shi in the Tang Dynasty” and “Du Shi Shi in Northern Sung Dynasty and the Poetics of the Sung Dynasty”. Since Lu You’s has left more than a hundred du shi shi, which amounts to a quarter of the entire poems composed during the Southern Sung Dynasty, it is appropriate, I believe, to select him as the main focus if one wants to study the transformations and characteristics of du shu shi or du shi shi in the Southern Sung Dynasty.

Abstract:

Ever since The Book of Songs and Lisao, bi (trope) and xing (symbol) has been the two often used writing techniques in literature. Lu You has beautifully adopted and imbued these two techniques into his du shi shi. The writing style of Lu You’s du shu shi mainly focuses on chanting feelings and expressing aspirations, tilting toward the bi xing metaphoric style popular during the Tang Dynasty.

While Lu You and his father and son are famous book-collectors, when one examines the oeuvre of Lu You’s du shu shi, it is rather a surprising discovery that one scarcely finds any poems inspired by books or intertextuality for an erudite elite such as Lu You. Unlike the Jiangxi poets’ poetry which centers on the poetic form and artistic technique, Lu You’s poems move beyond that tradition, albeit he starts by imitating the Jiangxi poets’ poetic style. In fact, Lu You proposes that writing poetry ought to focus on “shi wai gong ”（詩外功夫）and “shi jia san mei”（詩家三昧）. Based on Lu You’s attitude towards poetry, therefore, one may detect some transformation in du shi shi. As such, one can safely conclude that although Lu You is an intellectual, his poetry does not subject to bondage of books and knowledge. Rather, he breaks through and not breaking down the poetic tradition and creates a style of his own.

Of Lu You’s 241 du shu shi anthologized in the Quan Song Shi (Complete Sung Poetry), 101 are du shi shi. The writing strategies used in his du shi shi basically consist, firstly, of moods aroused from contacts with the living world, and secondly, of emotions expressed allegorically. Lu You’s writing style consists of chanting feelings and expressing aspiration, tilting toward the “bi xing” metaphoric style. This style is characterized by (1) selecting certain phrases from books the poet has read to reflect the poet’s mood; (2) privately remembering one’s predecessors and pursuing a transcendental life; (3) praising Nature and deciding whether to secure an official position or remain a recluse; (4) encouraging people’s will and spirit; and (5) lamenting vicissitudes and expecting a renaissance.

Despite the fact that Lu You has created a unique poetic style, his du shu shi shares many similarities with du shi shi in the Northern Sung Dynasty. Moreover, Lu You especially praises some leading figures in the poet circle whose works are often canonized. They are Tao Yuanming, Li Bai, , Cen Sen, Wang Wei, Bai Juyi, Xu Hun, Mei Yaochen, Lin Bu, Wei Ye, , Lu Benzhong, Su Guo, and Chen Yuyi. Therefore, the origin of and influence on Lu You’s du shi shi is contrary to what some critics’ claims. For example, Qian Zhongshu states that Lu You’s du shi shi originates from Mei Yaochen and Zhu Dongrun, the so-called Jiangxi circle, or from Li Bai, Bai Juyi and Lu Benzhong only, as Yuan Xingpei declares, or like what Hu Ming believes from Lu Benzhong, Li Bai and Tao Yuanming.

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Lu You’s du shi shi has reach beyond the boundary of books, free from any literary conventions, and elevates the poetic content to another dimension. His du shi shi criticizes not the strength and weakness of certain poet (including his own interpretation of a poem), but emphasizes more on the usage of “bi xing” metaphor, which serves as a medium to vent his vexed feelings, such as his worries of politic affairs and his miserable life experience. From the aforementioned, Lu You’s du shi shi is mostly for expressing his feelings—the outer world is a catalyst or Muse which inspires the thought or emotion of the poet. This work done by the “xing” metaphor is different from the preface, epilog, and the notes in Weinan Essay Collection, yet each has its own artistic achievement.

Du shi shi of Lu You often complies with the title of the literary work he’s reading. If the title is about nature, then Lu You will write about nature which also reflects his personal mood and thought, praising the serene bliss of the hermit life, quite similar to Fan Chengda’s work “Notes on the Pastoral Scenery in Spring”. Influence by the teaching of Daoism, Lu You’s du shi shi are more about meditation on exteriority, much akin to poets like Quyuan and Li Bai’s pursuit of the heavenly paradise. Consequently, what seemed on the surface to be personal reflections of nature is actually thoughts on exteriority, the world beyond beings. As for Lu You’s attitude towards life, he is a practical man who wishes to dedicate his life to civil service and aspires to reclaim the lost territory (a supporter of war). Hence, the struggle and balance between getting a job in the royal government and becoming in recluse is also a prevalent theme in his works. The most common image in Lu You’s works is the blossom plum. Like ’s apricot and ’s red blossom plum, they all symbolize noble and virtuous ambition, which at the same time reveals the spirit of Confucian Idealistic School in Song Dynasty. The journey towards self-realization in Lu You’s du shi shi manifests moods aroused from contact with the living world and emotions expressed allegorically.

