| This dissertation deals with "mythopoesis historicized" in Classical Chinese Poetry. I attempt to define the tradition of myth-making started by Qu Yuan and further developed by Tao Qian and by Li Po. Two features of this tradition are examined: the motif of the quest of the goddess as a rhetorical trope, and the embodiment of the poet's mythopoeic spirit in the cosmos-like structure they created.;I try to prove that Qu Yuan, enlightened by his shamanist vision, built in "Li sao" a microcosm with a symmetrical bipartite structure. This fictive cosmos, turning in a gyre-like movement, has a conclusion that coils back to the beginning, forever captivating the poet and his readers in the whirlwind of sorrow.;Tao Qian in his lyric sequence created a mythic universe analogous to that of Dante's hell, purgatory, and paradise in reverse order. In his imagination, he roamed back to the Origin of Being which he depicted as paradise. As if entering the vision of Eternity bestowed upon him a prophetic authority, at the very end of the sequence, Tao Qian made bold comments on history, citing from ancient texts to give his emperor needed advice.;Li Po continued this mythopoeic tradition of cosmos-making in his poem about a dream vision that transported him back to the womb of the Heavenly Mother. This realm, intertextually, is an imitation of Qu Yuan's mythic world and therefore, can be regarded as the Origin of Poetry. Although intended to be a celestial realm, it is portrayed like the imperial court on earth. Implicitly Li Po dubbed himself the "Heavenly Son" of the literary empire and expected his readers familiar with the sao tradition to be astute enough to recognize and celebrate his secret reign.;Deeply embedded in this tradition is the motif of the quest of the goddess. I analyze how variously poets of the Six Dynasties manipulated this mythic motif as a rhetorical trope to express their ambivalent feelings toward serving their sovereigns. Reading Xie Lingyun's poems about seeking the goddess in the labyrinthine landscape, I try to unravel the link between desire and visionary longing. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
