Zhang Kejiu Research

Sanqu Poem is the third, also the ultimate, classic style of Chinese Poetry. It can be regarded as both a continuum and a development of the poetry in the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty with respect to its content and style. In the specific political, economic and cultural backgrounds of Yuan Dynasty, Sanqu Poem became a popular folk style. However, it turned back to its tradition, a classic style of traditional poetry, during its later development. The Sanqu poems composed by Zhang Kejiu, which are honored the peak of Sanqu Poetry in Yuan Dynasty, exactly represent this developmental trend and are highly credited during the period from Yuan Dynasty to Qing Dynasty. This thesis attempts to conduct a cultural analysis of Zhang Kejiu, the Sanqu poet, and his compositions from three aspects. The first aspect is devoted to the thoughts and contents expressed by the Sanqu poems composed by Zhang Kejiu with the focus on the tragic consciousness of life. The second aspect illustrates the artistic style of Zhang Kejiu's Sanqu poems, bringing the "freshness" and "elegance" in his poems into prominence. The last aspect probes into the constitutional reasons of Zhang Kejiu's compositional style from historical and reality views respectively. This thesis, based upon a step-by-step analytical logic, attempts to suggest something novel and breaking. Similarly, the idea that traditional culture has a lasting impact on the feudal intellectuals' ways of life and thoughts is also tries to be clarified. Such an impact is comparably the reason why traditional cultural spirits, being kept immortal, can pass along from generation to generation. These traditional cultural spirits, such as valuing life, being mean and acknowledging the consciousness of harmony, are rooted in the depth of Chinese people. And Chinese culture, like a rising sun, shines brightly and permanently, functioning more and more for the world peace and development.