晋宋之际诗歌中的“自我空间” = "Self-Space" in Jin-Song Poetry

Abstract

Chinese poetry underwent important changes during the Jin-Song period. Among various new developments, the emergence of landscape and pastoral poetry are particular noteworthy. Although there have been numerous studies on Jin-Song poetry, however, to read these poems from the perspective of ?space? can help us find something new. My study is an attempt to explore and analyze the theme of ?self-space? in Jin-Song poetry.

First of all, I define the concept ?self-space? from two perspectives: 1) The ?Exclusive?- this type of space can be enjoyed only by the poet temporarily at a particular moment; and 2) The ?Inhabitable?- the poet finds this type of space comfortable and seeks to build his own identification though the search of such a space. Contrarily, ?Public Space? in this thesis refers to ?bureaucratic office? and mundane world. Both are shared by and open to government officials, literati class or the public. In Chapter 1 I discuss why only until Jin-Song period that ?self-space? had become a common feature in poetry, and illustrate different types of ?space? which can be found in earlier poems. Based on textual analysis, the main body of this thesis (Chapters 2-4) then study respectively three types of ?self-space? in Jin-Song poetry.

The first way to discover a ?self-space? is to enjoy the comfortable and delightful moment when one travels to beautiful landscape. Therefore, I call poems written in these situations ?sightseeing poem.? Places of interests, beautiful scenery met on a journey, as well as local attractions have something in common: easy to find, pleasure to appreciate, and unable to be maintained forever. Other than the famous landscape poet Xie Lingyun, many other writers also recorded this kind of ?self-space? in their poems to relieve their mental distress and worries, making such a space a salient feature in the poetry of the Jin-Song period.

The second way is to explore the solitude found in a secluded place. The main feature is that people, in order to discover their ?self-space,? must overcome all the physical difficulties on the road. Thus, I term this kind of poetry ?adventure poem,? of which Xie Lingyun is the founder. His adventurous character spurs him onward to look for extraordinary, dangerous, and remote places, from which he seems to have the exclusive right to enjoy the peaceful and fabulous scene, regaining his courage and confidence which are deprived in such ?public spaces? as government office. Yet this enjoyment of ?self-space? is merely temporal. Once he returns to the real world it will be gone.

The third way to search for a ?self-space? is to construct an ideal world, which is based on the writer?s imagination of a beautified place in reality. Tao Yuanming discovered this unique ?self-space? during Jin-Song Period. Through analyzing his work, one can see how he constructed and held on to such spaces, and finally internalized them in his mind. In his later years, he increasingly relied on this ideal world to find his courage and hope, in an attempt to help him face the dark reality and difficult situations.

The final chapter sums up the feature and impact of the above three ways of finding ?self-space,? and reconsiders their influences on later writings by taking Tang poetry as an example. It also discusses the two rising phenomena concerning the literati class, as revealed in Jin-Song poetry: the dilemma of being an official or a hermit, and the double construction of ?self-space? and self image. I hope what I proposed in this thesis can answer why Jin-Song poets were so eager to find a ?self-space,? and how much this is significant to Chinese literature history.