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Essays in Medieval Chinese Literature and Cultural History

Paul W Kroll author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:3rd Jan '19

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Essays in Medieval Chinese Literature and Cultural History cover

This is one of a pair of volumes by Paul Kroll (the companion volume deals with medieval Taoism and the poetry of Li Po). Collecting eleven essays by this leading scholar of Chinese poetry, the volume presents a selection of studies devoted to the medieval period, centering especially on the T'ang dynasty. It opens with the author's famous articles on the dancing horses of T'ang, on the emperor Hsüan Tsung's abandonment of his capital and forced execution of his prized consort, and on poems relating to the holy mountain T'ai Shan (with special attention to Li Po). Following these are detailed examinations of landscape and mountain imagery in the poetry of the "High T'ang" period in the mid-8th century, and of an extraordinary attempt made in the mid-9th-century to recall in verse and anecdote the great days of the High T'ang. The second section of the book includes two articles on birds (notably the kingfisher and the egret) in medieval poetry, and four of Kroll's influential studies focusing on the verse-form known as the fu or "rhapsody," especially drawing from the 3rd-century poet Ts'ao Chih and the 7th-century poet Lu Chao-lin.

'This book [...] is not just another entertaining book to read to learn about Chinese literature and history. It provides an impressive demonstration of how to conduct research in the field of classical Chinese literature. The author locates one issue or object of study in each of his writing, collects copious data about the object, and then unveils a comprehensive picture of all the author has discovered through analysis of the literary work.'

China Review International

"Paul W. Kroll’s "Heyue yingling ji and the Attributes of High Tang Poetry" challenge today’s views of anthologies and collections.Working on the Heyue yingling ji 河嶽英靈集, an anthology from the High Tang, Kroll finds very different selections of poems, critical comments on each poet, and a preference for old-style verse."

Hsiang-Lin Shih, St. Olaf College

ISBN: 9781138375321

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 453g

362 pages