By tracing the semantic origin and evolution of the term fu and relevant sociocultural background... more By tracing the semantic origin and evolution of the term fu and relevant sociocultural background of the Western Zhou-Warring States period, this essay presents a new interpretation of three enigmatic issues of early Chinese literature. The first is the determination that the original character for fu should be wu A and the poems of the wu/fu type (one of the liushi Alit recorded in the Zhouli) should refer to the "Dawu" ) i verses. The second is the connotation of fu as a kind of poetic technique (to state in detail and to display in a straightforward manner), which is shown to have derived from the phonetic loans bu flj, fu f, and pu ?l. The third is the origin of the generic termfu (the rhapsody), which was also derived from phonetic loans. 1I would like to express my gratitude to Professor William H. Nienhauser, Jr. and the two anonymous readers for their insightful suggestions on draft versions of this essay. 2Zheng Xuan $B (127-200) and Jia Gongyan & (fl. 650-655), Zhouli zhushu )i~uI , in vol. 8 of Shisanjing zhushu zhengliben T-_ 7 iR R $t 4, 25 vols., ed. Shisanjing zhushu zhengli weiyuanhui t ,,• •LR,• (Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe, 2001), 23.717b, 23.726a. @Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews 26 (2004) 56 Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews 26 (2004) unexplained,3 though some 116 pieces in the Shijing are identified as xing by Mao's commentaries.4 Later, Kong Yingda R1 •, (574-648) completed this incomplete interpretation by dividing the liuyi into two levels, one as santi -iEr (three forms), feng, ya, and song, and the other as sanyong -_II (three usages [of poetic expression]), fu, bi, and xing.5 This canonical interpretation was followed by most scholars of pre-modern times.6 Modern interpretations of the six terms have hesitated at the crossroads of liushi and liuyi. The primitive power of the Zhouli has often tempted scholars to start with its classification of poems to explore the original, true meanings of the six terms. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Zhang Binglin VIW (1868-1936) was the first to affirm the old liushi classification. He believed that the six terms should be understood as referring to six subgenres of poems, with fru being the origin of the genre fu 0, usually translated as "rhapsody."'7 Zhu Ziqing *n i if (1898-1948) and Guo Shaoyu %P A (1893-1984) followed Zhang and further argued that all six terms were different types of songs or folk ballads.8 These efforts have drawn attention to the break from the liuyi tradition and the search for the original meaning of liushi, but they all have a major flaw in that their definitions of fu, bi, and xing are unsupported speculations, and therefore unconvincing. Some scholars have noted another clue revealed in the Zhouli records--musical education in the Zhou dynasty and the duties of court musicians. Shih-Hsiang Chen (1912-1971) assumed that liushi were the instructions of the Grand 3Mao Heng -', Zheng Xuan, and Kong Yingda, Maoshi zhengyi 4L0iEt , in vol. 4 of Shisanjing zhushu zhengliben, 1.13a-22b. 4According to Zhu Ziqing's 5 i (981898-1944) statistics; see his "Shi yan zhi bian" ,-), in Zhu Ziqing shuoshi 5,
Xi,# (The Book of Poetry): xing X, guan , qan X, and yvan ,S 1 In this article, I propose to anal... more Xi,# (The Book of Poetry): xing X, guan , qan X, and yvan ,S 1 In this article, I propose to analyze the interpretation of the third term, qan, in the context of Confucius' ideas.2 Special attention will be paid to the etymological significance of the character, and historical and socio-cultural evidence will be used to assist in this exploration of the etymology.
is article examines the only extant compilation of Tang dynasty women's poetry, the Yaochi xiny... more is article examines the only extant compilation of Tang dynasty women's poetry, the Yaochi xinyong ji (Collection of new songs from Turquoise Pond), fragments of which have been rediscovered among the Dunhuang manuscripts in Russian library holdings. e study fi rst discusses the compilation, contents, and poets of this collection, and then focuses on the works of three Daoist priestess-poets, Li Jilan, Yuan Chun, and Cui Zhongrong whose writings form the major part of this anthology. It investigates their poetry and reviews relevant sources to conduct a comprehensive examination of the lives and poems of the three poets, and concludes that they represented a new stage in the development of Chinese women's poetry.
This article applies a synthetic approach of philological, religious, philosophical, and cultural... more This article applies a synthetic approach of philological, religious, philosophical, and cultural studies to explore the original meaning of the terms dao and de , two primary concepts in traditional Chinese intellectual history. Through an etymological analysis of the characters dao and de, and supported by both received and discovered texts and materials, this article demonstrates that dao originally represented the spirit of the Pole Star/High God and the movement of Heaven, and de, in relation to dao, originally represented the impartial virtue and power of Heaven. In terms of this new interpretation, the article further discusses the signification of dao and de in the Laozi to uncover the mystic aspects of the text.
