A Study Of Xixiang Poetry In Ming And Qing Dynasties

Since Yuan Zhen’s “Hui Zhen Ji”,there have been poems about Cui and Zhang’s story.After the production of Wang Shifu’s drama "Romance of the West Chamber" in Yuan Dynasty,the story of Cui and Zhang has been further widely spread.Scholars use the allusions of Cui and Zhang’s love story in poetry,or use poetry to chant Cui and Zhang’s love story,characters and lyrics.This kind of poetry related to the Hui Zhen Ji、Xi Xiang Ji Zhu Gong Diao and Xi Xiang Ji opera is called “Xixiang poetry”.Xixiang poetry is one of the forms that literati in yuan,Ming and Qing Dynasties accepted Xi Xiang Ji,and it is also a way of spreading Cui and Zhang’s story.Some of these poems use the allusions of Cui and Zhang’s stories,such as “Yingying”,“Huaying” and “Xixiang” some chant the plots and characters of Xixiang stories,such as “Zhu Yu Poetry Collection”,“Hai Weng Poetry Collection ”,and some chant the lyrics of “Xi Xiang Ji”,such as “Xi Xiang Bai Yong Yin Yhang”.These poems have various forms,including five or seven character quatrains,metrical poems,ancient poems and narrative poems.Through the study of Xixiang poetry,on the one hand,it can reflect the spread of Xixiang story in Ming and Qing Dynasties,on the other hand,it can reflect the literati’s acceptance of Xixiang story.