The Study Of Tou Bi Ji

Tou Bi, the collection of poems, is the last collection of Qian Qianyi, who is a famous poet during the early period of Qing Dynastiy. The collection, which includes 108 poems, is a great seven character cycle. It records the event that the naval force of Southern Ming fought against the Qing Dynasty government and the feelings and thoughts that Qian Qianyi gained through his experience at that time. The emotion of Ming Dynasty and the reprimand for Qing Dynasty can be felt clearly and strongly through the collection which represents his greatest achievement on poetry. Because Tao Bi expresses a great many ideas on rebelling against the Qing Dynasty government and rebuilding the Ming Dynasty, under the influence of literature inquisition the collection was circulated only by handwriting at that time. Not until 1910, the year right before the Qing Dynasty extincted, did the collection begin to be published in public. Few people read it in Qing Dynastiy so Qian's deep love for Ming Dynasty in the poems was unknown in that period. Later Qian Qianyi's reputation was badly undermined because of his surrender to Qing Dynasty government when dynastic changes took place. And people regarded him as a traitor. However, after being investigated, the situation of that period, in which Qian was writing Tou Bi, the feature of the times and the essence of Qian's poems all prove that his surrender happened just as a result of the development of history. That is, his surrender is the product of history. Meanwhile, Qian took active part in the campaign secretly against the Qing Dynasty government for Ming Dynasty in his old age, so according to his behaviour, thoughts and feelings to his own dynasty, we should admit that Qian Qianyi is one of the adherences of Ming Dynasty and give him a positive evaluation.