TAKING UP THE PLOW: REAL AND IDEAL VERSIONS OF THE FARMER IN CHINESE LITERATURE (POETRY, PASTORALISM)

The theme of rusticity as expressed in Chinese poetry and philosophy is a field that has yet to be subjected to rigorous analytical scrutiny. The purpose of the present study is twofold: to provide a general survey of this branch of Chinese literature, and to examine important motifs in detail with particular emphasis on their historical development.; My analysis begins with an anthropological overview of the prehistoric Chinese farmer which serves as both a factual and archetypal touchstone for literary representations that follow. Husbandry attained early literary prominence when several songs on the subject were included in the first poetry anthology, the Shijing. Heroic at the outset, the mood of these realistic imitations gradually transformed in accordance with the increasing debasement of the farmer, culminating finally in ironic and satiric points of view. Optimistic and pessimistic modes of realism were to often reappear in the ensuing poetic tradition. Later portions of the paper devote special attention to studies of the satiric mode, or critical-realist point of view, as it occurs in Tang dynasty balladic verse and modern 'proletarian' poetry.; The ideal version of the farmer is delineated by first tracing the development of Chinese philosophy, paying particular attention to Confucian and Daoist attitudes toward reclusion. It is the retreat to the countryside by literate portions of Eastern Zhou society that initiated the romantic interpretation of the farm. By the Jin dynasty, the idealistic poetry of Tao Yuanming had firmly established the literary motif of poet-farmer and launched the eremitic mode of rustic poetry. Tang and Song dynasty imitations of Tao represent the idyllic mode--nostalgic visions of the farm created by innovative court poets.; The poetry of two modern poets, Zang Kejia and Yang Jifu, is then analyzed in light of the traditional modalities outlined above. Although the premises have changed due to extensive societal modification, the four rustic modes are still useful thematic keys for an understanding of modern rustic verse. In conclusion, I present a brief study of rustic poetry in the West.