Six Dynasties poetry

The north–south divide continued as a major feature in the landscape of Chinese poetry through the eventual Sui dynasty re-unification, which shortly gave way to the relatively unified and long term stability of the Tang dynasty, and a whole new poetic era of Tang poetry.

That is, the final years at the End of the Han dynasty and during which the Cao family was rising, or risen, to prominence were known as the Jian'an era (196–220).

[3] Cao Zhi is also noted for his association with the dramatically composed and life-saving poem known as "The Quatrain of Seven Steps".

The middle part of the Three Kingdoms period, from 220 and 263, was marked by a more politically and militarily stable arrangement between three rival states, Wei, Shu, and Wu.

Political it was a perilous time, especially for Wei loyalists, who viewed the rise of the Sima clan as usurpers.

As is traditionally depicted, the group wished to escape the intrigues, corruption and stifling atmosphere of court life during the tail end of the politically fraught Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history and into the early period of the newly established Jin dynasty.

3rd century), Xiang Xiu, Wang Rong (234–305) and Shan Tao (205–283) gathered in a bamboo grove near the house of Xi Kang (aka Ji Kang) (223–262), in Shanyang (now in Henan province) where they enjoyed, and praised in their works, the simple, rustic life.

The Seven Sages stressed the enjoyment of ale, personal freedom, spontaneity and a celebration of nature.

[5] Burton Watson considers Ruan Ji (whose name he transcribes as Juan Chi) to be the "first important poet" following the Jian'an poetry style.

[6] Ruan Ji helped to define the Six Dynasties poetic development of the themes of reclusion and friendship.

[7] He helped to develop the five-character shi poetry form which had just newly developed with the Jian'an poets, but he moved it away from its initial starkly realistic descriptions of particular scenes which could be right before the poets' eyes towards more generalized, abstract, and symbolic poetic statement.

Ruan Ji also developed the nature theme, focusing on "the passing of time and the cycle of the seasons", which lead towards the death of the individual.

Ruan Ji was also used to deploy the imagery of birds as symbols of freedom and ability to escape their given situation.

Burton Watson further notes the evident lack of the imagery of wine in Ruan's surviving poems.

Not that he was unacquainted with it, even recorded as having remained continuously drunk for 2 months to avoid an undesirable marriage which was urged upon him with great political pressure such that he could not overtly refuse.

For the first thirteen years this was a deadly violent and all-out struggle for power among at least eight princes and various dukes of Jin.

Then in 304 CE the leader of the formerly independent ethnic nation of the Northern Xiongnu under its newly declared Grand Chanyu Liu Yuan (later Prince Han Zhao) declared independence, backed up with a large army which he fielded.

Various other non-Chinese groups became involved, in what is known as the Wu Hu uprising, and by 316 the last Jin prince left standing, now as emperor, ruled an empire reduced to its former southern area.

Since the time span involved is about 50 years, many poets and trends in poetry transcend these somewhat arbitrary limits.

Eastern Jin poetry includes work in the area known as the quasi-poetic literary form of fu.

Anyway, in or around the period of the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420), much poetic activity occurred, and this is sometimes referred to as "southern".

Other important Eastern Jin poets include the 2 heroes of Taikang Lu Ji (Shiheng) (261–303) and Pan Yue (247–300), Liu Kun (劉琨), and Guo Pu (276–324), also Yan Yanzhi (顏延之, 384–456, so more often considered as Liu Song dynasty poet).

Guo Pu was a prolific author whose works include prose, poetry, and fu.

Of this poetic activity, especially important is the anthology New Songs from the Jade Terrace, compiled by Xu Ling (507–83), under the patronage of Crown Prince Xiao Gang (Later known as Emperor Jianwen).

[18] The "Jade Terrace" is at least in part a reference to the luxurious palace apartments to which upper-class women were often relegated, one of the main conventional images being that of a beautiful concubine languishing away in lonely confinement, bereft of love.

In other cases, a "hint of fetishism" is shown in poetic verses describing the objects associated with the men or women described in the poems; that is, their bedrooms and feast halls, the musical instruments, lamps or mirror-stands which they handle, or the fine stationary upon which they write their love notes.