The Poetics of Appropriation

by Palumbo-Liu, David

• ISBN13: 9780804721264
• ISBN10: 0804721262
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1993-07-01
• Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr

Summary

The poets of the Northern Song dynasty (960-1126) were writing after what was then and still is acknowledged to be the Golden Age of Chinese poetry, the Tang dynasty (618-907). This study examines how these Song poets responded to their uncomfortable proximity to such impressive predecessors and reveals how their response shaped their literary art. The author's focus is on the poetic theory and practice of the poet Huang Tingjian (1045-1105). This first full-length study in English of one of the most difficult and complex poets of the classical Chinese tradition aims to provide the background for understanding better why Huang was so greatly admired, especially by the outstanding literati of his age, and why later scholars claim Huang is the characteristic Northern Song poet. The author concludes by considering how Huang's literary project resembles, but ultimately differs from, Western literary theories of influence and intertextuality.

Author Biography

David Palumbo-Liu is Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford University.

Table of Contents

Preface
Abbreviations
Critical Introduction	p. 1
Huang Tingjian as a Northern Song Poet
Confronting the Tang	p. 25
The Mediated Poem	p. 47
The Illusion of Immediacy	p. 69
Huang Tingjian's Theory and Practice
Extending Verse	p. 91
Words and the Shaping Will	p. 117
Allusion: Writing and Reading	p. 148
Conclusion: Signing the Palimpsest	p. 173
App. A. Short Biography of Huang Tingjian	p. 195
App. B. On Translating Huang Tingjian	p. 197
Notes	p. 201
Bibliography	p. 227
Character List	p. 239
Index	p. 251
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