By tracing the semantic origin and evolution of the term fu and relevant sociocultural background... more By tracing the semantic origin and evolution of the term fu and relevant sociocultural background of the Western Zhou-Warring States period, this essay presents a new interpretation of three enigmatic issues of early Chinese literature. The first is the determination that the original character for fu should be wu A and the poems of the wu/fu type (one of the liushi Alit recorded in the Zhouli) should refer to the "Dawu" ) i verses. The second is the connotation of fu as a kind of poetic technique (to state in detail and to display in a straightforward manner), which is shown to have derived from the phonetic loans bu flj, fu f, and pu ?l. The third is the origin of the generic termfu (the rhapsody), which was also derived from phonetic loans. 1I would like to express my gratitude to Professor William H. Nienhauser, Jr. and the two anonymous readers for their insightful suggestions on draft versions of this essay. 2Zheng Xuan $B (127-200) and Jia Gongyan & (fl. 650-655), Zhouli zhushu )i~uI , in vol. 8 of Shisanjing zhushu zhengliben T-_ 7 iR R $t 4, 25 vols., ed. Shisanjing zhushu zhengli weiyuanhui t ,,• •LR,• (Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe, 2001), 23.717b, 23.726a. @Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews 26 (2004) 56 Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews 26 (2004) unexplained,3 though some 116 pieces in the Shijing are identified as xing by Mao's commentaries.4 Later, Kong Yingda R1 •, (574-648) completed this incomplete interpretation by dividing the liuyi into two levels, one as santi -iEr (three forms), feng, ya, and song, and the other as sanyong -_II (three usages [of poetic expression]), fu, bi, and xing.5 This canonical interpretation was followed by most scholars of pre-modern times.6 Modern interpretations of the six terms have hesitated at the crossroads of liushi and liuyi. The primitive power of the Zhouli has often tempted scholars to start with its classification of poems to explore the original, true meanings of the six terms. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Zhang Binglin VIW (1868-1936) was the first to affirm the old liushi classification. He believed that the six terms should be understood as referring to six subgenres of poems, with fru being the origin of the genre fu 0, usually translated as "rhapsody."'7 Zhu Ziqing *n i if (1898-1948) and Guo Shaoyu %P A (1893-1984) followed Zhang and further argued that all six terms were different types of songs or folk ballads.8 These efforts have drawn attention to the break from the liuyi tradition and the search for the original meaning of liushi, but they all have a major flaw in that their definitions of fu, bi, and xing are unsupported speculations, and therefore unconvincing. Some scholars have noted another clue revealed in the Zhouli records--musical education in the Zhou dynasty and the duties of court musicians. Shih-Hsiang Chen (1912-1971) assumed that liushi were the instructions of the Grand 3Mao Heng -', Zheng Xuan, and Kong Yingda, Maoshi zhengyi 4L0iEt , in vol. 4 of Shisanjing zhushu zhengliben, 1.13a-22b. 4According to Zhu Ziqing's 5 i (981898-1944) statistics; see his "Shi yan zhi bian" ,-), in Zhu Ziqing shuoshi 5,
Xi,# (The Book of Poetry): xing X, guan , qan X, and yvan ,S 1 In this article, I propose to anal... more Xi,# (The Book of Poetry): xing X, guan , qan X, and yvan ,S 1 In this article, I propose to analyze the interpretation of the third term, qan, in the context of Confucius' ideas.2 Special attention will be paid to the etymological significance of the character, and historical and socio-cultural evidence will be used to assist in this exploration of the etymology.
is article examines the only extant compilation of Tang dynasty women's poetry, the Yaochi xiny... more is article examines the only extant compilation of Tang dynasty women's poetry, the Yaochi xinyong ji (Collection of new songs from Turquoise Pond), fragments of which have been rediscovered among the Dunhuang manuscripts in Russian library holdings. e study fi rst discusses the compilation, contents, and poets of this collection, and then focuses on the works of three Daoist priestess-poets, Li Jilan, Yuan Chun, and Cui Zhongrong whose writings form the major part of this anthology. It investigates their poetry and reviews relevant sources to conduct a comprehensive examination of the lives and poems of the three poets, and concludes that they represented a new stage in the development of Chinese women's poetry.
This article applies a synthetic approach of philological, religious, philosophical, and cultural... more This article applies a synthetic approach of philological, religious, philosophical, and cultural studies to explore the original meaning of the terms dao and de , two primary concepts in traditional Chinese intellectual history. Through an etymological analysis of the characters dao and de, and supported by both received and discovered texts and materials, this article demonstrates that dao originally represented the spirit of the Pole Star/High God and the movement of Heaven, and de, in relation to dao, originally represented the impartial virtue and power of Heaven. In terms of this new interpretation, the article further discusses the signification of dao and de in the Laozi to uncover the mystic aspects of the text.
Uploads
Papers by Jinhua Jia