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Abstract

Wang Shizhen's critique of qu (songs) is primarily found in his Rambles in the Garden of Art. Previous scholarship has largely assessed his contributions and limitations from the perspective of drama studies, paying comparatively little attention to his poetic standpoint and his discussion centering on Southern qu. Wang's criticism is characterized by a distinct consciousness of revering Southern qu, which is articulated through his views on genre evolution, aesthetic orientation, and comparative analysis between Northern and Southern qu. First, by outlining the evolution of genres from shi (classic poetry), sao (sao-style poetry), and yuefu (Music Bureau poetry), to Tang jueju (quatrains), Song ci (song lyrics poetry), Northern qu (songs in a drama), and Southern qu, Wang established the orthodox poetic status of Southern qu. Second, his critiques emphasized li (ornate beauty), revealing a pronounced pursuit of stylistic refinement and elaboration. Third, with regard to music, rhyme, and diction, Wang consistently demonstrated a preference for Southern over Northern qu. Notably, his perspective on Southern qu was not only underlined by a deep background in ci studies, but his ci criticism also was actively engaged in the construction of critical discourses on qu in the late Ming dynasty. Furthermore, Wang's aesthetic view of Southern qu significantly influenced theorists such as Wang Jide and Wang Zhideng, playwrights including Liang Chenyu, Shi Shaoshen, and Zhang Fengyi, and anthologists such as Wei Zhigao and Zhang Qi. In sum, the ci and qu criticism in Wang Shizhen's Rambles in the Garden of Art functioned as a pivotal banner promoting the ornate and graceful style of qu in the late Ming dynasty, laying a theoretical foundation for the development of graceful and magnificent qualities of sanqu (non-dramatic song) and chuanqi (romantic drama) during this period.

Keywords

Wang Shizhen, Rambles in the Garden of Art, qu criticism in the Ming dynasty, history of qu in the Ming dynasty, Southern qu in the Ming dynasty

First Page

191

Last Page

199

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