Studies On Some Issues About XuanYan Poetry Of East Jin Dynasty

As a special type of poesy, Xuan Yan poetry (玄言诗) came into being in the special period of Chinese literature. But the study of Xuan Yan poetry seems to be comparatively weak. This article firstly presents a general survey of the Xuan Yan poetry study from its beginning to the present, then gives a new definition of Xuan Yan poetry's connotation on the basis of returns of the former. With thorough knowledge, Xuan Yan poetry is divided into four types., and possesses value and significance which the article studies in the end.The dissention involves four chapters.Chapter one presents a general survey of the Xuan Yan poetry. The study history can be classified into three periods: ancient period, transitional period and new period.Chapter two is dealing with definition of Xuan Yan poetry. It is defined as a kind of poetry permeated by one skilled in XuanXue (玄学) to apperceive XuanLi (玄理) and in pursuit of "Tao" ("道") by the XuanXue thinking style as "set images to achieve meaning" and "achieve meaning so that forget words".Chapter three analyzes the types of XuanYan poetry and divides it to four types: (1)the poetry combining YouXian (游仙) and Tao; (2)the poetry expressing Tao by presented and answered between two poets; (3)the poetry incarnating Tao through mountains and rivers; (4)the poetry realizing Tao in life. On the whole, it is a dynamic course.Chapter four analyzes the value and significance of XuanYan poetry. Xuan Yan poetry represents gusto of XuanLi and inspirit of peripatetic, which is a movement of conventional poetry.