6th century Literature in the south

6th century Chinese Literature in the South

Emperor Wu of Liang

alt text

Overview

Southern sixth century China is probably one of the most important eras in all of Chinese literary history. Literature and the people writing it experienced important changes in the ways things had previously been done. Starting with Emperor Wu of the Liang a man who reportedly had, “tireless devotion to literary and scholarly undertakings [and] went far beyond and of his imperial predecessors, both in terms of his personal involvement and in terms of the imperial sponsorship of various large scale cultural projects” (251). Chinese literature experienced a huge overhaul directly related to social changes: “This period witnessed the redistribution of cultural capital in society and the rise of a new cultural elite” (249). The reason for this is that the class system had been strictly defined by Gentry and Shu. Gentry being higher up social figures who had the opportunity to take part in the literary world and the Shu being commoners who had previously not had much of an ability to participate in literary China. Emperor changed this social system in 505 when he created an imperial edict that first, demanded people holding government positions to have deep understanding of at least one Confucian classic, second reinstated the Imperial Academy and third, changed the admission rules to allow anyone with exceptional abilities, despite their role in social society, to join the academy. This decree was to have “a considerable impact on upward social mobility” (250).

Southern sixth century also holds the beginnings of very serious cataloging, encyclopedias, and anthology compilation. Shortly before the reign of Emperor Wu the imperial library had suffered a destructive fire and Emperor Wu ordered that the library be reconstructed to more than its former glory. Private book collecting also became a prominent practice which is what eventually led to the creation of anthologies. These anthologies were generally created by and author or an authors friend of compiled work. The two most important works of this time were "New Songs of the Jade Terrace" and "Latter Collection of the Jade Terrace" which are the most important sources of pre-Tang secular literature. New Songs of the Jade Terrace was also a compilation that was specifically meant for female readership which is also fairly important for its time.

Literary Criticism also became a very important aspect of The Liang Dynasty as it was the first time that it appeared in Chinese History. Liu Xie wrote the revolutionary work "Literary Mind and the Carving of the Dragon" which was a large text of fifty chapters that examines several literary genres as well as the nature of language and the creation of poetry and literature. "Liu Xie makes the claim that literature is an extension of the Confucian Classics and that writing literary criticism possesses the same intrinsic value as writing commentaries on the Classics and elucidating the words of the Sage" (258). Along with the work by Liu Xie the work "Gradations of Poets" was also created by Zhong Rong. The work was divided into three section and ranked 122 poets each into one of the sections (top, middle, and lower) this inspired more people to begin rating literary figures in many different ways.

Palace style poetry also became an important aspect of Liang Literature as Xiao Gang became heir apparent and political power was translated into literary influence. "Palace style poetry represents a watershed int he development of classical Chinese poetry in ways that go beyond elaborate parallelism and a more strict observation of tonal rules as then understood. It is best defined as a poetry produced against an intensely Buddhist background and profoundly influenced by Buddhist teachings about illusion, illumination, meditative concentration, and visualization. In contrast to earlier poetry, which often depicts the world in generic and unspecific terms and aspires to represent the totality of the landscape, palace style poetry is concerned with particularity on both temporal and spatial levels, as it attempts to present things as observed in living moments" (262).

While the Liang had experienced many years of political and literary flourish the south eventually did fall. "In 548, Hou Jing, a northern general who had defected to the Liang, rebelled against his benefactor and seized the capital, Jiangkang, after a bloody five month siege. Emperor Wu died died in 549; Xiao Gang ruled under Hou Jing's control until he was murdered in 551" (268). These events quickly led to the fall of the Liang dynasty and many writers from the south made their way to the north as a result. While the fall of the south was a sad moment in China the fall did result in the unintentional mixing of north and south cultures which had a huge impact on China as a whole. The fall of the south also inspired several writers from the south to write heartfelt poems about the experiences they had.

Commentary

While the book "The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature" places some emphasis on the sixth century, I believe that the importance of this time is even more important than the book gives it credit for. The sixth century is probably one of the most important times in Chinese Literary history for many important reasons.

The first important reason that the sixth century in the south proved to be so important was that Emperor Wu was willing to completely change the social system of literature by allowing people of far more humble origins than every before make there way into some form of literary authority. He chose to no longer care about what family line someone came from but more about their actual abilities and intelligence. By allowing people from any social standing take the imperial exam and join the imperial academy he allowed an entirely new voice enter the literary atmosphere of the time and change Chinese literature. He supported two men, Shen Yue and Ren Fang search for literary talent wherever they may have found it. This allowed even people like Dao Gai and Dao Qia who "were descendants of a Liu-Song general whose family background was so humble that he had once made a living by transporting human waste, and Dao Gai was scorned by an aristocrat as 'still emitting the stench.' In the Liang, however, the Dao brothers became well known because of Ren Fang's appreciation, came to be appreciated by Emperor Wu, and were compared to the famous Lu brothers" (252). The fact that one emperor chose to look beyond the social system of the time and change the way literary recognition had come about for hundreds of years proved to be one of the smartest and most revolutionary ways to think at his time.

