A Study Of Hou Fang-yu's Prose And Poetry

Hou Fangyu, one of the gifted scholars in late Ming dynasty, was listed among the three authorities of ancient style prose in early Ching dynasty, He exerted an extensive social influence over the period between the Ming dynasty and the Ching dynasty, but most of the time the study about him was concentrated on his prose achievements or his personality . This paper makes an overall inquiry into the collective of Zhuang hui tang and the poem collective of Si yi tang, By analysing the text, the paper experiences the profounding meaning in his works , traces the changing of style, reveals his exalted life ideal and subtle life circumstances.The introduction describes the academic course about Hou Fangyu from early Ching dynasty and the cause of writing this paper .The main part of this thesis consists of four chapters. Basing on the background of times, Hou Fangyu's life story and family condition, his teachers and friends, chapter one discusses three problems: one is that the relationships between his family and Donglin Party influences his personality and spirits; the second is that there is relationship between his family, social education and his literature thoughts structure; the third is that his making friends influences his writing. Chapter two analyses specifically the characteristics of subject matter and art in the collective of Zhuang hui tang, and then prokes into the traces, cause and aesthetic result of changing aesthetic style in the collective of Zhuang hui tang, From several aspects such as concerning about the times and turmoil, escaping from the world, home complex and deep feeling. Chapter three analyses carefully the theme orientation of the poems in the collective of Si yi tang , and then points out the art features of his poem as follows: Originating from Feng ya and earning from Du shaoling, excelling at literary equotion and being good at reposising his feelings in poems or proses, drawing typical materials and making poems of all style, and the diverse characters of style with the solemn-and-stirring and pure-and-beauty laden with sorrow beauty coexisting at the same time. Through comparing with the ancient Chinese prose theory and poetic theory with Hou Fangyu's literary thoughts, chapter four explains his arguments about literature that an article must repose moral integrity in sentences , combine literary talent with literary principle , and spread the tradition of ancient Chinese prose of the Tang and Song dynasty, in addition, analyses the differences between the Xueyuan society the Yujian school, anounces his purpose on poem, By means of comparing the three great masters in early Ching dynasty with each other, the last part appraises briefly the influence and status of Hou Fangyu in literary history.