TY - JOUR
T1 - The divided Liang Dynasty literary world seen through the Liu-Dao dispute
AU - Xiaomeng, Wang
AU - Chen, Jing
N1 - Funding Information:
This article is part of the results of the first author’s project titled “The Evolution of the Research Paradigms in the Field of Chinese Literature and History of the Middle Ages in North American Sinology over the Last Thirty Years” (project no. 17BZW083), funded by the National Social Science Fund of China. Here we would thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and comments on the Chinese version of this paper. We would also thank Dr. Yu Su at Nanjing University for her generous help in identifying allusions and clarifying meanings of several poems cited in this paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by Duke University Press
PY - 2021/11/1
Y1 - 2021/11/1
N2 - The tension between the literary styles of Liu Xiaochuo 劉孝綽 (481–539) and Dao Qia 到洽 (490–527) can be understood as a debate between poetic genius and a more scholarly focus, signaling a confrontation between the capital’s literary camps in the Putong reign 普通(520–527) of the Liang Dynasty 梁 (502–557). The major difference between the literary camps lies in the consideration given to natural poetic talent versus erudition in writings. When Xiao Gang 蕭綱 (503–551), Liu Xiaochuo’s supporter, became crown prince in 531, his own conflict with the scholarly group including Dao Gai 到溉 (477–548) and Zhu Yi 朱异 (483–540) probably prompted his “Letter to the Prince of Xiangdong” 與湘東王書 (Yu Xiangdong Wang shu). In this letter Xiao Gang displays his literary view deemphasizing scholarly learning and erudition in poetry. By comparison Xiao Yan 蕭衍 (464–549) and Xiao Yi 蕭繹 (508–555) valued scholarly learning still more and regarded literature as a relatively insignificant talent or minor accomplishment. Xiao Gang represents a departure—by placing literary talent above scholarship, he catered to the fashion among the Liang Dynasty’s nobility for reciting poetry and writing fu 賦 (rhapsody) while “rarely taking classical studies as their profession” 罕以經朮為業and thus elevated the social status of belles lettres.
AB - The tension between the literary styles of Liu Xiaochuo 劉孝綽 (481–539) and Dao Qia 到洽 (490–527) can be understood as a debate between poetic genius and a more scholarly focus, signaling a confrontation between the capital’s literary camps in the Putong reign 普通(520–527) of the Liang Dynasty 梁 (502–557). The major difference between the literary camps lies in the consideration given to natural poetic talent versus erudition in writings. When Xiao Gang 蕭綱 (503–551), Liu Xiaochuo’s supporter, became crown prince in 531, his own conflict with the scholarly group including Dao Gai 到溉 (477–548) and Zhu Yi 朱异 (483–540) probably prompted his “Letter to the Prince of Xiangdong” 與湘東王書 (Yu Xiangdong Wang shu). In this letter Xiao Gang displays his literary view deemphasizing scholarly learning and erudition in poetry. By comparison Xiao Yan 蕭衍 (464–549) and Xiao Yi 蕭繹 (508–555) valued scholarly learning still more and regarded literature as a relatively insignificant talent or minor accomplishment. Xiao Gang represents a departure—by placing literary talent above scholarship, he catered to the fashion among the Liang Dynasty’s nobility for reciting poetry and writing fu 賦 (rhapsody) while “rarely taking classical studies as their profession” 罕以經朮為業and thus elevated the social status of belles lettres.
KW - Dao Qia 到洽 (490–527)
KW - Liang Dynasty 梁 (502–557)
KW - Literature
KW - Liu Xiaochuo 劉孝綽 (481–539)
KW - Split
KW - Xiao Gang 蕭綱 (503–551)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121151697&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1215/23290048-9299632
DO - 10.1215/23290048-9299632
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85121151697
SN - 2329-0048
VL - 8
SP - 261
EP - 286
JO - Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture
JF - Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture
IS - 2
ER -