A Case Study On The Classification Of Poetry In Classified Collection Of Ancient Poems

In his lifetime, Zhang Zhixiang compiled many poetry collections, of which the most popular is Classified Collection of Ancient Poems and Classified Collection of Tang Poems. Those two books are edited by "selecting poems according to their category", i.e. the method of theme classification. However, this method of classification is created before Zhang Zhixiang’s time. As a matter of fact, since it was pointed out by Selected literature that "the style of Shi (Poetry) is different from that of Fu (a Rhyme Genre), and therefore the two are classifies by their catergories", the method of theme classification became prevalent. One thing should be noted that theme classification at the very beginning is used for the lower-level classification. To be specific, the poetry will first be classified by style and then poetry of the style will be classified by category. This kind of classification method can be found in Selected Literature and Wen Yuan Ying Hua.In the process of development and evolution of theme classification, the tradition of "classification by category" in poetry collections and supplementary collections comes into being, while this practice is embodied by "encyclopedia in accordance with their category" in book classification.Inheriting the merits of those two methods of classification, Classified Collection of Ancient Poems takes "heaven, earth, people, things and objects" as its frame and the method of collection classification as the main supplement, forming classification system of poetry. In this classification system, the edition and compilation of each division abides by the principle of the respective prior to the humble, summery prior to specification, and major theme as secondary theme. One thing the author should point out is that Zhang Zhixiang did not blindly copy the compilation method of encyclopedia and collections. Instead he selected them according to the themes of poetry. Compared with Selected literature,Wen Yuan Ying Hua and Shi Yuan, the Classified Collection of Ancient Poems is slightly better in the refinement of category, the expansion and development of theme and the integration of category.However, due to the voluminous and private-compilation nature of the book, there are problems in this book including impure style, tedious category, and vague classification standard. In addition, because of the influence of restoring ancient thoughts of literature, the application of the method of theme classification in the Classified Collection of Ancient Poems reflects the compiler’s recognition for and pursuit of the trend of imitating the ancients.