Abstract
The connotation of Tao Yuanming's poem "Flesh, Shadow, Spirit" lies not only in the life outlook represented respectively by flesh, shadow and spirit, but in the emotion types this poem implies, among which a value sequence can also be found. The poem "Flesh, Shadow, Spirit" is valuable for the reflection of the history of Chinese poetry and poetics, because of the poem's typicality and compatibility regarding the theme of life in Chinese philosophy, far-reaching impact of Tao Yuanming and his poetry in Chinese spiritual history, and the tradition of valorizing emotion in Chinese poetics. This poem echoes various themes related to life in the poetry of the Han and Wei dynasties and is helpful for readers to understand the structural relationship among these themes. It also suggests that, beyond the two well-known emotion types of "poetry expressing aspiration" and "poetry out of affection", another type of poetic emotion exists, that is, the emotion of natural happiness influenced by the philosophy of Zhuang Zhou. The poetic choices made by poets in the Tang and Song dynasties see the influence of the sequence of emotion values in "Flesh, Shadow, Spirit". History of Chinese poetry and poetics, in turn, enhances the understanding of the famous poem and reassures the life theme and value sequence that it implies.
First Page
87
Last Page
92
Recommended Citation
Ye, Yuewu. 2018. "The Reciprocal Interpretation of the Life Theme in Tao Yuanming's "Flesh, Shadow, Spirit" and the History of Poetics." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 38, (2): pp.87-92. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol38/iss2/16