The poetic convention often consists of poets relating their persona writing experience, their literary theories and poetics. Nevertheless, Lu You’s works encompass diverse theories, namely, the theory of origin, of creativity, of writing skills, and of criticism. Lu You’s poems move beyond the convention of the Jiangxi poets’, albeit he starts by imitating its poetic style. By creating his own style, Lu You not only goes beyond Zengji, Lu Benzhong, but Huang Tingjian as well. In his Tanzhai Jushi Poetry Collection, Lu You talks about his concept of beifen（悲憤說）, which faithfully mirrors the poet’s own hardships in the political career. The concept of beifen deepens our understanding on Lu You’s diverse theories and provides new possibilities for interpretation.

Research Originality:

The texts analyzed are Du You’s 100 and more du shi shi from his 241 du shu shi collected in The Complete Poems of the Song Dynasty. After examining the works of Tao Yuanming, Li Bai, Du Fu, Cen Sen, Wang Wei, Bai Juyi, Yuan Jie, Xu Hun, Mei Yaochen, Han Wo, Lin Bu, Wei Ye, Huang Tingjian, Lu Benzhong, and Su Guo, I discover the reason for their popularity—largely due to the fact that their works have been engraved and publish on the market in printed book form. This has accelerated both the accessibility and the circulation of the poets’ works. As a result, their works are more readily accepted by the public.

Lu You’s du shi shi deals not from poems inspired by books, and it does not limit itself in the ivory tower of knowledge. The crux of this achievement relies on his unique understanding of （詩本）, shicai （詩材）and shiliao（詩料）—the materials for poetry writing. His theories of “shi wai gong fu” and “shi jia san mei” focus on the natural scenery and life experience; the shiben, shicai and shiliao presented in his poetry are his personal reflections or epiphanies. Although Lu You collects, collates, and reads books,

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he does not then turn himself into a slave to the book or subject to its bondage. Lu You’s poems move beyond the convention of the Jiangxi poets’, albeit he starts by imitating its poetic style. His poetry is for fafen and yanzhi, hence a multitude of “bi xing” metaphors are used.

Jerry Wind claims that paradigm shift is a two-way road. Rather than stating that paradigm shift is absolute and unavoidable, one too admits the co-existence of both new and old paradigms, which opens up another possibility—whether to move forward or back. Lu You, as a book-collector, lives in an age when engraving books are competing with the written ones. However, he does not compose poems inspired by books or knowledge; on the contrary, he writes about feelings and aspirations, tilting toward the “bi xing” metaphoric style. This type of expression is different from that of the Southern and Northern Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty. Accordingly, the so-called “two-way road” paradigm shift does exist in du shi shi in the Southern Song Dynasty, as the transformation from poems inspired by books to “bi xing” metaphor demonstrates.

Academic Contribution:

Du shi shi by Lu You shows how the poet regards highly of canons, how he studies both the works of antecedents (the poets from the Tang Dynasty) and his contemporaries, and how he develops eventually his own poetic style. Lu You also talks about poetry writing—though rarely. This, along with his preface, epilogue and notes from essay collections, are helpful supplements to the studies of origin, creation, criticism, and aesthetic comment of Lu You’s poetry.

The history of the printing press is a field that requires more study and concern. The effects of media is the key point to this study. What kind of impact does the circulation of printed books has on reading habit, reader’s reception, publishing, and feedback? What form of influence does it has on literary creation and poetry criticism? This is where Lu You’s du shi shi comes in—as a touchstone of the possible consequence due to the rise of printing press.

The shift of paradigm does not necessarily has to be a “one-way” road as Thomas Kuhn explains in his The Structure of Scientific Revolution. Rather, it may be a “two-way” road, juxtaposing both new and old paradigms with more choices. From the examples of Lu You’s du shi shi, which focus on “bi xing” metaphor rather than poems inspired by books, and his enormous book collection, with the diversity of the books in the Southern Song Dynasty, one can see there’s indeed a “two-way” road paradigm shift.

The critical essays on the poet or poetry in du shi shi may serve as reference for the study of the history of literature and criticism. Other than Lu You’s commentary on quatrains, notes on poetic criticism, prefaces and epilogues, his du shi shi remains an uncultivated land in the study of the history of literature and criticism. As a poet, a scholar, a critic, both Lu You’s essays and poetry see the transformation of poetic style in the Song Dynasty. The debate of whether to pay tribute to the poetry in the Tang or Song Dynasty, the shift of paradigm, the change in academic studies, and the personal experience of being a government official or an everyman, are all epitomized in Lu You’s du shi shi.

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