Session Name: Family, Clans, Friends, and Co-Religionists: Chinese Community Networks from the 16th -20th centuries
1 - Landscape and History: Creating Communities in Late Imperial Chinese Poetry Groups
Tuesday, July 30, 2024
14:00 – 15:45 (GMT+7)
Presentation Abstract In late imperial China, shipai詩派(literally: poetic confluences) were dotted across the country, bringing together people of diverse social, religious, and cultural backgrounds through a shared interest in writing poetry. These poetry clubs provided members with opportunities to socialize with others living in the same locale and were characterized by frequent outings to places of scenic beauty, which through writing, were claimed as “our mountain” or “our vista.” Poets belonging to a shipai were expected to commemorate these locations in similar ways, which served to promote group identity and cohesion, in ways which have profoundly influenced popular perceptions of some famous sites right up to the present day. However, the role of a shared tradition of interpreting particular historical events in creating group identity has received less attention. This paper examines the poetry produced by two different groups: first, the informal cluster formed by Wang Ao 王鏊(1450-1524), which was held together by a common interest in the landscape of Suzhou, in particular sites related to the ancient kingdom of Wu; and secondly, the early Qing Yushan shipai虞山詩派, also located in Suzhou prefecture, which promulgated a unique local tradition of writing about the fall of the Ming dynasty based on the testimony of a eunuch who supposedly escaped from the palace in 1644. Poetry served to create a strong sense of community, tying people not just to a shared landscape, but also to a shared view of history.
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