(Download) "Shao Yong's (1011-77) "Great Chant on Observing Weiqi": An Archetype of Neo-Confucian Poetry (Critical Essay)" by The Journal of the American Oriental Society " eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Shao Yong's (1011-77) "Great Chant on Observing Weiqi": An Archetype of Neo-Confucian Poetry (Critical Essay)
- Author : The Journal of the American Oriental Society
- Release Date : January 01, 2006
- Genre: Social Science,Books,Nonfiction,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 326 KB
Description
Weiqi [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (or go), a board game originating in China, has inspired many poets throughout Chinese history. Among the numerous weiqi poems, Shao Yong's [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (1011-77) "Great Chant on Observing Weiqi" [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] stands out for its dramatic descriptions, powerful allusions, profound meaning, as well as its notable length. (1) Its 360 lines with 1,800 characters make it one of the longest poems in premodern Chinese literature. Although there has been no hierarchical listing of poem lengths, "The Peacock Flies Southeast" ("Kongque dongnan fei" [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]), a folk song traditionally dated to the Jian'an [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] period (196-220), though probably a literati reworking from a century or more later, has commonly been considered "the longest poem from antiquity to the present" [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] ever since Shen Deqian [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (1673-1769) labeled it thus. (2) Yet with its 357 lines and 1,785 characters, "The Peacock Flies Southeast" is fifteen characters fewer than Shao Yong's "Great Chant on Observing Weiqi." (3) The significance of Shao Yong's weiqi poem, however, goes far beyond the number of its lines and characters. Shao Yong, one of the founders of Neo-Confucianism (The Learning of the Way [daoxue [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]], or Principle Learning [lixue [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]]), (4) was also a learned historian and a prolific poet. His Beating Earth Collection (Jirang ji [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]), edited by Shao Yong himself and his son Shao Bowen [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (1056-1134), (5) contains over 1,500 poems. (6) These poems are generally organized chronologically, with the distinct exception of the "Great Chant on Observing Weiqi," which, though lacking a date of composition, appears as the first poem in the collection. (7) This placement seems indicative of the poem's importance in the poet's mind--as representative of his poetic talent, historical erudition and philosophical insight. However, little scholarly attention has been given to Shao Yong's weiqi poem. (8) This neglect justifies a complete, annotated translation and analysis of the masterpiece. (9)