Abstract
"Nineteen Old Poems" represent the transformation in poetics from the study of Confucian classics to metaphysics. The authors of this group of poems lived in the turbulent age of the late Han Dynasty. "Nineteen Old Poems" express the poetics of valuing life, which could be regarded as the first sign of metaphysics. The sense of time sequence, especially a sense of the present, which corresponds to the time consciousness of metaphysics, forms the basis of such poems. This paper holds that a sense of individual loneliness and awareness is the main theme of these poems. Hence Liang Qichao's viewpoint that these poems are marked by the passive world-weary thoughts is questionable. Some universal emotions are also fully expressed in the poems owing to the poems' respect for women. From a technical point of view, Liang Qichao considered that these poems restored Bi-Xing style, which is also debatable. The weakening of Bi-Xing style is both the cause and result of the poems' unique texture linking. The lyric themes are expressed much less by narration than by literary quotations or scenery depiction. Therefore "Nineteen Old Poems" are more positive and brilliant than previously believed. They predict the beginning of a new poetic era.
First Page
97
Last Page
106
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Jiemo. 2012. ""Nineteen Old poems" and Metaphysics." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 32, (1): pp.97-106. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol32/iss1/2
