A Research On Wang Pengyun

Investigating the developing course of the Ci-poems in the Qing Dynasty, Zhexi Ci-poem genre and Changzhou Ci-poem genre became the most important Ci-poem genre successively. In the late Qing Dynasty "Gui Ci-poem genre" rose sharply, and completed "a glorious ending" in Ci-poetry in the late Qing Dynasty. As the leader of "Gui Ci-poem genre" and the chief of the four main Ci-poets in the late Qing Dynasty, Wang Pengyun was the key personage in the Ci-poets in the late Qing Dynasty.Wang Pengyun was keen on making various friends, which was clearly reflected in his Ci-poems. Those who wrote and replied in poems, using the same rhyme sequence as Wang did, amounted to almost sixty persons, and those who shared much opinions about Ci-poems with Wang amounted to over ten persons. He also had more than thirty friends in other fields.Bantang's Ci-poems can be divided into four periods on the basis of his collected works and his life experience. The first period was before July of 1893, when he held a post in the Cabinet and focused his efforts upon learning Ci-poems in leisure. Collection ofXiumo and Collection of Chongqiu were created in this period. The second period extended from July of 1893 to 1899, when he committed himself to the causes of Taijian and running Poetry Clubs. Collection of Weili, Collection of Wuweng, Collection of Tiaozhi and Collection of Jiaomengkan were his representative works during this period. The third period was from 1900 to March of 1901, when he felt deeply disappointed at national affairs and experienced radical changes, thus finding his sustenance in Ci-poems. Autumn Ci of the Gengzi Year and Song of Chunzhe were well-known collections of Ci created during this period. The fourth period started from May of 1901,. when he disregarded the government and political affairs and traveled far and wide. Collection of Nanqian was created during this period. Bantang's works are usually arranged in chronological order. Moreover, according to the contents, subjects and prefaces of his early works and some other materials, it is quite easy to find out the facts that Bantang participated in the Ci-poetry Society of Mijutang, in the Cabinet and Daliang, created Ci-poems with other writers of Ci-poems. Bantang had two ways to learn to create Ci-poems:imitating Ci-poems written by previous generations and Lianjuheyun. Bantang became a great master in Ci-poem creation because of his insistent diligence, careful revision, and modest consultation. As he would organize Ci-poetry societies, invite Ci-poets of all ages to participate in Ci-poem creation, and encourage and give directions to younger generations, Bantang was an acknowledged leader of Ci-poems in the late Qing Dynasty.Ideas embodied in Bantang's Ci-poetry are reflected in such materials as the prefaces and postscripts of his collected works, Ci-poems about creating Ci-poems the notes in the margin of Books on Ci-poetry, and the citation of Bantang's thoughts in Huifengcihua. Bantang's thoughts about Ci-poems is wide-ranging and profound, for understanding people and commenting their times but against empty and flowery language. He emphasized sincerity and admired profundity. Metaphor and analogy weighed heavily, and natural and implicit language was held in high esteem. Bantang's rhyme scheme is sensible, clear and carries many breakthroughs. His style of Ci-poem is characterized by simplicity and popularity. Meanwhile, his Ci-poem dates back to the Southern Song Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty, and features many elements of Ci-poems popular in these two dynasties. Through the analysis of the key points of Kuang Zhouyi's Cixuejiangyi and the provision of evidence of the origins of Huifengcihua, this thesis asserts that Kuang Zhouyi's ideas of Ci-poems take root in Bantang's, and some other specific views on Ci-poetry also derive from Bantang's. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that Wang Pengyun is a great theoretician of Ci-poetry.On the basis of subjects, Bantang's Ci-poems can be divided into different types as follows: object-describing, melancholy, jottings, travel notes, lady's love poems, concerning about the fate of the nation and expressing of aspiration, parting and missing sorrows, sexual passion, inscription, seasons, fairy wandering, homesickness, events recording, friendship, mourning, history intonation, criticism on Ci-poetry, family love, sacrifice, presenting poems, linking verse, imitating works, etc. On the other hand, based on the different subjects, the contents of Bantang's Ci-poems include the following aspects:care for the national affairs, expressing ideal, family love, affection, friendship, homesickness, the hard choice between political career and idyllic life, memory of melancholy and emotion, writings by male on behalf of female, coquettish recordings, travels and parties, object-description and collection of Ci-poets, etc.The gloomy misery and the mild vigor together form Bantang's serene but magnificent, depressing but tactful artistic style. Certainly, some of Bantang's Ci-poems feature other styles. Intricately extensive use of allusions contribute to enriching his Ci-poems'connotation and producing mystified atmosphere. Metaphors and analogies are widely used in Ci-poems with such subjects as fairy wandering, object-description, lady's love, sexual passion, history intonation, melancholy, jottings, etc. With the increase of creation experience, the rhyme schemes of Bantang's Ci-poems had been growingly rigorous, but never lacked innovations.Wang Yisun was the first in previous generations whom Bantang regarded as a teacher. Jiang Kui, Xin Qiji, Wu Wenying, Su Shi and Zhou Bangyan also had much influence on Bantang. Bantang didn't only stick to the above teachers, but tried to widen his horizon from other Ci-poets. After the twenty-fifth year of Emperor Guangxu, Bantang shaked off the fetters of specializing in only one style, and he began to explore the Ci-poems by Ci-poets of the Northern Song Dynasty, such as, Liu Yong and Yan Jidao. Blending the elements embodied in Ci-poems of both the Northern and Southern Song Dynasty, Bantang progressively formed the serene but magnificent, depressing but tactful artistic style of his own. Tutored by Long Jidong and Duanmu Cai, Bantang left his first genre, Changzhou Ci-poem genre, and founded the Lingui Ci-poem genre. Setting up a flourishing age of Ci-poetry in Qing Dynasty and possessing remarkable achievements of creation, Bantang fully deserves the dominant title of "Leader of Ci-poetry in the Qing Dynasty".The innovation points of this dissertation lie in the initial employment of a series of rare materials seldom taken seriously before, the comprehensive collection of materials about Wang Pengyun, and the correction of some fallacies made by earlier researchers. The rare materials, found by the author include the manuscripts of Siyinzhaicijuan in the National Library, Collection of Liangyuan in the Shanghai Library and other manuscripts by Bantang, notes in the margin in Bantang's own collection, Books on Ci-poetry, and Submitting Memorials of Wang Pengyun. More importantly, the main reference, Annotation of the Colletion of Wang Pengyun's Ci-poetry, is the latest edition, and it contains the most complete Ci-poems and the most exact annotations, which can help to identify the creation time of Wang's existing Ci-poems. The dissertation will give a detailed analysis on Bantang's life, correct some mistakes made by other researchers, and clarify some facts. This dissertation is the first to reach a thorough summary on all the personages closely related with Wang Pengyun. The study on Wang Pengyun's existing Ci-poems in different periods and different types is also totally new in this field. By discussing the analysis on Bantang's ideas of Ci-poems and the comparison between Bantang's and Kuang Zhouyi's theories of Ci-poetry, this dissertation first discovers that Kuang Zhouyi, as an outstanding Ci theoretician in Qing Dynasty, anchors his theories on Ci-poetry in Bantang's. Thus, this dissertation draws a conclusion that Wang Pengyun is a dominant theoritician on Ci-poetry.