Shu Poetry

Shu Wei, a prominent poet in Qianlong and Jiaqing Era, composes nearly 3,000 pieces of poems in his times which is known as prevalence of textual research and contention of schools. His poems bear a mark of style in past times and pursuit of ego in his times. Shu Wei's poem style receives high approsal.The dissertation employs the method of text analysis, having an in-depth read of Shu Wei and his composition against the background of poetry circles in Qianlong and Jiaqing Era with the combination of his biography and friends-making. It focuses on the Shu Wei's philosophy of poetry, poem contents, image of "Stranger", and poetic features that his poems present. On such basis, the dissertation also deals with Shu Wei's status and influence in Chinese poetry history.The dissertation is comprised of four chapters.The first chapter refers to the research of Shu Wei's friends-making, and his biography and friends-making for the purpose of "understanding human beings and reflecting on society". The chapter has two parts. The first part talks about Shu Wei's biography with the division of his lifetime into learning time in childhood, making-a-living period in his youth, joining army in Southwest of China, and concentrating on imperial examinations and engaging in staff in his elderly age. The second part deals with Shu Wei's friends-making. Those friends he makes can be categorized as senior celebrities and poet counterparts. This part chooses some his close friends in both category for research.The second chapter has a research scope in Shu Wei's philosophy of poetry. The chapter consists of three parts. The first part tells a brief introduction to poetry circles in Qianlong and Jiaqing Era with the goal to have a better understanding of Shu Wei in Chinese poetry history. The second part, the main body of the chapter, has a discussion on Shu Wei's philosophy of poetry. Generally his philosophy of poetry can be put as advocacy of having both temperament and knowledge, advocacy of composition originality while opposition to simulation, advocacy of naturalness while opposition to ornateness, and advocacy of generation-to-generation adoption while opposition to sectarian bias. The third part explores the source and cause of Shu Wei's philosophy of poetry.The third chapter has a study on Shu Wei's poetry composition, which serves as the backbone of the dissertation. The chapter is composed of three segments. The first segment focuses on the theme and contents of poetry by picking up the following six research areas:poems on long traveling to a strange land, ode to history meditation, satire to dark side of his times and society, poems on landscape journey, poems on farewell and remembrance, pieces on books, morality, arts and poems etc.. The second segment has a discussion on the image of "Stranger", and analyzes the author's homelessness imbued in poems. The third segment shows an artistic picture of Shu Wei's poems from the perspective of abundant poetic features, prose-like narration and sense of humor.The fourth chapter deals with Shu Wei's status and influence in Chinese poetry. The chapter is put into two segments. The former has a study on the status of Shu Wei's masterpieces particularly its significance in poetry circles of Qianlong and Jiaqing Era and in Liberation Movement of Poetry of Qing Dynasty. The latter refers to the influence of his poems with an emphasis on his influence on Gong Zizhen and Collection of Poets in Qianlong and Jiaqing Era (Qian Jia shi tan dian jiang lu). The final chapter serves as a summary of Shu Wei's poems.