6th century Literature in the south
6th century Chinese Literature in the South
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 cataloguing, 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.
Prominent figures
- Emperor Wu- changed the 6th century in the south by putting a greater emphasis on writing and writers during the time.
- Ren Fang- Played an important role in 6th century writing by serving as a prominent figure of patronage and promotion for up and coming writers. Even if their origins were more humble.
- Shen Yue- Had a similar role as Ren Fang by promoting new writers.
- 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 looked a many facets of writing and the literary mind.
- Xiao Gang- Son of Emperor Wu who was a fairly well known writer at the time.
- Yin Keng- Prominent poet who boasted many poems.
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)
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