Research On Poetry Of Abandoned Women In Han, Wei And The Six Dynasties

In comparison with that of the former dynasties, the poetry on Abandoned Women composed inthe time span from the Han Dynasty to the Six Dynasties is not only outnumbered, more diverse inemotional types, but also flown with flowering images which are followed and inherited by the poets in thelater dynasties. Apart from those vintages, the reasons for the broken marriages illustrated in the poetry ofthe time span are more complex and complicated. In respect of being created by different writers, there aremainly two categories in the poetic system, namely, the poetry being from the folklores by the institution ofYue Fu, and the one written by the men of letters on behalf of the Abandoned Women. Emotional typesexpressed about abandoned women are also increased. What is more, the images adopted by the latergenerations matured in this period, too. Therefore,A study of poetry of Abandoned women in Han,Wei andthe Six Dynasties is of great significance in the realm of Chinese literature. The thesis is to make a fullexploration upon the poetry on Abandoned Women during the time period in four chapters.Chapter One is to make a brief introduction about the poetry on Abandoned Women, including itsdefinition, reasons for its formation and production, and the linear development throughout the FormerTang Dynasty. Firstly, by making comparisons with poems on women longing for their husbands and thoseon complaints made by the maidens left alone, the chapter intends to explore the definition and category ofthe poems on Abandoned Women. Then, the chapter is to delineate the reasons for flowering andblossoming productions of such kind of poetry in two aspects, one being the concrete social circumstanceswith abandoned women and the other being the influences of conventional thoughts and values revealed inliterature. Thirdly, the chapter focuses on the historical development of the poetry on Abandoned Womenthroughout the Former Tang Dynasty; it originates from the Book of Songs and the Poetry of the South composed before the Qin Dynasty; then it achieves a much fuller development in the time span from theHan Dynasty to the Six Dynasties; in spite of some new development and transformation in the SouthernDynasty, it gradually becomes stagnant and static concerning the stereotyped abandoned women, the sullenand sordid feelings and similarity of writing patterns.Chapter Two expounds the two distinct categories of the poetry on Abandoned Women. Based onthe differentiations in original sources and styles, there are two poetic categories, one being from thefolklores by the institution of Yue Fu and the other one being written by the literati. Concerning the originalsources, the former category makes documentary narratives of the lives, feelings and thoughts on behalf ofthe abandoned women; while the other one is fictional records of those by the literati in disguise of theabandoned women. In respect of styles distinct in emotional, linguistic and artistic aspects, the former oneteeming with powerful feelings is simple, pure and scholastic; whereas the other one filled with tranquilemotions, is more gorgeous, magnificent and delicate. The differences between the two categories areascribed to their unequal social statuses, distinct literary influences and values they pursue. Whether itbeing the spontaneous overflow of powerful utterances in the folklore by the institution of Yue Fu, or thepoetic category written by the literati, both of them bestow profound influences upon the poetry onAbandoned Women, such as highlighting the functions of enlightening the present by rewriting the past andthe inheritance of the poetic images. It imitates the writing techniques used in the poetic category of thefolklores; while it follows the thematic and artistic patterns from the category written by the men of letters.Chapter Three is a study of the emotional types expressed in the poetry on Abandoned Women. Inthis chapter, the main emphasis is to put upon the multifarious emotional types flown in the poetry onAbandoned Women composed in the time span from the Han Dynasty to the Six Dynasties. According tothe different intensity of feelings expressed in diverse poems, there are mainly three emotional types, namely, worry and fear, mourn and complaints, and anger and anguish. By a detailed study of the texts, thechapter is to elaborate upon the distinct emotional features expressed by different abandoned women ineach of the three emotional types respectively; then the following section is to concentrate on thephenomena of the husbands or men deserting their wives or women and account for them without beingreprimanded and reproached in the poems written by the male authors.Chapter Four focuses on the diverse images in the poetry on Abandoned Women. Themultifarious and abundant images in the poetry on Abandoned Women composed in the time span from theHan Dynasty to the Six Dynasties can be classified into three categories. The first one is concerned with theimages of people and architecture; to have a detailed study of the category, the chapter is to makereferences to famous examples, such as Empress Chen and her Golden House, Ban Jieshu and her Palace ofChangxin, the Jade Steps and the Door of Ying. The second one is about the images of materials, such asthe silk, the daily items used by women, plants, and etc; by studying the material images, the chapter is topresent different annotations of similar items illustrated in varied poems on Abandoned Women. The thirdone encompasses other images, the stars, planets and music included.The poetry of Abandoned women in Han,Wei and the Six Dynasties, as a bridge connecting theBook of Songs and the Poetry of the South before the Qin Dynasty with the poems written by the men ofletters on behalf of the mute characters during the Tang Dynasty, plays a vital and significant role inChinese literature on Abandoned Women. It has a profound influence on the poetry written in the followingdynasties, whether it being upon the theme, characters or images. Through a thorough study on poetry ofAbandoned women in Han,Wei and the Six Dynasties, it is of importance and benefit for us to have a betterunderstanding of the quintessence of the phenomena and literature of the abandoned women.