The Research Of The Compilation Of Poetry Collections In Southern Song Dynasty

This paper makes a study of poetry collections in Southern Song dynasty from the perspective of compilation.It can be divided into six chapters.The first three are general discussions,including the categories,styles,characteristics,compiling theories,and so on.While the last three chapters discuss specific cases.The first chapter discusses the categories of poetry collections in Southern Song Dynasty.Referring to previous methods of classification and considering the real condition of poetry collections in Southern Song period,we can group them into nine categories:general poetry collections,dynastic poetry collections,antiphonal poetry collections,narration-and-intoning poetry collections,local poetry collections,single-subject poetry collections,family poetry collections,textbook-type poetry collections and poetry society collections.Moreover,the compiling motivations,styles and characteristics of each category are discussed briefly in this chapter.The second studies chapter's compiling thoughts of poetry collections in Southern Song Dynasty.People living in Southern Song dynasty attached great importance to the compilation of poetry collections.For authors,it was helpful to promote the preservation and dissemination of their works.For a compiler,he could publish his poetic theories and improve his writing skill by compiling a collection,and with the spread of his collection,he became well-known in later generations.For readers,a poetry collection,as a collection of predecessors' works,provided them with much convenience to read,to appreciate and to learn previous classics.To guarantee the quality of compilation,Southern Song's people placed great emphasis on compilers' composing and appreciating abilities.When selecting poems,compilers should treat the actual history of poetry fairly,so combining "select poet" with "select poem" was an ideal compiling principle.Compilers had the right to abridge a selected work,so that the collection embodied the quality that "the unnecessary were removed" and "the excellent were highlighted".The compiling periods,Styles and Characteristics of Poetry collections in Southern Song Dynasty be discussed in the third chapter.The Compiling history ofSouthern Song's poetry collections can be divided into two distinct periods by Emperor Lizong's reign.The former period was marked by imitation,though there were still changes and extension.During the latter period,the compilation of poetry collections flourished comprehensively with large quantities,various forms and complete styles.There were a few of excellent compilers at that time and high-quality and influential collections were available.At the aspect of compiling styles,on one hand,the traditional ones like arranging poems in sequence of authors,styles and topics were still in use;on the other hand,new styles,such as combining "sequencing of styles" with "sequencing of topics",ranking poets and poems and making punctuation and comments on selected works,reflected the change and creation in compilation.Compilers bore spontaneous awareness of schools,strong national identity and clear practical consciousness,which formed the main characteristics of Southern Song's poetry anthology compilation and made it different from that of former generations.Centering on Tiantaiji(???),Chapter four discusses the compilation of local poetry collections in Southern Song dynasty.As far as we know,there are altogether twenty-three local poetry collections during this period.According to the relationship between selected poems and the particular place,they fall into two groups:local-author collections and local-subject anthologies.In the opinion of people living in Southern Song,local poetry collections had the same functions as geographical records did—to educate people politically,to propagate the local culture,to encourage poets to write and so on,which was one of the reasons that the compilation of local poetry collections made great progress in Southern Song dynasty.Due to the same functions,it became a trend for Southern Song's geographical records and local poetry collections to resemble each other.For instance,Tiantaiji,the first extant local poetry collection,of which all the selected poems are demanded to be relevant to Taizhou's people,events,places,objects,etc.For the purpose of preserving local documents,however,during its forty-year compilation,this standard tended to be less strict.There isn't a unified compiling style in Tiantaiji,though in most cases,poems were arranged in sequence of poets.The first two volumes of Tiantaiji are a little special,because its compiler Li Geng borrowed the style of geographical records and arranged poems in order of states and counties.Tiantaiji is of great documentary value,especially in the aspects of preserving documents,identifying works ' ownership,helping to collate poems and so forth.Taking Pomenchouchangji(?????)as an example,the fifth chapter discusses the compilation of Southern Song's antiphonal poetry collections.Over thirty collections emerged during this period,which fell into different categories according to various antiphonal activities,such as narration and intoning,tour,poetry society,seeing off,assembly,composition of same-title poems,etc.Compared with Northern Song,the compilation of antiphonal poetry collections in Southern Song showed an obvious tendency that it transferred from the capital to local places.Additionally,there were new changes and development in compiling styles,methods and forms.Pomenchouchangji is an example.It contains antiphonal poems with the same rhyming words of Su Shi,Su Zhe and the "six great disciples of Su Shi".Its compilation was closely related to the persistent overheating of "adoration of Su Shi"during reigns of Gaozong and Xiaozong.At the same time,the title of "six great disciples of Su Shi" had been generally acknowledged and the composition of antiphonal poems with the same rhyming words was prevailing.In terms of compiling styles,instead of traditional "sequencing of titles",Pomenchouchangji adopts a double-level structure which includes both "sequencing of titles" and "sequencing of poets"."Titles" are placed in chronological order,and poems of each "title" are arranged in order of relationships among poets.Since only poems with the same rhyming words were selected,this collection did not reflect the whole picture of Su Shi and his disciples' antiphonal poetry composition.Besides,the compiling styles were inconsistent in some parts.Focusing on Shilinguangji(????),the sixth chapter talks the compilation of textbook-type poetry collections in Southern Song dynasty.To meet demands of imperial examinations and social visits,some poetry collections were compiled for the specific use of teaching in Southern Song dynasty.Serving imperial examinations and instructing beginners were their basic compiling purposes.Restoring the spirit of poetry was their ultimate objective.Generally speaking,textbook-type poetry collections were compiled by poets who had good writing skill,high social position and big fame.Poems in these collections are mostly modern-style ones.As for compiling styles,there are addenda after textual parts and elaborate comments on each poem,which are the most outstanding features of textbook-type poetry collections and show a practical quality in them.Cai Zhengsun's Shilinguangji,compiled as a textbook in purpose of "teaching sons and nieces",has pioneered a new compiling style by combining addenda with textual parts and a new critical style by listing other people's comments instead of making comments by the compiler himself.With most of documents coming from collections of poetic criticism and classified books and some of them tampered consciously by Cai Zhengsun,there are many problems in this book,such as the incompleteness of works,wrong attribution,wrong naming of critics,abridgment and merging,etc.In one word,alterations to original documents decrease to a great extent this anthology's documentary value.