A Study On Prefaces And Postscripts Of The Book Of Poetry Before Ming Dynasty

The preface and postscript of the book of poetry is a crucial part of this work,which is normally neglected by the study of Confucian classics. Due to differentversions of this work and a great variety of its prefaces and postscripts, the study onthese parts reveals long-lasting potential values and becomes a novel research field.Works on the research of the book of poetry span hundreds of years, and therefore therelevant and abundant information conveyed from preface and postscript of this bookboth has research values and literary aesthetics. Take the example of its prefaces andpostscripts before Ming dynasty, many works are worth of studying and conveyacademic concepts which should be reformed by its study.In order to clarify the research, selected objects including several versions of thebook of poetry and their preface and postscript list followed by dynasty order in tables,marking dynasty, resource, author of this book, author of its preface and postscriptand the authors’birth and death.The prelude of this thesis introduces the advanced development of the study onthe book of poetry, and refers to the neglect on the research on its preface andpostscript, raising a viewpoint that the history of preface and postscript of the book ofpoetry equals half history of the study of this book.The first chapter mainly focuses on the prefaces and postscripts of pre-Qin andHan dynasties. It attempts to discuss the competence of two voices--study ofConfucian classics and official school based on the research of the author of BigPreface, and conflict between Big Preface and three main poem prefaces.The title of the second chapter is the study on its prefaces and postscripts fromthe Three Kingdoms and East and West Jin to Sui, Tang and five dynasties. It revealsthe true establishment of style of prefaces and postscripts and also the transformationfrom literal consciousness to that of study of Confucian classics.The third chapter points to prefaces and postscripts of Song and Yuan dynasty. Inthis chapter, the author does some researches on literary style and writing methodranging from proving poetry based on history to establish a theory according to poetry.Except these aspects, it also distinguishes a Confucian school of idealist philosophyfrom Song Study of this book and names the essential differences between the formerone created by Zhu Xi and the latter one.The next chapter, the study of prefaces and postscripts before Ming dynasty,illustrates the value and function about the book of poetry compared with its prefacesand postscripts. According to the mentioned introduction, this chapter gives threedifferent implications about “poem” quoted by Confucius from The Analects ofConfucius and other works, especially from works of Qin dynasty.As the final chapter, it makes a comparison of the copy of the book of poetry andfake prefaces and postscripts. Applying for the research method of studying the book of poetry, the author hopes to make a little effort on documents and literary study, andfurthermore, classifying literary, study of Confucian classics and natural history asvarious categories while studying this field. Although prefaces and postscripts werecreated by a wide range of authors and spanned more than a thousand of years, noteven mentioned its variety of literal styles, the study of the book of poetry is asystematic part of study of Confucian classics, using one theory or one angle of view.Based on the resources of prefaces and postscripts of the book of poetry beforeMing dynasty, this dissertation analyzes the format development, transformation rulesand background of creating motivation of these introductions. Through this the authorof this thesis attempts to raise new concepts or theories, so as to support moreresources for the study of this field, hoping to make a little effort on literary resourcescollection and theory innovation.