Study On Qian Da-xin’s Poetry During The Period From Qianlong To Jiaqing

The two reigns of Qianlong (1736-1796) and Jiaqing (1796-1820), as the apex ofprosperity and civilization in the Qing Dynasty, was not merely characterized as an era thatwitnessed the revitalization of “Han Learning”, but marked by the terror and repressiveenvironment triggered by official censorship and literary inquisition. Meanwhile, thepeerless status and influence of philological and evidential learning, as the dominant trendof scholarly discourse, often challenged the philosophical discourse of Songneo-Confucianism, shaped the literary production, cultual identity and literati’s tastes. QianDaxin (1728–1804), a revered poet and preeminent evidential scholar whose lifetimecoincided with Qianlong reign, therefore, has been inevitably affected by the reinforcedintellectual climate, including the paradigm of “Han learning”. His poetry become an idealwindow into both Qian’s subtle attitudes underneath his literary practices and the politicaland cultural mise-en-scène during Qianlong reign.The first part of this thesis aims to provide a historical analysis of Qian Daxin and histime through the lens of political environment, scholarly trends, and Qian’s family. Myinquiry into Qian’s life covers a wide range of phenomena and issues in eighteenth-centuryChina: how, for instance, Qian Daxin, responding to emperor’s brutal tyranny and intensivecampaigns against seditious books, tried to suppress and even to depreciate himself byrevising or omitting his poems when editing his poetry anthology. From the case thatQian’s status in literati community increased with the elevation of his prestige in academia,I investigate the process through which poetic authority and power of scholarly discourseembodied in literary activities. I also try to find out how the home environment andpolitical circles Qian had experienced exerted influence upon the formation of hisdisposition and intellectual taste.In the second and third parts, I attempt to research into Qian Daxin’s poetry with thelight from Qian’s criticism theories and other literary activities. Owing to his intention toplay down his literary fame, seldom have Qian’s critiques on poetry been edited into his anthology. I have collected related fragmentary document scattered in anthologies ofQian’s peers and try to restore Qian’s poetic theories. Besides, the nuance between Qian’spoetic theories, including his literary proposals, and his actual practice is also a focus ofmy study.