Description
Book SynopsisIrreducible to conventional labels usually applied to him, the Tang poet Du Fu (712–770) both defined and was defined by the literary, intellectual, and socio-political cultures of the Song dynasty (960–1279). Jue Chen not only argues in his work that Du Fu was constructed according to particular literary and intellectual agendas of Song literati but also that conventional labels applied to Du Fu do not accurately represent this construction campaign. He also discusses how Du Fu’s image as the greatest poet sheds unique light on issues that can deepen our understanding of the subtleties in the poetic culture of Song China.
Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Note to the Reader Introduction 1 Du Fu’s Image and Du Fu in Reception History Studies 2 Du Fu and the Song Literati Culture 3 Overview of the Book 1 Memory of Du Fu before the Mid-Eleventh Century 1 The “Li Du” Juxtaposition and “Li/Du” Dichotomy 2 Hard Life 3 Association with Shu 4 Relationship with Yan Wu 5 Death in Water 2 A Collected Poet 1 Wang Zhu’s Edition and the “Wu Ruo Edition” 2 Collecting Du Fu’s Poems 3 Biannian and Nianpu 4 Biannian as Biographical Narrative and Critical Perspective 3 “Shishi” and Reading Du Fu as History 1 Reading Strategies and Authorial Image 2 Reading Shishi: Human Emotions and Realistic Concerns 3 How Du Fu Wrote Shishi: Rhetoric and Moralization 4 Metamorphosis and Negotiation of Shishi 4 Reading Du Fu in the Song Political Culture 1 The Basic Tone for Du Fu Criticism: Tradition and Reality 2 Wang Hui’s Reading of Certain Poems by Du Fu 3 “Never Forgetting the Emperor Even during a Meal” 4 Reading Du Fu in Political Vicissitudes 5 Metamorphosis of Du Fu’s Loyalist Image in Southern Song 5 The Poetic Craftsman 1 Words and Allusions for Expression of Poetic Ideas 2 Rules and Standards 3 Toward a Narrative of Poetic Transition from Tang to Song Conclusion: Making China’s Greatest Poet 1 Song Poets’ Desire for Influence 2 Du Fu in the Historical Changes in the Song 3 “China’s Greatest Poet” Bibliography Index
