Zhuang Ji (poet)

Zhuang Ji pursued a literary career, from which he attained his fame, though he seems to have at least initially made a living attending his local ruler's court, though in what function is unknown.

During Zhuang Ji's life, political turmoil and social upheaval greatly informed his contributions to literature, indeed this kind of state of affairs is very evident in "Ai shi ming".

Zhuang Ji experienced turbulent and dangerous events which happened to occur in the places in which he dwelt, yet still found time and energy for a literary calling.

[7] Emperor Han Wendi was the father by his wife Wang Zhi to Liu Pi and to crown prince, heir apparent to the empire.

This was followed by an imperial campaign to at least reduce the strength if not eliminate the semi-independent regional princes of Wu, Liang, Chu, and so on, thus to consolidate power in the central imperium.

Zhuang Ji would go on to develop his literary career at the patronage of the Han emperor's younger brother, the literally-inclined Liu Wu, ruler of Liang.

Zhuang, Zou, and Mei seem to have taken the opportunity to leave Wu at some point during the process of the developing troubles, perhaps in 157 BCE, before things got too perilous, and actual warfare broke out.

[8] Furthermore, Zhuang Ji's companions Zou Yang and Mei Cheng had memorialized Liu Pi advising him to not revolt against the Han emperor, advice which was rejected.

Ignoring Liu Wu's pleas for help and imperial orders to advance to the city, general Zhou used his discretion as field commander to refuse the orders and instead concentrate his resources at his base in Xiayi, where he made defenses, meanwhile disrupting the rebel supply lines from Chu, by sending the Marquess of Gonggao, Han Tuidang, who was the son of Han Xin (韓王), someone who had spent quite a bit of time learning the mobile military techniques of the Xiongnu.

In contrast Zhuang Ji's patron Liu Wu was rewarded for his loyal support through the rebellion, his brother emperor Jingdi giving him honors and privileges.

For example, minister Yuan Ang warned strongly against this breaking of the laws of succession as a destabilizing precedent, appointing a brother rather than the usual practice of choosing a son.

Nevertheless, Liu Wu failed to regain favor after this, he was seldom received at court, and his half-nephew (the future emperor, Han Wudi) replaced him as crown prince.

In another and related dangerous turn of events for Liu Wu, the new crown prince's mother Wang Zhi was promoted to first lady, consolidating power against him at court.

[11] Liu Wu's death was at about age forty, at which time he still retained his court in Liang, and the feudal possessions thereof, despite being out-of-favor with the emperor.

Prince Liu Wu of Liang left behind an estate estimated to include 400,000 catties of gold and an equivalent amount of wealth in land.

[15] Critical reception for Zhuang Ji's "Ai shi ming" has often been less than enthusiastic, despite his contemporaries nicknaming him "the Master", and even going so far as to extensively recycle parts of it as their own work.

David Hawkes says that the poem incorporates all of the elements of the sao style: introspective grief, the symbolic structure, parallelism as a poetic device, and even a very brief shamanic-style spirit journey.

[16] David Knechtes and Taiping Chan find that for the time in which it was written "Ai shi ming" has "eremitic sentiments" which were "rare in early Han" and that almost seem to be looking forward to Six Dynasties poetry.