Study Of Qian Weiyan’s Poetry

The poems of Qian Weiyan can be divided into two parts:the one part is in the Xikun Set; the other part is scattered outside the Set. And the poems in Xikun Set can also be divided into five types according to the subject. They are love, object and landscape, history, mind, farewell. The subject of Qian Weiyan’s Xikun poems was almost object and landscape. He was good at describing the object carefully, but not good at expressing his feeling through writing. Comparing with Yang Yi and Liu Yun, Qian Weiyan was accomplished in constructing the whole atmosphere to express his own mind. Meanwhile, he also focused on the combined use of direct and indirect describe. And at the same time, Qian Weiyan like describing the elegant scenery so much that elegance became the main characteristic what was unique in the Xikun Set. However, the subjects of the poems outside of the Set are almost landscape, largess, farewell. The poet’s view also turned to the wider world from courtyard at the meantime.The importance is that the poetic style of the two parts were different. The poems in Xikun Set have practised Yang Yi’s creative ideas and aesthetic pursuit, then learned Li Shangyin’s resplend and sentiment and Tang Yanqian’s moving emotion. And at last these techniques help Qian Weiyan to form the Xikun style which had a large differences from Bai style and Wantang style in the early Song dynasty. Xikun style means wild view, deep thought and literature, excessive decoration. And meantime, it also means using the brilliant words to construct the splendid and magnificent beauty. However, Qian Weiyan was used to pursuing the fresh and beautiful scenery, using double words, expressing long-drawn-out emotion, so that his Xikun style’s poems had the elegant characteristic. What is different from the poems of the first part is that the poems in the second part turned to pursue the natural and fresh beauty without the brilliant words and excessive decoration, so the second part poems brought a totally different feeling to readers.The ninth year of Tiansheng(1031),Qian Weiyan relegated to Luo Yang and shouldered the governmental officer. Quickly, some young poets and literators surrounded him to form a group called Luoyang Literator League. Qian Weiyan kept a positive communication with them and often interchanged the poetic techniques, so their poetic style at that time had the same characteristics. And also at that time, Qian Weiyan’s natural and fresh poetic style became more steady. Qian Weiyan made a very positive effect during the process that form real Song poetry with other Xikun’s poets. Although the aesthetic pursuit of Xikun style couldn’t be accepted by the following poets of Song dynasty, the important effect of it can’t be ignored.