Von Pu Kangxi Imperial Poetry

As is known, the peaceful and elegant style of poem(He ping ya zhen,和平雅正),the main and most popular style of poetry in Qing Dynasty especially in Kang Qian Flourishing Age(康乾盛世) came into being in the time of Emperor Kang xi(康熙帝). However, the issues on the concrete evolution of the style, the time and reasons, are still not clear to us, although the researchers have realized the meaning of the Po-Hsüeh Hung-ju Examination of 1679(博学鸿词科) ,which was regarded as a turning point in the literature history of Qing Dynasty. This article will give a special study on such issues. In 1678,Emperor Kangxi began to implement civil politics(文治),the Po-Hsüeh Hung-ju Examination was one of the most important actions. Feng pu(冯溥), the prime minister, was an important decision-maker and implementer. He advocated the gentle and kind poetic theory of the Confucian school(温柔敦厚诗教), called for poems to reflect the flourishing age. And he promoted Tong Poem Style(唐调),objected Song Poem Style(宋诗风) . Such actions changed the development of the poetry.This paper consists of two parts, seven chapters. The first three chapters in part one are focused on Feng pu, discuss his actions in the Po-Hsüeh Hung-ju Examination of 1679 and others from 1678 to 1682, especially his tidiness on the poem. The development of his tide on poem is discussed to show the time and reasons to influence the poem.In the second part the changes of poet are deseribed through specific cases. The first case is Wang Sihuai(王嗣槐).In the seventeen year of Kang xi, Wang Sihuai met with Feng pu, which was a great thing for him. The courtesy and personal charm of Feng pu gave him much influence. He was called to edit a book about contemporary poems by Feng Pu, through which he was familiar with the fashion of poetry. At the same time, his view on poetry was influenced by Feng. He was dissatisfied with the contemporary poems and began to take actions to change the status of poetry. He wrote to Wang Shizhen(王士禛) and Wang Youdan(王又旦) to express his ideas and change their their ideas. Research on his actions helps to make clear the poetry history in the years of Kang xi.The second case is Xu Jiayan(徐嘉炎).The changes of Xu Jiayan reflected the changes of the whole poet in the capital in the times of Kang xi. He liked Tong Poem Style,but when he came to the capital in 1673,he found others liked Song Poem Style, so he changed his style. In 1678,he was affected by Feng pu and changed back. The third case is Mao Qiling(毛奇龄),a very important person. The meanings of the Po-Hsüeh Hung-ju Examination of 1679 and Feng pu to him are discussed. The Po-Hsüeh Hung-ju Examination of 1679 not only changed his identity but also his cultural identity. He changed from adherent of Ming Dynasty(明遗民) to an official of Qing Dynasty, his poetics ideas and poetry creation changed too. In the influence of Feng pu,he became a helper of Feng, advocated the poet to use poems to extol the country. All the changes of Mao in his late years were linked to the Po-Hsüeh Hung-ju Examination of 1679 and Feng pu.The forth case is on the proposition"a poet in poverty writes well"(Qiong er hou gong,穷而后工).From 1678 to 1682, the proposition"a poet in poverty writes well"was objected by Xu Qianxue(徐乾学),Fang Xiangying(方象瑛) and Cao he(曹禾). This chapter discusses the reason and meanings of the actions.The paper tries to reflect the complex development history of the poem. Judged by the identity, the persons include adherent of Ming Dynasty, officials of Qing Dynasty, common civil. The persons who liked Tong Poem Style,who liked Song Poem Style are all included. The complex changes of Xu Jiayan and Mao Qiling are studied to show the changes of the poem. The Po-Hsüeh Hung-ju Examination was an important actions to build a spiritual civilization, the actions of Feng pu were to call for poets to join in the great cause. He changed the development of the poetry.