Zhao Mengfu's Poetry Studies

Zhao Mengfu was a leading poet in the early Yuan Dynasty, however, his position in the history of Chinese classic poetry studies has never been fully ascertainedAs a poet, Zhao's achievement is not well-recognized partly because he was better known and respected as a painter and a calligrapher. Another reason is that he was morally condemned for betraying his family background in serving under the foreign Yuan rules. Such moral criticism on his fall of character gives rise to the serious underratement of his literary works although some ancient scholars valued them highly. The thesis attempts to introduce readers objectively Zhao Mengfu's poetry. Zhao's poems are not categorized according to historical development because of a lack of resources. The thesis still provides a tentative study of Zhao Mengfu's poems by means of examining the content and historical background reflected in his poems.Little is studied on Zhao's literary talent, as well as emotions, thoughts and political attitudes manifested in his poems. His poetry reflected a wide array of themes, ranging from disappointment and regret of the fall of Song Dynasty to the praise of his hometown and beautiful nature. "Yong-huai-shi" (poems dealing with the calamities in life) became, in particular, a representative of his poetry as a result of his special family background and complicated controversial life. His identity as a painter also made his landscape poetry distinctive.Zhao Mengfu established his own artistic features—a cool understatement and restrained self-expression, natural and spontaneous—drawing on a breadth of works of old masters in Wei, Jin and Tang Dynasties. His borrowing of the old masters' way of expression in poetic writing, however, didn't confined himself in the old tradition.Zhao Mengfu played an important part in the merging and establishment of the poetic style of Yuan Dynasty, which is characterized as "Zong-tang-de-gu"(holding in esteem the poetic style of Tang Dynasty), contributing to the fusion of poetry of South China and North China.