A Studay Of Shao Ruipeng

Shao Ruipeng who was a professor at many famous universities, was a famous writer and scholar ofthe People’s Republic of China. He committed himself to politics early in life and joined the ChineseUnited League and the South Society. In1923, he sent a shock through the country by revealing that CaoKun had bribed election officials to obtain the office of President. No matter whether he was writing poetryor academic papers, he received much praise from his contemporaries. But despite his accomplishments asa man of letters, a lack of research on his life has gradually made him an obscure figure. At the same time,the brilliant and multitalented Shao Ruipeng was social and well-connected. Studying the way he madeconnections in the literary world can contribute detail and insight to the study of classical poetry circlesduring his lifetime.The first purpose of this paper is to put into order details of Shao Ruipeng’s life and activities inliterary social circles. Secondly, it will enter into a basic analysis of his poetry, in order to better understandthe man, his writing, and the time in which he wrote. The paper is divided into three parts.The first part relates the life of Shao Ruipeng. He lived during an unstable time in his country’s history,in which China underwent many changes. After revealing that Cao Kun bought the presidency, he becamefamous throughout the country. He was of a troubled mind in his later years, even until his death. Opinionsstill vary on his date of birth and death and his living conditions in Kaifeng in his later years. This part willfocus on combining preceding work and through textual analysis, correcting some mistakes regarding hisbirth and death. By taking a look at his living conditions late in life we can discover that he was not only aman of constant principle, but also a skilled teacher.The second part concerns the literary society Shao Ruipeng was a part of. He studied from the lateQing Dynasty poet Zhu Zumou and became connected with the academic, political, and literary society ofhis time. From only a rough outline，we can already see that he was an active and important figure in theRepublic of China’s poetry world. Together with other teachers, friends, and pupils he participated in manyassociations and literary gatherings, published and printed poetry, and took part in other scholarly activities.Because of this the classical poetry world flourished and became more prominent and capable of standingup to new vernacular literature. The third part analyses Shao Ruipeng’s ci and his theory of ci. Through a study of classics and historyand a scholarly style, he advocated a tender poetic sensibility. The verses are exceedingly sentimental,graceful and restrained. Additionally, they convey a sense of country and life experience in a manner ofprofound and forceful, yet lucid and elegant. He stood at the height of history, praising the Four FamousPoet in late Qing Dynasty and incorporating their ideas and style. He followed the way of his teacher’s, butdeveloped them with his own characteristics.