Another important aspect of the sixth century and Emperor Wu is that the man put such emphasis on literature at the time. While changing the ways in which the Imperial Academy worked and literary merit was gained he also changed the literary environment in other important ways as well. "During the Liang, imperial book collection reached new heights. The imperial library had suffered from a fire at the end of the Qi dynasty, and rebuilding the collection was one of the first things Emperor Wu did upon ascending the throne" (253). This was the kind of person that Wu seemed to be. He put such an emphasis on himself and the people around him having access to literature. He even made sure that his offspring had books available to him, "the prince of Xiandong also known as Emperor Yuan, was an avid book collector all his life, ever since he recieved his first set of the five Confucian Classics as a gift from his father at the age of five" (254). Xiandong as well as many other figures practiced heavy book collecting at the time and it was the first time in Chinese literature that such a wide array of people were collecting literature which shows just how important literature becoming for the Liang dynasty which clearly affected the literary climate in dynasties to come.

The last really important thing that came from the Liang Dynasty was the literary criticism that appeared. Probably in direct response to the importance of literature created by Emperor Wu inspired Liu Xie to go places with his writing that no one in China had ever done before. With his creation of "Literary Mind and the Carving of the Dragon" we see a writer who was examining language and writing in ways that were far ahead of it's time, not just for China, but also the rest of the world.

Looking at these three important happenings in the sixth century Chinese literature in the south it becomes clear that, in some ways at least, that the sixth century in China was one of the most revolutionary and important times for Chinese literature and changed the way things were to be done for many years after it was finished.

Prominent figures

• Emperor Wu- changed the 6th century in the south by putting a greater emphasis on writing and writers during the time. He was also quite the prolific writer himself. He even boasted a collection of his own writing that contained of 120 scrolls. The scrolls contained political writing as well as his own fu and yuefu. Unfortunately the majority of those scrolls are now lost.

• Ren Fang and Shen Yue- These two men played an important role in the, “rise of this new cultural elite” (252). They helped the literary scene in their time flourish by being important men who acted as patrons and promoters of new and interesting literary work. They were both considered grand literary masters and if a writer were able to gain the favor of Reng Fang it was nicknamed “passing through the Dragon Gate” after the Chinese legend that claims that carps who can leap over it would be transformed into dragons. These two men, along with Emperor Wu managed to change the sixth century literary climate to something China had never seen before.

• Liu Xie- Writer of the first real Chinese literary criticism titled Literary Mind and the Carving of the Dragon which was a fairly long piece of writing that explored many facets of writing and the literary mind.

Wang Yun- one of the most famous Liang poets who put together a collection of his literary writings and inspired many later writers to do the same.

• Xiao Gang- Son of Emperor Wu who was a fairly well known writer at the time. An excerpt from his poem "Autumn Evening" reads:
• "Tangled clouds, glowing red, are made circular by the limpid water,
• tiny leaves, outlined by a lamp in the air" (263).

• Yin Keng- Prominent poet who boasted many poems.

• Shen Jiong- A prominent writer who experienced the fall of the southern Chinese government and was forced to move to the north for some time. One important addition that he gave to Chinese literature was his poetry on returning to his southern home:

• “Still apprehensive about the northern cavalry.
• I am ever wary of encountering barbarian troops.
• Only large trees remain in the empty village;
• deserted towns are left with crumbling city walls.
• None of my old friends is around;
• all my new acquaintances have different names.
• A hundred years, thirty thousand days in all,
• this heart-wrenching sorrow in each and every one of them” (269).

• Ruan Xiaoxu- Lifelong recluse who nonetheless created a very large catalogue of books which contained 6,288 titles as well as 44,526 scrolls. He also formed one of the most prestigious clans of the time period.

Important Works

Literary Mind and the Carving of the Dragon by Liu Xie- This work was the first emergence of LIterary Criticism in China and took CHinese Literature to places that it had never been before. Liu Xie explored language and poetry in ways that no previous Chinese author, and for that matter, any writer from anywhere, had ever done before. These short excerpts provide a strong example of what kinds of revolutionary thoughts and writing that Liu Xie was capable of:

"Human beings are the flower of the elements: in fact, they are the mind of Heaven and Earth. When mind came into being, language was established; and with the establishment of language, pattern became manifest. This is the natural course of things, the Way" (Liu Xie 344).

"Long ago someone said that a person's body might be on thee rivers and lakes, yet his mind could remain by the palace towers or Wei. This is what is meant by spirit thought. And spirit does indeed go far in the thought that occurs in writing. When we silently concentrate, thought may reach a thousand years in the past; and when the face stirs quietly, the eyes can see thousands of miles. When we sing, the sounds of pearls and jade come forth; right before our eyelashes the colors of clouds in the wind unfurl. This is something achieved by the basic principle of thought (Liu Xie 346)

The Garden of Classified Extracts- Liu Jun

Comprehensive Epitome of the Park of Lowering Groves - Liu Jun

Record of Buddha- Shen Yue- Commissioned by Emperor Wu because of the intensely Buddhist atmosphere during the Liang dynasty.

Selections of Refined Literature- Xiao Tong - A literary anthology that was one of the first to be compiled generically.

New Songs of the Jade Terrace- Xu Ling- Another literary genre that compiled a large amount of the best five syllable line poems.

Gradation of Poets- Zhong Rong

Autumn Evening- Xiao Gang

Ballad of Joining the Army- Lu Sidao

Fu on the Returned Soul- Shen Jiong

The Lament for the South- Yu Xin

Ascending a Tower and Gazing toward My Homeland-Denglou Wangxiang

Ascending a Tower and Gazing toward my homeland- Yin Keng

References

• The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature Volume 1 - Kang-I Sun and Stephen Owen
• An Anthology of Chinese Literature - Stephen Owen

Classroom presentation

Media:6th_Century_literature_of_the_South_by_Mat_C.pptx