Research on the Lyrical and Narrative Traditions in Chinese Literature through the Nineteen Ancient Poems

In ancient Chinese literature,poetry is the primary vehicle for lyrical expression.Although they have been traditionally deemed pure lyrical works,the nineteen ancient poems contain narrative elements that have been explored in prior research endeavors.An examination of these poems from the perspective that Chinese literature is characterized by the complementary interplay of lyrical and narrative traditions can help develop a more nuanced understanding of Chinese literary works.Moreover,it can deepen the perception that Chinese literary history is not dominated by the lyrical tradition but is defined by the intricate harmony and mutual enrichment between the lyrical and narrative traditions.

Lyricism, the Veneration of Feeling, and Narrative Techniques in the Poetry Talks of the Southern Society

This paper examines the voluminous ＂poetry talks＂ （shihua） written by Southern Society （Nanshe） members and focuses on two tendencies in these discourses： The general cult of sentimentality and the narrative strategy on women＇s poetry. These poetic discourses succeeded the language of traditional literary criticism, but also exhibited ideals of the new epoch. As a rebellion to the qing imperial standard on measured and learned poetry, Southern Society poets took instead as their role models eccentric and iconoclastic poets who ＂venerated feelings.＂ The cult of sentimentality continued the trend of individual liberation from the late Ming and further showed a collective discourse that promoted a new kind of revolutionary subjectivity. These authors were also fond of collecting sentimental stories about female poets. More than being traditional ＂talented women,＂ these poets exhibited a diversity of female roles in an era of liberation.

The Tradition of Emotive Writing in the Zhuangzi and Its Echoes in Later Generations

As the concluding part of a series of essays on theories of humanity in the Zhuangzi, this essay aims at describing the theme of qing＇t （emotion） as a dual-directional attitude towards qing as a partner to xing ＇ （nature） and the influence of this domain of thought on later generations and their continued discussion of it. Faced with a forcible divorce of qing and xing at the hand of Han Dynasty Ruists, which would lock perceptions into a rigid dualist framework, the Wei and Jin period saw authors such as Wang Bi and Ji Kang return to a more faithful rendering of the theme of qing in the classics, the Laozi and Zhuangzi, seeing it become an ever more explicit philosophical topic and beginning a lengthy period of discussion of the theme of qing. In the Northern Song period, representative thinkers Zhang Zai and Wang Anshi The Northern Song tradition constitute a continuance of Pre-Qin Daoist philosophical ideas, providing a logical reinterpretation of the indivisibility of qing and xing from a syncretist approach to the Daoist and Ruist traditions, in a way that drastically differs from the Southern Song preference for xing at the cost of qing, as represented by thinkers such as the Brothers Cheng and Zhu Xi. At the bottom of it, this continued tradition draws from themes that appear in the Zhuangzi, a holistic approach to life and the relationship between humanity and nature, an important and continuous thread in the fabric of human civilisation.