Northern Song Literati Gatherings And Poetry

This paper takes a systematic approach looking into the literati gatherings in North Song Dynasty and the poetries produced on such occasions. First the history of social gatherings is reviewed with emphasis on the newness and specialness of the literati gathering in North Song Dynasty. Next an analysis is made of some of the poetries and their criticism that are characteristic of such gatherings. A finding suggested is that the literati gatherings have influenced the forming of new poetic genres and many of their schools. Last the characteristics of the literati class and the time they found themselves in, i.e. North Song Dynasty, are considered, which sheds some light on the background of social thinking that fostered the North Song Dynasty literati gatherings.This paper consists of three chapters. Chapter One looks at the literati gatherings. First the pre-Song Dynasty literati gatherings are reviewed, with discussions of their characteristics along the line of their forms, their participants, the themes of such gatherings and the activities involved. Next five literati gatherings new to the North Song Dynasty are examined, i.e. Yilaohui, Pushuhui, Chahui, Zhongqiu Juhui and Shishe. Literary and historical materials are used to consider the new changes embodied by the five examples, as well as the internal and external conditions that enabled the new changes. The characteristics of the North Song Dynasty literati gatherings are developed based upon the above discussion-Chapter Two looks into the relationship between North Song Dynasty literati gatherings and the poetry (including their criticism) that are typical results of such gatherings. Those poetries published at the gatherings have four characteristics: participating lettermen compose to compete and entertain; long titles, prefaces, and self-authored notes are often used to supplement the poems; peer relationship begins to appear as a recurring theme of such works; many poems touch upon human and social issues, even about academic study. In the part on the literati gatherings and the poetic criticism, an analysis is made of a North Song typical genre, Shihua (meaning essays on poetry). The link is disclosed between that specific genre of literary criticism and the literati gatherings of the time. The activities of poetic criticism and their boundary on such occasions are discussed. Emphasis is given to the discussion of a few poet groups with singular styles, i.e., Xikunti, Xinbianpai, Yuanyouti. The argument is that those schools take their forms and identities exactly through the...